Student social clubs听
There are three main kinds of student social clubs : 鈥渃ercles鈥�, 鈥渞茅gionales鈥� and 鈥渙rdres鈥�.
- the 鈥渃ercles鈥�are student social clubs linked to a faculty. They have their own bar open every day except Friday and Saturday and organize many activities such as welcoming new students and organizing big parties. The main advantages are that the beer is significantly cheaper than in bars and it鈥檚 more convivial. But we strongly advise you not to take your jacket or best clothes/shoes to go there! The student social club linked to Ecole Polytechnique de Louvain is called (Cercle Industriel).
- the 鈥渞茅gionales鈥漡ather students coming from the same region regardless of their studies. Their activities are quite similar to those of the 鈥渃ercles鈥� but most of them don鈥檛 have their own bar and thus rent another one. and the Carolo have their own bar.
- the 鈥渙rdres鈥�, are a bit different. They gather people who share the same ideas on life and party and people can still join them when they鈥檙e not students anymore. They do not have bars and most of the time their activities are not open to public. They hold meetings regularly where the members drink and sing around a table, following some rules. You can recognize their members because they wear a ribbon across the chest with the color of their 鈥渙rdre鈥�.
How to recognize them?
There are several features you can see on a student at a party. As we just said, the ribbon is the attribute of the member of an 鈥渙rdre鈥�. Worn on the right shoulder it indicates a full member, on the left one a candidate to become full member.
There is also a kind of laboratory apron, initially white but covered with lots of writings and a big drawing in the back. Their owners have been "baptised", an activity aiming at integrating new students. On one sleeve you can see his/her university career and on the back the date of the baptism and the faculty. It鈥檚 usually worn only in the beginning of the academic year and when going to student gatherings outside the home university.
What you will probably see the most is a kind of hat called a 鈥渃alotte鈥�. It is a very personal and precious item for its owner. To obtain such a hat, students have to pass a sort of test during one afternoon or one evening called a 鈥渃orona鈥�. During this event, students are tested on their knowledge of student folklore, Latin formulas used during a corona, of songs (some are 鈥渟acred鈥� and compulsory, other are to be freely chosen among the students songs), on their ability to 鈥渞ead鈥� the hat, and finally, after many many beers, on their real motivation to get that hat. If you can read such a hat, you can tell many things about a student鈥檚 life, career and character. When they have it they can take part in coronas. Usually students also wear labelled sweat-shirts or T-shirts of their student social club/association which make it easy to recognize to which club they belong.
Student clubs at Ecole Polytechnique de Louvain
In our School, student clubs are very active and have been grouped together to be stronger. Together they form the GCI (Grand Cercle Industriel). Here is a short description for each of these clubs:
, aka the local BEST branch of Louvain-la-Neuve. BEST (Board of European Students of Technology) is an international student association organizing exchanges between students of technology universities in Europe. It has 66 local groups in more than 20 countries creating a wide student network. In Louvain-la-Neuve we organize a Summer Course each year to which students from abroad can take part. We are also in charge of the exchange activities of the faculty: Athens, Cluster, Erasmus. So when you鈥檒l arrive at our faculty, we will welcome you with a little drink and help you to settle comfortably in our city.
is the student social club which organize parties and social activities and has a bar. Go there at night if you want to drink a beer not too expensive with people belonging to the faculty. Of course it鈥檚 also open to other people as well.
provide the syllabi and books you need for the courses. The delegate of your class will inform you about the availability of these course materials.
听 organizes a yearly job fair called "Les journ茅es de l'Industrie", companies'visits, CV books and all activities connecting students and the industry.
听
Sports
Do sport!
For all sporting activities organized by the Sports Service of UCL, a sports membership is needed. This membership is usually valid from Mid September till June the next year. This membership will be added on your UCL student card once you have paid the membership.
UCL covers a part of the cost as to ensure a very competitive price:
- Incoming exchange students : 30鈧�(price to be confirmed)
- International students registered for one academic year : 50鈧�/year (price to be confirmed)
The UCL sport membership allows you
- a free access to all sport activities mentioned in our program.
- an insurance which covers any risk while practicing your sport.
More information :听 Sport and fitness Service