Left to right: Joffrey Clément, President of the AÉCSP; Lucas Guilhen, Communications Coordinator; Dany Naser Addin, Internal Coordinator and Event Organizer, who set up the Discord server.

Since teaching activities resumed online on March 30, students enrolled in master's programs, specialized graduate certificate (DESS) programs, graduate microprograms and doctoral programs at Polytechnique have been confined to their homes, as are undergraduate students and all Polytechnique staff.

However, as Joffrey Clément, President of the Association des étudiants des cycles supérieurs de Polytechnique (Polytechnique graduate students association, AÉCSP) explains, graduate students are finding it harder to cope socially since they are no longer on campus.

“Because of the COVID-19 situation, many people are isolated and alone in their homes, and these people are also less active on social media. This restricts their social interactions,” Mr. Clément explains. “So we at the AÉCSP were looking for a way to break down the isolation that would be accessible to everyone.”

The “way” that has been found is a Discord community server, a solution that is well known to videogamers. Through a digital distribution platform and a client software for computer or mobile device, or even a web interface, a Discord server allows people to communicate—one to many or many to many—through text, voice or video, but also to hold videoconferences or play online games via channels.

Flexible solution

Launched on March 30, the server was visited by around 100 people within barely 24 hours. 

Right away, student association members got busy developing various functions. For example, a chatbot would be used to welcome new users and to explain the possibilities offered by the server.

“This is a very flexible solution: you can play board games, do karaoke sessions, add to a music playlist, offer cooking classes, and more. Our association’s Events Committee is now developing a wide array of activities for our members,” Mr. Clément says.

The AÉCSP’s Discord server will also facilitate information sessions, workshops and conferences with question periods. Such activities will focus on, among others, teleworking or immigration procedures.

“While people may be frightened or anxious because of the current situation, we have called upon Polytechnique’s Service aux étudiants (student services, SEP) and Direction des études supérieures (graduate studies directorate) to prepare activities and content for students,” he adds.

“In this way, we will be responding to a need that was expressed in a survey conducted by Delphine Périé-Curnier, Director of Graduate Studies, for ways to break down the isolation and communicate easily during this complex time.”

In fact, the AÉCSP has announced that a question-and-answer session will be held for its members on the Discord server on Monday, April 20, at 2 p.m. Representatives of the AÉCSP, the SEP, the Direction de la formation et de la recherche (academic and research directorate), the Direction des études supérieures and the Service des stages et emplois (internships and jobs services, SSE) will take part in the conference. Access to the server, which requires authentication, is restricted to members of the student association.

Helpful connections

The Discord server set up by the AÉCSP enables association members to maintain existing links, but also to establish new ones that would have been difficult to create on campus, due to the conditions associated with the pursuit of graduate studies. It is too early to say whether the solution will be maintained once the pandemic is over, but for the AÉCSP, the opportunities to connect that it provides for those who are distancing are extremely beneficial.

“We’d been looking for a while for an alternative to the social networks and e-mails that we were using a lot,” notes Mr. Clément. “The solution offered by our server is simple, very accessible and meets current needs. After the crisis, we will consider our next steps.”

Congratulations to the AÉCSP fort this innovative initiative!

Find out more

Website of the AÉCSP