“SPUNI is a transversal activity because so is politics”

07/06/2016

The aim of the University Parliament Week (SPUNI) is to let students discover the political workings, the structure and the functions of this institution and also the job of the people who are representatives in the Parliament. This course is designed and developed within the framework of the cooperation between the Catalan university system and the Catalan Parliament.

Rita Gimenez, Political Science student at the UAB participated in SPUNI two years ago. She said it is very helpful to discover how the Parliament and political life works from within, and it is also an opportunity to meet people from other faculties. In this activity you can practice different sets of skills, according to the role you have to play and the political party that you have to represent in the simulation. This year, students can play the role of parliamentary representative, journalist, language advisor and legal advisor. Rita was an ICV representative and, as they were only few people, they needed to divide all the work among less people than in other parties.

You can practice many skills during SPUNI. You have the chance to negotiate positions on different topics and discuss who is in charge of the different departments. It addition it allows you to learn the regulations (there are training sessions before the simulation) and also how to be in a commission and debate about a specific topic. Obviously, you can also improve your speaking in public skills. This activity offers a formal aspect and an approach to institutions which the university does not provide. That’s how you can put theory and practice together.

However, SPUNI is not an activity restricted to law or political science students. It is transversal, because, as Rita says, so is politics. If there are politicians who are chemists or physicists, then it’s also an opportunity to prove that politics is not only for politicians or lawyers. It is an opportunity to immerse yourself into the daily life of Catalan politics.

In addition to this experience in the Parliament, with the University Parliament Week you can recognize 2 ECTS credits. You can find all information about the call and registration here.