International

 

International outreach by affirming identity

• Acting for increased student and staff mobility
• Pursuing internationalisation of the training range
• Developing strategic international partnerships

The University continues to strengthen international outreach and to contribute to building a European higher education and research zone, while strengthening its territorial and regional roots. In a concerted approach with all the University's components, the University's action is part of a global vision of international exchange and transmission of knowledge, reflecting its specificity as a LLASHS university

While the University welcomes many international students, making it one of the country’s first in this area, one of its priority objectives is to increase outgoing mobility, giving student’s the opportunity to enrich their university life through academic and cultural experience abroad, a major asset for their professional future in today’s increasingly globalised society. Budgetary constraints, however, in a University with many scholarship holders, are a barrier to mobility, the negative effects of which must be offset by optimal use of European funding mechanisms and by a concerted inter-university cooperation policy with local authorities, in particular the Regional Council.

Encouraging incoming student mobility based on excellence is another aspect of our international strategy, aimed at strengthening visibility in such areas of excellence supported by the LLASHS university; in addition to the opportunities offered by exchange and cooperation programmes (Erasmus, Erasmus Mundus today, and Erasmus+ tomorrow) and the various university networks to which PVU belongs. Use of innovative funding solutions is also currently being studied. Finally, Paul Valery University wishes to increase academic and administrative staff mobility, as it is the driving force behind lasting cooperation, promoting mutual enrichment through respective practices, encouraging the emergence of ambitious projects, and even convergence between higher education institutions in terms of training, organisation or governance.

 Internationalisation of the training offer will be pursued through the introduction of double diploma courses and new off-site training solutions in various regions of the world. Ongoing projects (initiated, for example, by the Departments of Applied Foreign Languages, Archaeology, Literature, AES, etc.) should quickly lead to new opportunities for students and structural cooperation with privileged partners. Thesis co-supervisors are another component of the University’s international development plan, as our two PhD institutes are strongly committed to a process of training internationalisation. In addition, the development of distance education PhDs, which PVU was the first French university to implement, will be key to promoting innovative training, at both pedagogical and technological levels. The system, accessible to foreign students, will make it possible to meet the growing lifelong learning needs of European and international citizens with professional backgrounds which are both flexible and diverse.

In terms of research, Paul Valery University will continue to support its teams in developing international cooperation initiatives to accelerate the momentum generated by the growing number of European projects submitted in recent years, including the awarding ERC grants.

In a constantly changing international environment where the possibilities are infinite, the development of strategic international partnerships is vital. PVU policy for the coming years is centred on identification of international development projects to further promote University know-how and specificity. Priority will go to structured international projects, particularly those that integrate various aspects of partnership: student and teacher mobility, research projects, participation in regional multilateral networks and programmes. The synergies thus created could then foster a multiplier effect and perpetuate international outreach.

PVU aims to occupy the international academic scene in the specific field of LLASHS, with human and social sciences playing an increasingly recognised role in the search for solutions to the major societal challenges of our time.