Dear students,

Welcome to UNamur's Faculty of Medicine!

Today marks the start of an adventure that I guarantee will change your life. The first university year is a bit like a big journey: you're excited, maybe a little anxious, sometimes lost in the maze of buildings...

I'd like to talk to you about values that bring us together: encounters, high standards, curiosity, well-being, solidarity, but also responsible commitment in a changing world.

Meeting people and opening up to the world

At UNamur, you'll meet an incredible diversity of people:

  • Students from the four corners of Belgium and beyond, with their own backgrounds and stories.
  • Future doctors, pharmacists, researchers and healthcare professionals who, tomorrow, will be working hand in hand to care for others.
  • Students from other disciplines: lawyers, biologists, economists, literary scholars... because healthcare is not only built in laboratories or hospitals, but also in society as a whole.

Take advantage of these encounters to broaden your vision of the world. Our university is a unique place, a small town in a human-sized city, where everyone can cross paths and learn from each other.

The world should be your playground

In an interconnected world, health knows no borders. What happens on the other side of the globe can have a direct impact here, and vice versa. To become open and competent professionals, it's essential to confront yourself with other healthcare systems, other cultures, other practices. That's why we're developing international mobility programs in most of our courses, notably via Erasmus+ and other partnerships with universities across Europe and beyond. Opportunities for internships abroad exist in hospital structures, research laboratories or public health institutions. We encourage you to think about it right from your first years of study, even if the departure may come later. Project yourself, dare to dream of discovering new horizons! Because the world should be your playground, a place of constant learning where every experience will enrich your practice and your understanding of global health.

Innovate to learn better

You'll discover new pedagogical approaches, because learning today is no longer just about listening to a lecture and rereading your notes before an exam.

At UNamur, we are developing tools and methods to enable you to become actors in your learning:

  • An interactive simulation platform, to immerse you in concrete, safe situations, whether analyzing data, solving healthcare problems or working in a team.
  • Revisited practical assignments, closer to realities in the field, to better link theory to practice.
  • Digital learning support tools, to guide you in your methodology, organization and progress.
  • Soft skills workshops, to develop your communication, leadership and project management skills, essential in the healthcare professions.
  • And finally, a tutoring and mentoring system, so you can be accompanied by more advanced students and attentive teachers.

These pedagogical innovations have a clear objective: to train you not only to succeed in your studies, but to become autonomous, critical and committed professionals.

Availability and high standards

Our teaching and administrative teams are here to support, guide and help you succeed. But beware: this benevolence comes with a high standard. In healthcare, rigor is non-negotiable. Your knowledge and decisions could have a direct impact on lives. Rest assured, however: failure is not an end, but a stage. Everyone stumbles, what counts is getting back up, learning and moving forward.

Artificial intelligence: an ally to be tamed

I want to mention a major challenge of your generation: artificial intelligence (AI). It's transforming the way we learn, research, heal, and even communicate. AI is an extraordinary tool, but it has neither intuition nor human values.
That's why I throw this key phrase at you: "AI, we must study with, but know how to develop without." It can help you understand your courses better, explore new ideas, but it will never replace your thinking, critical thinking and ethical judgment. Remember: it's not a machine that will be there to comfort a patient, support a colleague or make a decision in a complex situation... it will be you.

Commitment and critical thinking in a complex world

We live in an age marked by uncertainty and tension. Armed conflicts, humanitarian crises, climate disruption, the rise of extremes on all sides... These events directly influence public health, here and elsewhere. These realities remind us that health is not limited to the care provided to an individual. It encompasses prevention, protection of populations, international solidarity and defense of human rights.

In this world, a worrying trend is gaining strength: polarization. Debates are becoming increasingly divisive, fueled by simplistic, sometimes violent rhetoric, often shared through facile slogans. But reality is rarely all black or all white. That's why I invite you to cultivate nuance and benevolence. Nuance is the ability to hear complexity, to accept that two apparently opposing ideas can coexist. Benevolence is the strength to listen and dialogue without judging, even when we disagree. In healthcare, as in your life, these qualities are essential. Your patients, your colleagues, and even your future interlocutors in society won't always have the same vision as you.
And I'm telling you: it sometimes takes more courage to listen than to speak.

Scientific truth versus dogma

Some ideologies seek to sow fear and mistrust, including in healthcare: anti-vaccine rhetoric, conspiracy theories, or beliefs that reject scientific evidence. Sometimes, these movements are fueled by media personalities or politicians, who use healthcare to divide rather than protect. Your mission, as future professionals, will be to defend science and defend your ideas backed by science, but also to listen and educate. Before you publish, tweet or share any information, remember:

"First learn and understand, and only then... share."

When in doubt, rely on evidence, not opinion. And remember: you don't convince someone by numbers alone, but also by respect and empathy.

Solidarity and inclusiveness

In a society that sometimes tends towards individualism, our faculty wants to be a place of solidarity and inclusiveness.
Here, everyone has their place, whatever their origin, culture or background. You'll learn to work as part of a team, to listen, to build collective solutions.
And you'll also learn to reach out to those in need: your fellow students, your patients, and all those living in precariousness or exclusion.

Becoming proactive and responsible students

We want to encourage you to take charge of your path. First, by becoming proactive with your information. Your success also depends on your ability to go out and find the answers, to find out for yourself about essential subjects such as the financeability of your studies, your PAE (Programme Annuel des Etudes), or administrative procedures. Our teams are there to support you, but you need to learn to not systematically wait for everything to come to you. In professional life, autonomy is a key skill - and it starts here.

Next, we want to see you become ambassadors for your training:

  • Internally, by getting involved in participative contact committees, to actively contribute to improving teaching and study conditions.
  • Externally, by promoting the values of UNamur and your faculty: openness, rigor, solidarity and the pursuit of excellence.

You are our best representatives. Through your words and your actions, you can show the world the quality and spirit that drive us.

Mental health and anti-harassment

Your studies will be exciting, but they will also be demanding and sometimes testing. They require a great deal of energy, organization and resilience, in a context where current world events can already be anxiety-provoking. That's why your mental health should be a priority, just as much as your academic results. At UNamur, and particularly in our faculty, we have set up discreet but very real facilities to support you:

  • listening cells,
  • psychological accompaniment,
  • counselors and teachers available to help you through difficult times.

We want you to know that no one should face stress or distress alone. As future healthcare professionals, you will also undergo specific teaching to understand the challenges of mental health, recognize the signs of suffering, and learn to support others with skill and empathy.

In this same spirit of protection and respect, I want to be very clear: harassment, in all its forms, has no place at the University of Namur.
Whether psychological, moral, sexist or sexual, it is intolerable and we are firmly committed to taking action.

Reporting and support mechanisms exist. They are confidential, secure and geared towards supporting victims. We want everyone to feel protected and respected in order to study in a serene and constructive climate.

Curiosity and well-being

Don't limit yourself to your courses and exams. Open yourself up to other disciplines, to associative, artistic or sporting projects. You'll not only find new passions, but also precious friendships.

Take care of your health, because to heal or protect others, you must first be well yourself. Move, eat well, sleep... And no, coffee is no substitute for a good night's sleep, even though some students seem to be conducting intensive clinical studies on the subject!"

Conclusion

You are at the dawn of a demanding but exciting adventure. Be ambitious, curious, open to the world, and always keep your humanity.

The world needs caregivers, researchers, decision-makers and citizens capable of defending truth, justice and solidarity, even in the storm. It also needs people who know how to nuance, soothe and build bridges where others erect walls.

I wish you a year full of learning, encounters and fulfillment.
And remember: at university, you will find what you bring to it. Your energy, curiosity and commitment will make all the difference.

Welcome among us!

Professor Jean-Michel Dogné

Dean of the Faculty of Medicine