With “EurêCase” and “Au fait,” Confluent des Savoirs introduces young people to research in a new way

Introducing young people to research in a new way is the goal of two projects conceived by UNamur’s Confluent des Savoirs. “EurêCase” brings doctoral research conducted across the University’s seven faculties to life in comic book form. With “Au fait,” the focus shifts to audio: six episodes give a voice to young people and scientists on topics as varied as artificial intelligence, health, space, and mathematics.

These two projects were made possible thanks to funding from Wallonia as part of the STEAMULI program. Their creation required nearly two years of work at Confluent des Savoirs. For both the comic book and the podcast, the team had to find the right format, choose the topics, meet with researchers, make their work accessible to a general audience, and adapt to the challenges that arose along the way. Aline Wilmet focused primarily on the comic book, while Kevin Persoons worked on the podcast.

For the comic book, the challenge was a daunting one: to distill the highly specialized research of 13 researchers into just two illustrated pages. The first step was to select the topics, represent the various academic departments, and strike a balance among the researchers’ backgrounds. The work of making each topic accessible to a general audience was carried out in collaboration with young researchers, whose portraits in the comic also showcase the diversity of their respective backgrounds. The CDS developed the text and storyboards for the panels, which were then illustrated by Jordan Delannoy, alias “Jodessineunpeu,” to create a world reminiscent of a graphic novel. “The chosen topics are varied, innovative, and inspiring. We wanted to spark readers’ curiosity, to show them that research isn’t isolated from the world but addresses concrete and timely societal issues. Simplifying complex topics to make them accessible and appealing to the general public as well as to high school students—all in just two illustrated panels—was quite a challenge. Achieving this result through such a fruitful collaboration is all the more satisfying to me,” emphasizes Aline Wilmet.

For the podcast “Au fait,” Kevin Persoons chose to start directly with the concerns of young people. A street interview helped narrow down the six topics covered, ranging from artificial intelligence to health, space, and mathematics. A physicist by training and a “child of C’est pas sorcier,” Kevin himself discovered new fields as he met with people. He handled the conceptualization, writing, and interviews, with support from the Audiovisual Department to bring the episodes to life. “Since this format was designed for young people, it had to address issues that resonate with them. That’s also why you hear them in the podcast sharing their opinions on these various scientific topics,” explains Kevin. The project also brought together a diverse group of people within the university: “Everything was produced at UNamur, drawing on everyone’s expertise.”

After two years of work, the desire to continue the project is very much alive. “My greatest hope would be to be able to repeat the experience to showcase the dissertations of other doctoral students,” says Aline Wilmet. A future edition could even open the door to exploring other visual styles: “The dream would be to work with different illustrators and have a distinct style for each book.”

Kevin Persoons shares this enthusiasm, as he still sees many topics to explore with “Au fait.” The podcast’s name was deliberately chosen to be broad enough to allow the format to evolve. “There’s plenty of material for more podcasts, if this one takes off and people like it,” he explains. One thing is already certain for Kevin: if new episodes are produced, they’ll retain this interdisciplinary approach that brings together different perspectives and fields of research. Congratulations to the teams at Confluent des Savoirs and to everyone who helped bring these two projects to life!