Felix Imhof © UNIL
Rendition of the support letter provided by Professor Dominique Bourg
University of Lausanne
That the university, within the framework of its policy of sustainable development, integrates this exchange platform, that it, thus, puts at the disposal of students and employees an innovative tool to valuate services, goods, and skills, seem to me to be two excellent aims.
Following the various steps undertaken by easyswap, the UNIL has warmly adopted the idea of entrusting this association with the design and the management of a tool for the provision of services, able to meet the following needs — to fluidify the material and immaterial exchanges between students and/or employees within the campus, while reinforcing the spirit of cohesion and membership.
As the leader of the research Fondements et mise en œuvre de la durabilité (foundation and implementation of sustainability) division within the Institute of Land Use Policies and Human Environment (IPTEH) of the UNIL, I appreciate particularly the opportunity that this tool offers to encourage a responsible behavior with regard to consumption. Indeed, easyswap offers an adapted and functional solution to develop the valuation of the use of our goods, i.e., to have them better circulate within the population and, thus, to give all those who cannot or do not wish to buy a good the opportunity, nevertheless, to use and enjoy the functionalities of an item, and this not only according to their desires but according to their real needs.
Furthermore, this manner of exchanging can promote the relations between the various bodies within the UNIL and also play a role in reinforcing the role of students within society as responsible behavioral motors in matters of consumption. Finally, easyswap can become a basis without any real precedent for introducing a consideration of the potential implications of a complementary and free currency on a broader scale.
I believe that at this instant the easyswap association is in search of new support in order to bring this project to succeed and, thus, to permit its users to benefit from its services in an optimal manner. I would like to assure you of my support, as well as of the seriousness and the importance of this initiative.
Lausanne, the 2nd of November 2010
Dominique Bourg
Your university has no exchange network? easyswap will create and manage one for you!
The easyswap association enables universities to set up effective exchange networks within the campus, by means of uniswap — a website specially designed to meet the requirements of each particular university.
As in the case of the unil.uniswap website, specifically developed for the University of Lausanne, the easyswap association is at your disposal to study your needs, integrate your visual identity, re-examine the categories and type of users to be provided for and, thus, to create with you a completely functional exchange website, adapted to the particular needs of your university.
In such a case, the product is entirely developed by the easyswap association and delivered to the partner ready for use. The source code (Swap’n’Roll, under GNU AGPL V3) is also delivered to the partner. Services in relation to the modeling of the website (youruniversity.uniswap), to the implementation, the management, and the website moderation, that such an offer to the students and employees of your university includes, will be invoiced by easyswap. Both the information given within the campus and the media exposure of the partnership will be either invoiced by easyswap, if those charges fall to easyswap, or organized and internalized by the concerned university.
We remain at your disposable for further questions or more ample information. To do so, please contact us: info[at]easyswap.org.
Impacts of uniswap in your university
- uniswap, through the valuation of seldom used goods, encourages the function-oriented business (PSS) destined for private persons, which aims toward a sustainable production of long lasting goods.
- uniswap promotes the exchanges of goods and services between students and university employees and, therefore, positions itself as a network able to create social links and to transcend social cleavages.
- uniswap optimizes the knowledge and skills of each and every participant by addressing the user directly and, thus, encourages the individual empowerment of all the users of this innovative service.
What are easyswap’s commitments?
- To develop a website called youruniversity.uniswap exclusively destined to the use of the students and employees of your university.
- To adapt the design of youruniversity.uniswap according to the visual identity of your official website.
- To meet the specific needs of our partners
- youruniversity.uniswap responds chiefly to the institutional requirements of your specific campus but also takes in consideration the role model of universities that have already adopted such an exchange system.
- The categories will be completely re-examined and adapted to suit the needs of your university and your institutional policy.
- The easyswap association offers its partners efficient statistics and control tools to endow a constant monitoring of the performance of the provided service.
- To host youruniversity.uniswap on a server managed by easyswap.
- To ensure the entirety of the provided service, the latter including
- the complete management of youruniversity.uniswap (network administration, management of the users, moderation of the exchanges, and of the global flow in general, on youruniversity.uniswap);
- the supervision of the management and the complete evaluation of the provided service; the latter including the regular provision to the partner of the deliverable statistics within a determined time span.
- the computer maintenance and optimization;
- the verification of the adequacy of the service provided to the students and employees of the university in question, and, if necessary, in partnership with the authorities of the university concerned, an adjustment of the service in order better to reach the objectives commonly defined.
A free website propelled by swap’n’roll - To optimize the network maintenance process to reduce the costs of informatics maintenance that fall to the partner.
- To undergo a complete evaluation of the service youruniversity.uniswap after six months of functioning and to devise with the concerned partner the necessary means to improve the continuity and the functionalities of both the product and the service defined by the partnership.
- To mention this partnership on easyswap and actively participate in the communication of the partnership within the campus in question to inform and raise the awareness of the students and employees regarding this new service that is offered to them by their university.