What is the Outdoor Initiative and what role have you played in it?

The Outdoors Initiative is a public interest association that supports students' well-being and encourages the accessibility of sports and mountains as well as the discovery of Geneva's surroundings. The Outdoors Initiative was created in February 2022 and, as of today, has more than 500 students interested, has organised activities for a total of more than 300 students and will continue to support the student community. We are promoting what is important to us: taking a breath of fresh air!

I joined the Outdoors Initiative in September 2022 because going outside, exploring the backcountry and meeting like-minded people is so important for me! Board members have a large range of interests and everyone has different activities they enjoy doing which also means that we can offer many different outdoorsy activities to the student community, whether it is sailing, swimming, hiking, skiing, running, cycling, bouldering, etc. There’s something for everyone, and that is so important for us!

On my side, I love sailing, hiking and skiing, so I shared plans to organise a skiing weekend with the team and everyone was very helpful in helping with the organisation. The weekend turned out to be amazing, and we thus decided to make it a yearly thing, with our 2024 skiing weekend gathering 50 students from the community.

The Outdoors Initiative does not have a strong hierarchical structure, but with many second year students about to leave last Spring, we needed a new president for the association. Lara and myself offered to be co-president, and we had so much fun in the past few months working together with the team! As we will soon be graduating, we hope to find new board members and to pass on the presidency in the next few weeks. Everyone is welcome to join!

What are some examples of activities organised by the Outdoor Initiative?

The last weekend in February, we organised a skiing trip with 50 students to the Portes du Soleil. Last semester, we had very committed running and swimming groups, who would meet up a few times during the week to either go for a run with Ben and Jane, or for a swim with Lara. We also had a sailing day organised mid-September with a welcome apéro by the lake at the end of the day, open to everyone. Additionally, we organised a hike to La Dôle at the beginning of the semester, an ice-skating evening, trekking workshop, futsal and football tournament, support team to the marathon runners, movie nights, skiing days, and much more! We are looking forward to organising new events this semester, especially our first cross-country skiing days if the snow allows!

Did the proximity to the mountains influence your decision to study in Geneva or have they been an unexpected bonus? 

I was already living in Geneva when I started the masters program, and having the mountains and lake definitely improves my quality of life. Going for a run alongside the lake with a beautiful sunset on the Jura, or being able to go skiing to Verbier for one day, or taking the tram to go hike in the Jura is something special, and we are lucky to have it! Staying in Geneva after the end of the masters is something I consider — it is hard to give up on such a quality of life once you have tasted it!