"Ever since I was a little boy, I have always dreamed of being a teacher! I didn't dream of becoming a fireman or a policeman, I wanted to work in a school. In the end, the 44-year-old from Brabant has been teaching English at the university for 21 years, and he is passionate about this job. François-Xavier Fievez joined the Modern Languages Unit (ELV), the inter-faculty department of the UNamur, as a teaching assistant in 2001 and has taken on more and more responsibilities. He has become the first language teacher - he teaches English to students of computer science, economics, biomedical sciences and physics - and is also the educational coordinator.
This position stimulates him, as he loves to meet members of the different faculties: "This position has allowed me to network, to get to know many people. It's very interesting!
What does he do? To be curious about everything, to search, to learn new things, to constantly question his work. He has followed a number of training courses, not hesitating to go off the beaten track: for example, he attended several master classes in Paris with Thiagi, an undisputed master and internationally recognised for his "games" (interactive activities) dedicated to the development of people. This year, he also obtained a certificate in facilitation and workshop design using the LEGO® Serious Play® method. In short, François-Xavier Fievez has no shortage of projects: "Activity is my driving force!
He is attached to human relations. And this is also reflected in his extra-academic life, as he is a member of the Wallonia-Brussels Professional Improvisation League. He is even the new artistic director this year. This passion came to him after attending an improvisation match when he was a student: "I immediately said to myself that I wanted to do it! I first got involved in improv as part of a students project. Then, as an amateur comedian, I took part in several championships. We even won the title of world champions 3 times. Then I was asked to join the professional league. I was the first amateur comedian to join it. I was also awarded the prize for the best rookie in 2011. Improvisation is the crazy part of my life".
This new portfolio of Vice-Rector in charge of social and student affairs is a new challenge for him: "I am honoured and very touched to have been chosen. I am honoured and very touched to have been chosen. This vice-rector is appointed by the students and it means a lot to me that they thought of me. I am also very honoured that the Rectoral Council has validated this choice. François-Xavier Fievez also wishes to thank Patrick Foissac for the work he has done. He knows the person he is succeeding well. "We started working together at the School of Modern Languages at the same time. He is a close colleague, we know each other well. We really complement each other," he adds.
This new academic year, which is just beginning, the new vice-rector wishes to place it under the sign of encounters and projects: "I am going to go and meet the actors on the ground, understand their way of working, listen to their needs and introduce myself. Projects will also be very important because I want to set things in motion, to feed the people who could benefit from new projects. Among the priorities set by the new vice-rector, let's mention student precariousness, support for the deployment of PHARE (Protection HArcèlement Etudiant – Protection against students’ harassment), or attention to students with special educational needs (SENs).
His message to students: Find your own way!
This path will not necessarily be the one chosen by others, it will not necessarily be the prettiest or the most enlightened path. I would like to tell the students to find their own way of doing things, to listen to themselves and above all to respect themselves. All of this with one objective in mind: to succeed.
François-Xavier Fievez , Vice-Rector for Social and Student Affairs
Express biography
- 44 years old
- Senior lecturer in foreign language didactics at the ELV (École des Langues Vivantes) and Vice-president of IRDENA (Institut de recherches en Didactiques et Éducation)
- Member of the PUNCH committee (Pédagogie Universitaire Namuroise en Changement) since 2018
- Member of the "Coup de pouce" project aiming to promote the transition between secondary and higher education - Pôle Académique Namurois (Transition secondary-higher)
- Artistic director of the Ligue d'improvisation professionnelle Wallonie-Bruxelles