American University in Cairo
EN-2: Co-Curricular Activities
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
Reporter |
Yasmin
Mansour Sustainability Director Office of Sustainability |
2.1 Student sustainability organization
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the sustainability-focused student organization(s):
AUC’s 60+ student organizations offer students the chance to come together, share ideas, and develop their leadership skills in a supportive environment. AUC has several sustainability-focused student organizations that are dedicated to promoting environmental advocacy and sustainability on campus and beyond including:
1- The Gaia Movement
The Gaia Movement's aim is to raise awareness of Egypt's most pressing environmental issues and combine this with the active engagement of students to help minimize their waste, energy usage, and carbon footprint on campus.
2- Languages and Intercultural Club
This initiative aims to create a safe and welcoming environment for the AUC community to discuss differences and enhance diversity. We want to make the AUC campus inclusive for all with a positive atmosphere for interfaith and intercultural dialogue.
The Cairo International Model Arab League is a student-run conference at the American University in Cairo. it is not just a simulation of the Arab league but it's a vision for a more peaceful, tolerant, and efficient Arab world. Academic councils discuss political, social, and economic topics happening in the Arab region.
4- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) is the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. An IEEE Student Branch gives students a community of peers and a connection to faculty and industry professionals who drive innovation in countless technical fields. Student involvement in branch activities, whether special projects, social and technical meetings, outreach programs, conferences, local Section or Regional opportunities and others, can help develop a record of accomplishment and capabilities beyond the norm. Here at AUC, we collaborate with many other branches to hold different events that benefit the AUC community and create our own academic tracks that enhance the community's technical skills.
For more student organizations related to sustainability, you can explore AUC's website through this
Does the institution formally recognize at least one student organization that is focused on a topic other than sustainability, but is advancing ecological integrity or racial equity and social justice?:
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the student organizations that are advancing ecological integrity or racial equity and social justice:
AUC is home to a variety of student organizations that focus on advancing ecological integrity, racial equity, and social justice. These organizations provide students with the opportunity to come together, share ideas, and work on initiatives that create meaningful change in their communities. By participating in these groups, students can develop their leadership skills, deepen their understanding of important social issues, and make an impact on both local and global levels. Among the many organizations at AUC, there are several dedicated to promoting environmental sustainability and social justice, such as:
Meeting the necessary developmental and educational needs of unprivileged children and homeless youth.
2- Anti Cancer Team
Supporting cancer patients and survivors, as well as their families through their recovery journey, in addition to promoting cancer awareness among the community.
3- Hand in Hand
Taking care of the needs of the elderly population, with a special focus on those in nursing homes.
4- Help Club
Initiating developmental projects in Masr El-Adima region through renovating houses and introducing literacy programs.
5- Mashroo3 Kheir
Promoting community development and civic engagement in Egypt through developmental and charity work.
6- Resala
Developing unprivileged neighborhoods (mainly Al-Deweiqa region) through providing education, clothes and conducting home repairs. Furthermore, arranging blood drives.
For more student organizations related to ecological integrity, racial equity, and social justice, you can explore AUC's website under the "Community Service and Civic Engagement" section through this Link: https://www.aucegypt.edu/student-life/organizations
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2.2 Sustainability-focused co-curricular activities
Description of and/or website URL for at least one major sustainability-focused event or series of events:
Carpooling Event
On September 22, 2022, the Office of Sustainability, in collaboration with the AUC Student Union and the Office of Security, facilitated the parking for the carpoolers throughout the day, celebrated World Car-Free Day by distributing giveaways to carpoolers and offering designated parking slots near Gate 4 for those who carpooled.
Campus Sustainability Month
In October 2022 and 2023, AUC celebrated Campus Sustainability Month, an international month-long event promoting sustainability in higher education institutions. The programming for the month consisted of a series of awareness events focusing on sustainability issues, such as energy consumption, food and material waste, and transportation emissions. The Office distributed informational materials about sustainability at AUC, organized reusable bags giveaways, and encouraged the campus community members to contribute ideas for new sustainable initiatives they would like to see implemented on campus.
Sustainability Fair
On February 23, 2023, the Office of Sustainability organized a Sustainability Fair in collaboration with the
Office of Marketing and Communications and the Student Union. The event featured local businesses,
public speakers, and workshops in the field of sustainability. The Office of Sustainability also set up a
planting station in collaboration with the Landscape unit where the AUC community was invited to plant
their plants while incorporating coffee grounds as compost.
For more information check in publications the sustainability report published in 2024 Link: Sustainability Report 2024
Does the institution have a sustainability-focused peer-to-peer education program in which student educators are selected and trained to help catalyze change among their peers?:
Description of and/or website URL for at least one sustainability-focused peer-to-peer education programs for students:
Peer Career Leaders Program
The program is designed to identify student leaders representing various AUC academic departments and enhance their professional development. PCLs serve as ambassadors to students and reinforce the knowledge, skills, and resources offered through the Career Center. They act as the center’s extended arm in the planning, organization, and implementation of programs, projects, and events.
Peer Career Leaders are recruited into one of the four main functions below:
- Advising
- Communications
- Experiential
- Recruitment
- Student Relations Management (SRM)
Link : Peer Career Leaders Program
Does the institution provide sustainability-focused employment opportunities for students on at least an annual basis?:
Description of and/or website URL for at least one sustainability-focused employment opportunity for students:
The Work Study Program, coordinated by the Career Center, offers AUC's academic and administrative departments the opportunity to temporarily hire both undergraduate and graduate students for various positions. The Sustainability Office, as part of this program, offers work-study opportunities for undergraduate students throughout the semester. Students in this role assist the office with a range of activities, including organizing sustainability events, preparing the carbon footprint report, and contributing to the sustainability report. Additionally, they brainstorm for innovative ideas to make the campus more sustainable, playing an integral role in the university's sustainability efforts.
Sustainability Work Study Program Job Description
The Office of Sustainability is increasing its presence on campus and capacity to take on projects. In order to take on a larger project load, the Office is looking for a student employee to help ease the workload on its full-time staff. This means that the student will be expected to complete a variety of tasks that may vary from week to week.
Just as AUC is a university centered around its students, the Office of Sustainability is committed to increasing student involvement in its initiatives. The student employee in the Office will be expected to help us reach out more effectively to students. This will include brainstorming ideas for events, event planning, publicity, and outreach, and getting feedback about student opinions of Office of Sustainability initiatives.
Innovation and fresh ideas are what help keep the Office of Sustainability running and effecting change on campus. The student employee in the office will be expected to use creative thinking and previous experience to help us execute new projects that will make lasting changes for students and the campus as a whole.
Although the work expected of the student employee will vary from project to project, there are a few general tasks and skills that will be crucial to all of the work in the Office of Sustainability. The student employee will be expected to complete the following tasks to a high level of quality:
Administrative work:
- Keeping track of and filing documents, emails, etc.
- Facilitating smooth running of normal office operations
- Note-taking
Research:
- Researching initiatives at other universities or institutions
Event planning:
- Coming up with interesting, exciting, realistic, and effective event programming
- Generating timelines, lists of partners, and necessary materials for various events
- Coordinating logistics before and during events
Communication:
- Communicating with partner offices during the planning and execution of various projects
- Following up to ensure that all stakeholders have all the necessary information
- Publicizing events and initiatives through
A key project that the work-study student will be assisting with is EarthWeek. The student will be assisting the Presidential Associate with EarthWeek through marketing and social media outreach. The student will also help with the logistics of running different week-long events.
Ideas for specific roles:
- Water bottle refilling: setting up a system where stations are labeled and filter status requests are sent to a separate email
- Sustainability Newsletter: creating and sending out a monthly newsletter through emails to people who sign up
- Paper collection system: formulating an action plan and developing a new system for collecting paper waste from offices and classrooms
- EarthWeek event planning
- Managing social media platforms for the office (Instagram, Facebook).
For more details about the Work Study Program, please visit this Link: https://careercenter.aucegypt.edu/community/work-study
Does the institution have at least one student-managed enterprise that is sustainability-focused?:
Description of and/or website URL for at least one student-managed enterprise that is sustainability-focused:
The Center for Applied Research on the Environment and Sustainability (CARES) provides an opportunity for agricultural hobbyists to obtain garden plots to grow their vegetables right here on AUC's New Cairo campus!
AUC students, faculty, and staff are eligible to register. Each plot has a 500 LE fee, including a 100 LE deposit that will be returned at the end of the growing season. Each plot is almost 40m2 and is assigned in groups of 2-4 participants. We encourage participants to involve their children if interested
Adopt-a-Plot Brings AUC Community Together Through Organic Gardening
Seasonal fruits and vegetables such as okra, bell peppers, chili peppers, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, arugula, turnips, watermelon, radishes and leeks will soon be a part of campus –– and grown by the University’s own students, faculty and staff.
Taking part in the Adopt-a-Plot program, initiated and administered byThe Center for Applied Research on the Environment and Sustainability (CARES), AUC community members cultivate and harvest their own vegetable plots.
“I’ve always wanted to expand my knowledge in gardening, but on a more community-oriented level,” said Frank Bartscheck, a journalism and mass communication graduate student.
Through Adopt-a-Plot, CARES provides each gardener with a plot of land. Under the guidance of Muhammad Wahba, a CARES researcher, gardeners are responsible for their personal plots for an entire semester.
For many, the program is primarily an educational experience. Gardeners come in with varying levels of expertise; some have never touched a shovel before. “Participants learn by doing,” said Tina Jaskolski, head of the research unit at CARES. “We want people to experience the environment. You get your hands dirty. It’s hands-on work.”
As an add-on to the program,CARES is offering classes on cultivation this year. “We have a few additions to the program that we hope are going to give participants a bit more time together and more occasions to meet,” said Jaskolski. “We will hold one free session per month where people may learn about pest control, diseases, weeding and other topics related to planting and cultivation. We have an expert gardener running the classes.”
While AUC community members hope to find out about simple gardening practices, for students, the program is the perfect opportunity for hands-on learning. “Class course work includes students having practical sessions with us; it becomes part of their assignments,” said Jaskolski. “We’re hoping to involve students more and more in sustainability research projects on campus.”
In addition to its educational aspects, Adopt-a-Plot also works to bring the AUC community together. Gardeners share plots and work alongside one another, building relationships across department and student-teacher affiliations. “The program connects students, faculty and staff in sustainability work that is not only educational, but also fun,” noted Jaskolski.
A pilot phase of the program was carried out in Spring 2013, initiated and supervised by CARES researcher Yumna Kassim, and several past participants have returned this fall. “The first season was a bit of a trial. We learned what works, what doesn’t work,” said Russell Stephens, director of collections at AUC's Main Library. “This semester is a lot more organized, and we’ll be eliminating those vegetables that didn’t work and trying new ones again.”
As the Adopt-a-Plot initiative enters its second semester, AUC gardeners are optimistic about the season. “We are starting in the fall, and the food here is very seasonal. We are coming up on the good season, all the way through until spring,” said Bartscheck.
To stay up to date on future registration and to find out more about the Adopt-a-Plot program, visit the CARES website.
For more details about The Center for Applied Research on the Environment and Sustainability (CARES) , please visit this Link: Center for Applied Research on the Environment and Sustainability
For the full article on Adopt-a-Plot please visit this Link: Adopt a Plot
Description of additional sustainability-focused co-curricular activities for students:
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2.3 Percentage of students that participate in sustainability activities
Percentage of students that participate in sustainability activities:
Approach used to determine the percentage of students that participate in the institution’s sustainability activities:
Narrative outlining how student participation in the institution’s sustainability activities was determined:
Student participation in the institution’s sustainability activities is primarily determined through multiple structured avenues. The Student Union (SU) at AUC has a dedicated Sustainability Committee that actively hires students year-round into roles such as managers, leaders, and participants. This committee plays a central role in engaging the student body through sustainability projects and initiatives across campus.
In addition to the SU, several student-led clubs regularly participate in sustainability efforts by hosting events and campaigns. These events are typically scheduled during Assembly Hour, a designated time free from academic classes to encourage maximum student involvement. To ensure high visibility and foot traffic, most sustainability events are held at the Plaza, the university's central hub.
Furthermore, AUC uses its official app, AUC Connect, to track all campus events, including sustainability-related ones. This platform provides real-time data on event attendance and themes, helping the university monitor student engagement levels and interest in sustainability over time. Through this combination of organized student committees, active club participation, strategic event planning, and digital tracking via AUC Connect, the institution effectively measures and fosters student involvement in sustainability activities.
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Optional documentation
Additional documentation for this credit:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.