“An Erasmus exchange is a unique experience”
What studies are you doing?
“I have always liked languages and in particular the French language, which I find really beautiful. I started when I was 12, in the first year of college, and loved her instantly. In higher education, after a year in another field, I reoriented myself towards a license in “French language and culture”. It is a program that focuses on the language, linguistics, history, literature and culture of your country and French-speaking countries. “
Why did you want to take advantage of the Erasmus program to spend a year in France?
“For my training, an Erasmus exchange is very important because it allows you to have a unique experience in the country and to improve our skills, in particular oral French. I would also like to discover in detail the history and culture of France and make friends here. I should have come in September 2020, in L3, but because of the pandemic, the program was postponed for a year. To take advantage of this opportunity and take tailor-made courses in letters and humanities from L2 and L3 at Avignon University, I did not hesitate to postpone my master’s degree in European literature, at the start of the 2022 school year. “
And why Avignon?
“I wanted to live in a small town and study at a ‘small’ university to feel less anonymous. So far, I really like Avignon. The cultural offer is quite dense with cinemas, theaters and every weekend, I take my car to go out with friends and discover the surroundings. I meet famous faces in the streets and in the halls of the university. I try to make the most of this experience. “
What do you think of this Erasmus program for students?
“This program allows all the students to live intercultural experiences, to discover French culture but also that of other German and Italian students… who like me benefit from this program and whom I was able to meet during the first week. was dedicated. To communicate, we speak French, English, German. It’s very enriching and it brings great values. The program is well organized and we have an Erasmus scholarship to help us financially to pay for the academic year in our home country which is in addition to the rent, insurance, travel and daily expenses. “
How were you received? Is it very different from the Dutch system?
“I had a very good reception, even if it is very different compared to the Netherlands. In Nijmegen, we are only 9 in my formation while here, we are 40! With me, everything is very structured. Here it is sometimes less clear, but it is also part of the cultural and bureaucratic differences to be discovered and all the people I have met want to help me. “
Were you already held in France?
“Yes, but only on vacation with my family. With my companion, we stayed in Ardèche and visited Avignon in the summer of 2020 because I was thinking of returning to school there… This is the first time that I have been abroad on my own for so long. But it’s not as hard as I imagined. I feel comfortable in the city and at the university. I met some friends and I have a lot of fun. “
71 Erasmus students at Avignon University
Of the 7,500 students at Avignon University, 71 young foreigners are there thanks to the Erasmus program for this first semester. They come from Spain, Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Italy, Norway, Greece, Ireland (they were between 70 and 120 per semester depending on the years before the pandemic). Some stay year round. Others are only there for a semester (September to January or February to June).
During their stay, students can choose the subjects they wish from several diplomas, to compose a study contract up to 30 ECTS credits. The student association RISE contributes strongly to their integration by offering many activities and outings with local students, and the Maison de l’International offers sponsorship action by university students.
“They strongly contribute to the internationalization of the university and to student diversity”
“For young people, Erasmus is an extraordinary opportunity to immerse themselves in a national and local culture and in a pedagogical approach specific to each country. It is an added value for them and for the universities that host them, because they strongly contribute to the internationalization of Avignon University and to student diversity. Their presence offers an undeniable richness and cultural diversity. Their economic impact on the territory must also be taken into account, because they go out a lot and are friends of culture and leisure (excursions and visits in the region) ”, underlines Françoise Arfelli, director of the Maison de l’International d’Avignon. University, which has just obtained, for the second consecutive year, the “Good Erasmus Management Practices” label, and continues to develop partnership agreements with new destinations to diversify the range of countries offered to students.
M.-FA
It’s happening in the Vaucluse …
In Avignon, Thursday, October 14, the team from the Maison de l’International d’Avignon University is offering to meet in the cloister, north building, Hannah-Arendt campus. From 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., the international relations team will be present to inform students about the possibilities of student and staff mobility within the framework of the Erasmus + program. On this day, the CROUS offers a European menu. At 9:30 a.m .: presentation of eco-extraction of essential oils by Anne-Sylvie Fabiano-Tixier, chemistry researcher and vice-president for international relations, as part of a Franco-Italian collaboration of the team of research Vert-UMR408 INRA-UAPV. At 10 am: activities and exhibition of student testimonials on international mobility. At 11 am: presentation on water resources around the Mediterranean by Hadrien di Constanzo, doctoral student from Avignon University.
➤ Thursday 14, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the local Mission for Youth in Grand Avignon offers conferences, testimonials, round tables, film screenings and events, to discover all the possibilities of going to Europe.
➤ Thursday 14 and Friday 15, the Mediterranean Institute for Training and Research in Social Work (IMF) is mobilizing to promote its international activities.
➤ In Carpentras, Thursday 14, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., at Campus Provence Ventoux, a staff will be held to present the possible mobilities, and on Wednesday 20, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., the local Comtat Venaissin international mobility ”(workshops, information stands, testimonials, etc.), at the Inguimbertine (Hôtel-Dieu).
➤ In the Lucie-Aubrac high schools in Bollène, Théodore Aubanel and Louis-Pasteur in Avignon, the pupils will experience these days at the time of Europe in exchanges, debates, activities … In Orange, at the Arc high school, BTS MCO classes collected clothes in partnership with the Relais company from September 22 to October 6, 2021, which were resold, exported or recycled, in order to raise funds to fight against exclusion. The results of the project will be presented this Thursday, October 14, during a European brunch.
#ErasmusDays 2021: Europe in the territories
After a slowdown linked to the health crisis and the closing of borders, the 2021-2022 school year is marked by a rebound in Erasmus + mobility. Thursday 14, Friday 15 and Saturday 16 October, the 5th edition of #ErasmusDays shows the resumption of exchanges between partner establishments. Year of transition and launch of the Erasmus + program 2021-2027, with the 35th anniversary of Erasmus + and the French presidency of the European Union in sight (2022), the #ErasmusDays will particularly value the four priorities of the new program : social inclusion (300 events), sustainable development (160 events), digital (105) and active participation in culture and citizenship (322).
Almost 5,000 events are organized in 60 countries. In France, more than 1,000 events are offered by a variety of players: 200 universities, schools and institutes of higher education, 12 alliances of European universities, 330 high schools (Bac pro, agricultural professions, BTS, etc.), 160 colleges , primary schools and rectorates of academies, 130 Local Missions and Pôle Emploi branches, 100 CFA, Family and Rural Houses, EPLEFPA…, 35 Youth Information Centers and Houses of Europe, 15 local authorities.
Erasmus + is the European Union’s program for education, training, youth and sport. These are opportunities for mobility and partnerships for those involved in school education, vocational training, higher education, adult education, youth and sport. Since its creation in 1987, more than 12 million people have benefited from it. The program allows you to travel to 33 countries in Europe and 168 partner countries. In 2020, Agence Erasmus France funded 107,508 Erasmus + mobilities for different audiences.
In five years, the organizations carrying Erasmus + projects have made #ErasmusDays a meeting place to promote their European projects and bring together their audiences: students, teachers, parents, associations, local elected officials, MEPs, journalists, etc.
Map of events on the site: erasmusdays.eu.