Daan de Zwaan

Samen Zijn is a campus-wide empowering community at KU Leuven Campus Bruges across the Faculty of Engineering Technology (FIIW) and the Faculty of Movement and Rehabilitation Sciences (FaBeR). Samen Zijn was established in early 2021 and aspires to create a warm, safe, inviting and rewarding environment where the interactions are equally meaningful to teaching and learning. In Daan de Zwaan, Samen Zijn found a symbol to inspire and gather us under the same umbrella to welcome students and enhance their experience.

Samen Zijn "think tank"

Samen Zijn's VISION

Samen Zijn aims to create opportunities for our students to flourish and take ownership of their own development while at the same time having fun and interacting with everyone on campus. This is achieved by building a culture of engaging in extracurricular activities and participating in events that can help them enhance their student life and broaden their horizon.

Samen Zijn has come up with a variety of Daan de Zwaan characters to: raise awareness about respecting our differences and embracing learning difficulties; establish a culture of spreading joy and energy through compliments; organize sport activities and fun events for students and staff; initiating the establishment of professional student organizations; encourage charity actions to support the campus, the city, the region, the country.

For Samen Zijn the process is equally important to the destination. If "Daan de Zwaan being the symbol of change, action and belongingness on our campus" is our Ithaka, we will enjoy a journey full of activities and new initiatives that will enable our campus to flourish even before we achieve our initial goals.

As you set out for Ithaka

hope your road is a long one,

full of adventure, full of discovery.

[...]

Keep Ithaka always in your mind.

Arriving there is what you're destined for.

But don't hurry the journey at all.

Better if it lasts for years,

so you're old by the time you reach the island,

wealthy with all you've gained on the way,

not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.

Ithaka by C. P. CAVAFY