Long Night Against Procrastination

From 7:00pm to midnight, come work with fellow students on your writing and research tasks. Stuck? Don't worry, get help from a writing coach, or speak to an information professional, who will get you started on finding literature. You can even book an appointment with a student psychologist that evening.

Since the ideal working environment differs for everyone, we offer three spaces to suit your needs:

• Social learning: in this space you can feel free to chat aloud with your neighbour or one of the coaches - this way, you can learn from each other
• Ambient music: soft background music plays here to support your thinking processes
• Deep silence: if you prefer to work in absolute silence, this space is for you. You can still chat online with one of the coaches

Between writing sessions, you can attend workshops where experts will offer tips to take your writing and research process to a higher level, or unwind with a yoga session. An overview of the options is listed at the bottom of this page! Note that most sessions will be taught in Dutch.

If you need a break, you can play board games, try darts, build LEGO sets, learn to juggle, colour, or stretch your limbs with some aerobics starting at 9.30pm. At midnight we will close the evening with a juggling act and a concert by the GUHO. Of course, no work can be done on an empty stomach, so we'll provide a sandwich, plenty of snacks and drinks to keep you going.

Registration is required due to limited space. During registration, you'll select a workspace. If you'd like to join a workshop or take part in aerobics, please indicate your preference on the registration form. No registration is needed for other Long Night activities (such as darts, board games, juggling initiation, etc.). Please register by February 20 at the latest

Register

Workshops from 7.30 to 8.00pm

Divide et impera: What Julius Caesar teaches us about planning larger writing assignments (Chris Bulcaen, Merel Lefevere & Klaar Vanopstal) [SESSION IN DUTCH]

Does your bachelor’s or master’s thesis feel like an insurmountable mountain of work? Have you read a lot, but the blank page still feels intimidating? This workshop will show you how to break down your tasks into manageable steps. Learn how to create a solid research question, formulate sub-questions, and develop a feasible schedule. More overview, less stress - ideal for procrastinators and planners alike.

Writing: Strategies to get started, and keep going (Sarah Haas)

Writers are constantly employing personal strategies to progress through the writing process. Participants will be introduced to an overview/framework of different categories of strategy, and invited to discuss their own tricks and tips they use to get started writing and to keep going. 

Smart literature search with AI (Willem Derde) [SESSION IN DUTCH]

Did you know that AI can not only help you to write texts, but also to search for scientific literature efficiently? In this workshop, you'll explore useful AI tools, such as Litmaps, Elicit and Semantic Scholar.

Get more out of databases (Rebecca Debeerst & Line Pattyn) [SESSION IN DUTCH]

Everyone knows JSTOR, but did you know there are many more databases that can help you with your thesis? Some offer full-text access, others direct you to crucial literature. Or aren't you better off simply searching in Google Scholar after all? In this session we will show, with a concrete case, how to search smarter and get the most out of databases.

Learn to relax with yoga (Polly Hazarika)

Would you like to be introduced to yoga? This is the perfect beginner session. Polly Hazarika has been practising yoga for 25 years, and will guide you to achieve mindfulness in both action and rest. Individual adjustments are possible, so both beginners and those with experience can participate. No need to bring your own mat—just wear comfortable clothes!

Workshops from 9.00 to 9.30pm

Structure of a scientific text (Liesbet Triest) [SESSION IN DUTCH]

Do you need to write a scientific paper, a research article or a bachelor’s or master’s thesis but can't see the wood for the trees? Fear not! Once you know the structure of such a scientific text, you will be well on your way.

First aid kit for a podcast assignment (John Gruwez) [SESSION IN DUTCH]

Increasingly, assignments are no longer about writing a traditional paper. Instead, lecturers may ask you to create a podcast to demonstrate your ability to reflect and communicate clearly. You may be given the conceptual framework in the course, but how do you start working on the concrete elaboration? How do you start the process, what obstacles might you encounter, and how do you ensure the final product meets expectations? This session will give you some useful pointers!

Da’k het morregen zal doen. Some advice to tackle procrastination (Chris Bulcaen) [SESSION IN DUTCH]

Procrastination involves distractions, low (or sometimes too much) self-confidence, fear of failure, and lack of motivation. This session will provide practical advice for managing these aspects of procrastination.

Efficient referencing with Zotero (Arne Dhondt) [SESSION IN DUTCH]

With Zotero, you can organise all your sources and easily add citations to your text. Zotero also helps you automatically create bibliographies for your research papers, bachelor’s or master’s thesis. In this demo, you will learn the basic functions of saving, organising and citing sources.

Learn to relax with yoga (Polly Hazarika)

Would you like to be introduced to yoga? This is the perfect beginner session. Polly Hazarika has been practising yoga for 25 years, and will guide you to achieve mindfulness in both action and rest. Individual adjustments are possible, so both beginners and those with experience can participate. No need to bring your own mat—just wear comfortable clothes!

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