Interview with Vice Dean for Student Affairs Juan PUJOL

What made you want to take on the role of Vice Dean for Student Affairs?

The role of Vice-Dean is primarily an additional commitment that complements my role as President of ADEMMOOS. As President of our faculty's only student representative association, I occupy a central position, thanks to my colleagues on the board and elected representatives, at the crossroads of all the year groups and all the medical and paramedical courses offered by the faculty. So, first of all, there is this desire, which is personal to me, to build on the work of my colleagues by facilitating better communication between the various players in what I call "the student representation chain." I often say, as I did this year to the classes I visited during their back-to-school lecture: "It all starts with you!"; "Each and every one of you is an active participant in your education." or "Our university cannot function without you, just as you cannot grow without it." I therefore felt the need to ensure continuity, both in the present, with the work I have outlined to you, and as an extension of the past, to ensure stability, which is fundamental to an institution. It was this institutional aspect of the role of Vice Dean that immediately appealed to me. 

At around the same time, I felt a desire to innovate, within reason, and to contribute to the 806-year history of the Montpellier-Nîmes Faculty of Medicine. In fact, I am the first student Vice-Dean from the midwifery program at our faculty. This is a first in Montpellier, if not on a larger scale. This brings me to my second source of motivation: interprofessionality.

Many students and professionals view the multiplicity and diversity of professionals as an administrative or functional constraint. I only partially agree with this view, because for me, the richness that comes from multidisciplinarity far outweighs any other difficulties. In other words, and in general terms, I want to transform constraints into opportunities to give students a faculty and educational offering that reflects their needs and responds to the challenges they face and will face in the future. 

How will you balance your duties as Vice Dean with your obligations as a student and your other positions?

A few seconds ago, we were talking about constraints. Mine are not inherent to my job, but simply to the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day! 

More seriously, I firmly believe that the key to personal success lies partly with others. In other words, we will achieve great things together during this 2025-2026 term thanks to major teamwork and coordination. Personal organization is obviously fundamental, but I am also thinking about others, their abilities, and their commitments. It will therefore be a question of distributing the workload among the various elements of the student representation chain that I mentioned earlier. This brings us back to the idea of collective wealth, which allows for better representation of the actions carried out at the UFR level. 

This question is particularly relevant in the context of my studies as a midwifery student. In addition to my classes, I have numerous clinical placements in my third year. My approach is therefore to set priorities: my academic success on the one hand, my institutional responsibilities as Vice Dean and President on the other, and my role as a young student. I am not going to prioritize one of these three objectives over the others, but rather balance them all, as I am well aware that they are interconnected. As I often say to my friends who ask me this question, and whom I thank immensely for their vigilance and "serene concern" about the life I am embarking on this year: "The simple fact of living my life is already a considerable fulfillment, growing year after year. So there's no question of worrying, but rather of keeping my head high and moving forward." Finally, yes, my family and friends are the source of much of my daily happiness. I consider myself deeply privileged to be part of this environment, which I find more than conducive to student engagement, personal development, and fulfillment.

What are your goals and priorities for this term?

The year 2025-2026 is a pivotal year in several respects. First, from an educational standpoint, internships will be one of my priorities, whether they take place at Montpellier University Hospital or at various external internship sites. The well-being of students and the quality of the clinical training they receive is a top priority, as medicine is best learned at the patient's bedside. The R2C is also a matter of concern, both in terms of the local application of the reform and the logistics of conducting the exams. On the two previous points, in-depth work will be necessary, as will local adaptation to regulatory requirements. 

At the Montpellier campus, we have been experiencing a building crisis for several years. Remedial measures are currently being developed and will ultimately provide students with better access to buildings, both on the Arnaud de Villeneuve Health Campus and within the Historic Building. 

At the Nîmes branch, I want to maintain this spirit of inter-site cooperation and promote equality between sites to ensure optimal training across the entire faculty. With the help of various associations and institutions, I will establish a more attentive ear to the voice of Nîmes and respond, as far as possible, to the needs of this branch. 

For the UFR as a whole, I have three important objectives. The first is student well-being and the fight against sexual violence. Well-being is a prerequisite for quality education. It is therefore essential to promote it and take preventive action for all students, across all years. The second is to bring the university and its students closer together. As I said earlier, a faculty without students can do nothing, and vice versa. This brings us to the last objective: student representation. Representing the 14,000 students of the UFR is no easy task, but it is greatly facilitated by close cooperation with all those involved in student representation, particularly student representatives. In 2026, a new group of student representatives will be elected to represent each student in the faculty's decision-making bodies. My goal is to coordinate and support these actors, highlight their work and, by extension, the voice of each and every student in our faculty. 

Can you explain how you plan to promote student mental health within our faculty, as well as the specific measures you intend to implement as an association to support students facing challenges related to their psychological well-being during their university studies?

Promoting students' mental health is one of my priorities. Here too, it requires a collective effort combined with ongoing, fundamental work. 

From an associative perspective, I will implement measures to enhance mental health training for students through Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training, Sentinelle training, etc. The expansion and dissemination of the Gélules software is also a preferred method of recourse via the reporting of adverse events. It is always easier to share a burden than to carry it alone, and that is my mission: to always be open, available, and accessible to students. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, student mental health is a collective effort. As part of my duties as vice dean, I will strive to be a source of proposals for the administrative teams in order to create a harmonious balance between students and faculty in terms of mental health. 

A final word…

In conclusion, we still have many challenges ahead of us. However, this is where the value of student engagement lies. Being Vice Dean is not a trivial matter, and I have been reminded of this every day since the beginning of my term. Nevertheless, it is also a haven of opportunities, diversity, and encounters that shape a student's life and bear fruit. For all this, I am extremely grateful for the trust placed in me by the UFR and all the students, through their elected representatives, in carrying out this mandate. 

Alone we go faster, together we go further! Thank you!