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A new platform dedicated to research in the humanities and social sciences (SHS) is being launched at UNamur. The aim? To offer SHS researchers methodological support tailored to their needs and strengthen SHS excellence at UNamur. This platform, SHS Impulse, will provide various services such as financial support for training, consultancy, access to resources, or co-financed software purchases.

The IRDENa institute invites its members and guests to present the status of their research in teaching and education on topical issues throughout the year.These seminars are held once a month, usually during lunchtime. We look forward to seeing many of you at these events, which provide an opportunity for discussion, debate, and sharing in a friendly atmosphere.

On May 12, the Institute for Research in Didactics and Education (IRDENa) at the University of Namur is organizing a seminar dedicated to a topic at the heart of current concerns in initial and continuing teacher education: training through professional practice.In a context where expectations of the teaching profession and the realities on the ground are evolving rapidly, and where policymakers are entrusting the field with a significant portion of the training of future teachers through the requirement for extended teaching placements, practical experience plays a decisive role in the development of professional competencies, professional skills, and educational approaches. This essential practice also raises numerous questions:What challenges does training in (with and through) professional practice face today?What obstacles still hinder its implementation or quality?What challenges must training institutions, partner schools, and trainers address?What concrete benefits does professional immersion offer for both aspiring and experienced teachers?To shed light on these questions, the event will feature two speakers:Catherine Van Nieuwenhoven, professor and international expert on teacher education and work-study programs;Sephora Boucenna, a researcher at IRDENa, whose work focuses on professional development through practice and the analysis of field experiences.Their combined perspectives, blending scientific expertise, institutional analysis, and a nuanced understanding of the field, will fuel a collective discussion on the levers to strengthen and the avenues to explore in order to support an ambitious, coherent, and efficient practical training program in light of current policy challenges.The program will continue with a roundtable bringing together colleagues from various universities, who will compare their perspectives on the training of internship supervisors. Their discussion will focus in particular on training needs, support models, institutional challenges, and the conditions necessary to organize this training effectively.Finally, the day will give significant attention to real-world practice through testimonials from several student teachers, who have been invited to share their experiences, their mentoring practices, as well as the tensions that arise in their daily professional lives. These accounts will help ground the discussion in the concrete realities of schools and highlight the importance of the partnership between academic institutions and K-12 education.This study day is intended for researchers, trainers, teachers, as well as anyone involved in teacher education who wishes to contribute to a shared reflection on the future of the profession. Program 8:30–9:00 a.m. – Welcome9:00 AM to 10:00 AM – Catherine Van Niewenhoven (UCLouvain) - The Role of Fieldwork in Teacher Education: Support and Professional Development10:00 AM to 10:20 AM - Coffee break10:20 AM to 11:20 AM – Research findings (Call for papers)11:20 AM to 12:20 PM - Presentation of mentor programs12:30 PM to 1:30 PM – Lunch1:30 PM to 2:00 PM - Research Incubator2:00 PM to 3:00 PM - Sephora Boucenna (UNamur) - Training through and within professional practice: what are the specific features?3:00 PM to 4:00 PM - RoundtableStarting at 4:00 PM - Closing reception

Gabriel Dias De Carvalho Junior adds his expertise in didactics and cognitive psychology to the physics didactics research unit of UNamur's Department of Physics. With almost two decades of teaching experience in Brazil, he works to improve teaching practices. His innovative projects aim to make teaching more inclusive and accessible, while establishing international collaborations.

The F.R.S.-FNRS has just published the results of its various 2025 calls for proposals. These include the "Credits & Projects" and "WelCHANGE" calls, as well as the "FRIA" (Fund for Research Training in Industry and Agriculture) and "FRESH" (Fund for Research in the Humanities) calls, which aim to support doctoral theses. What are the results for UNamur? Twenty-eight projects have been selected, demonstrating the quality and richness of research at UNamur. 

The four UNamur continuing education centers specializing in the education sector have come together within "La Salle des Pros" to strengthen their collaborations, their cross-functional approach and their visibility. However, each center retains its autonomy and its faculty roots in order to preserve its specificities and maintain a close link with research and the initial training of teachers.

The days when people chose a career once and for all and when experience alone was enough to climb the career ladder seem to be over. Nowadays, lifelong learning has almost become the norm. “There is clearly a trend in this direction, particularly in the context of automation and artificial intelligence, which makes acquiring new skills all the more important,” says Michel Ajzen, a professor in the Management Department at the Faculty of Economics, Management, and Communication at SciencePo, UNamur, and a member of the Namur Digital Institute. “And it’s not a generational issue: whether you’re 30, 40, or 50, this need exists.” 

Trust of traditional political institutions and elected representatives, rise of authoritarian logics, definition of public services... Democracy today seems to be going through a turbulent zone. What role does the university play in this context? To shed light on this question, we interviewed four researchers from different disciplines: educationalist Sephora Boucenna, philosopher Louis Carré, political scientist Vincent Jacquet and legal scholar Aline Nardi. Their contrasting views sketch out the contours of an issue that is more topical than ever: thinking about and defending the link between university and democracy.

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Management Committee Co-President Valérie Henryvalerie.henry@unamur.be Co-President Jérémy Dehonjeremy.dehon@unamur.be IRDEN Secretariata Sarah DuvivierJeanick Pignolet info.irdena@unamur.be S'affilier Si vous souhaitez vous affilier ou si vous souhaitez modifier votre affiliation, rendez-vous sur la page "affiliation aux instituts de recherche". Discover the members Organization chart