An interview with the Queen to discuss how students feel during this difficult time

Coline Geury, a student at HEC-Liège and actively involved in the ULiège Green Office, has been selected - on the basis of work she did as part of her Master's degree in Management Sciences - to take part in a videoconference with HRH Queen Mathilde. A moment that the young girl described as very relaxed and during which the Queen was able to exchange on her involvement in issues related to sustainable development - especially with regard to mental health and education - and questioned the students on how they felt during this difficult period.

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he meeting was to take place in May of this year, students from universities in the south of the country had been selected on the basis of the work they had done on the issue of sustainable development, for a meeting with HRH Queen Mathilde. Coline Geury, student in Management Sciences at HEC-Liège, was among the selected students. It is thanks to Mrs Cécile Delcourt who suggested my name," explained the young student. My group had won the "Nudge Challenge", a competition for students on the theme of climate-related challenges, organised as part of her Consumer Behaviour course, and also because I was doing my internship at the ULiège Green Office". The aim of the competition won by Coline's team was to create a nudge - a "helping hand" - linked to one of the 17 Sustainable Development Objectives, an issue supported by HRH Queen Mathilde. A meeting that had to be postponed due to the health situation.

Of the many students who were expected to take part in this meeting, eight (4 French-speaking and 4 Dutch-speaking) were contacted by the Palace in order to take part in a videoconference interview with the Queen. This meeting was intended to address issues relating to two DOs in particular, the fields of mental health and education, areas in which the Queen is very active. The conversation quickly turned in favour of the students' feelings during this difficult time of the pandemic. She asked us what our messages would be for the DOs in which she is active," says Coline, "but more importantly, we talked about the difficulties we might each face in our courses, exams and social contacts during the pandemic period. An encounter that the girl described as very relaxed and natural.