Activity report for 2023
In 2023, within the “Volunteer at UBB” program of the Office for Volunteering, 588 volunteering contracts were concluded.
With regard to volunteering certificates, an important component that justifies the involvement of volunteers and that provides work experience in the field of activity, in 2023 a number of 500 certificates were issued. Most of the UBB volunteers, according to the reports submitted by the volunteer co-donors, obtained the qualification “very good” or “excellent” for the activity carried out throughout the contractual period.
At the beginning of the year, they had the inauguration of the new headquarters in the Hasdeu Student Complex. The Volunteering Office is now closer to UBB students and thus communication with them will be facilitated and they will perhaps be more willing to participate in the activities carried out, due to the proximity.
As every year, the Volunteer Office in partnership with the UBB Communications Department participated in the two editions of the career fair held at BT Arena, between March 15-16 and October 9-10. Volunteers from the UBB stadium interacted with the audience present, providing information related to the educational offer and distributing promotional items.
Also this year, UBB was the host of the University Consortium, on which occasion it hosted a series of meetings of the representatives of the largest universities in the country between March 16-18. Our volunteers were involved in this event by helping to organize it on site.
Already a tradition, the two annual blood donation campaigns, 66 UBB students also got involved in 2023 in the 11th and 12th editions. They assisted the medical staff in sorting the donors, provided information related to the donation criteria and food products from the campaign partners.
Other events in which volunteers were involved were: Cluj Days in partnership with CCI UBB, Night of the Museums within the UBB museums, Gratitude Archive – project carried out by the History Museum of UBB, Cluj-Napoca Air Show, Critical thinking workshop for high school students and students – organized by the UBB Alexandru Duma Museum, PenaltyFEST, activities of the Cluj University Press, the carol charity concert and others.
All the activities mediated by the Office for Volunteering in 2023 involved 39 teaching staff or researchers – volunteer coordinators – who carried out volunteer programs lasting at least one month in 29 UBB structures/faculties, among which we mention: Institute of History “Nicolae Bocșan” Church, Career, Professional Guidance and Alumni Center, International Institute for Advanced Studies in Psychotherapy and Mental Health, Office for Students with Disabilities, UBB Zoology Museum, Japanese Cultural Center, “Alexandru Borza” Botanical Garden, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Faculty of History and Philosophy, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Expert Student Counseling Center, History Museum of Babeș-Bolyai University, Faculty of Business, PsyTech Clinic, International Cooperation Center, University Cultural Heritage Directorate – The University Archives Service, the Virtual and Documentary Museum of the Holocaust in Northern Transylvania, Personal Data Protection at UBB Cluj, the Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, the “Alexandru Duma” UBB Museum and others. The contribution of volunteers within these structures amounts to over 50,000 volunteer hours.
Programs and informal development opportunities within UBB reached students through the website (www.voluntariat.centre.ubbcluj.ro) which was constantly updated and provided support to coordinators and volunteers who had requests. Another way in which we managed to reach more young people and students this year is through social networks. On the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/VoluntarUBB) and on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/voluntariat_ubb/) 58 materials were created to promote the volunteering program: informative posts, infographics, calls for opportunities from the UBB community, testimonials. In addition, 2023 was marked by a significant increase in followers and interactions on the Instagram page. To date, the Instagram account is followed by 932 people.
For the volunteers who expressed their interest in being actively involved in extracurricular activities in UBB, but at the time there were no volunteer events or programs according to their interests, or they did not find an available coordinator, recourse was made to a database. Within this, the students/young people wishing to be enrolled in the volunteering program sent the Volunteering Office essential information about themselves, about their interests and hobbies, but also about the field in which they want to develop in volunteering programs, following to be contacted at the first opportunity that meets the aforementioned criteria.
The process of digitizing the documents of the Office for Volunteering continued in 2023. The more than 3000 volunteering contracts with volunteering certificates with annexes are stored in up-to-date electronic format. As a result, promptness in forwarding various documents to applicants has increased.
Last but not least, volunteer training and coordinator support actions took place throughout the year, physically and online. Thus, a representative of the office took part in the meeting with representatives of the faculty councils and those of CCOPA on July 13. The purpose of the meeting was to inform the representatives about the specific activities carried out by the Office for Volunteering and the Career, Professional Guidance and Alumni Center. Another goal was to identify the most effective communication channels for conveying information to students and how faculty councils can support us in our endeavors. Another information action was held at the end of 2023 at FSPAC during the “Communicating Identities” conference, at the workshop on Volunteering and Service Learning.
The Office for Volunteering responded positively to the various initiatives from the coordinators and tried to provide support from both sides for the success of an event or in the selection of volunteers.