French+Sciences 2024: Four students share their adventure
Campus France introduced the French+Sciences Programmes a few years ago, and we have witnessed great success. For the summer of 2024, four Hong Kong students received the scholarship, covering the cost of the programme, round-trip flight tickets, accomodation, as well as living allowance, health insurance and many more. Check out their testimonials, be inspired and ignite your science and French potentials!
What is the French+Sciences Programmes Scholarship?
The French+Sciences Programmes Scholarship is designed for international, English-speaking university students in Sciences, with the following objectives in mind. First, it allows students to explore France's cutting edge scientific and technical sectors, bringing together students, innovators, entrepreneurs, scientists and researchers. The scholarship also intends to let students acquire or improve their communication skills in French. Through the programmes, students would be given the chance to discover five beautiful cities of France - Rouen, Brest, Montpellier, Besançon and Chambéry.
- Montpellier, a city with a long and proud tradition of science and higher education.
- Brest, where Britanny's maritime heritage combines with research excellence in science, information and digital technology.
- The programme in Besançon focuses on micro and nanotechnology for industrial applications
- Rouen, where the city is recognised throughout Europe as a world-class pionner in pharmaceuticals, transportation, energy and digital applications.
- Chambéry, the perfect place for learning mountain ecosystems, protection and development.
'A transformative chapter in my life'
Wilson, who is currently pursuing his Bachelor in Civil Engineering and Business Administration at HKUST, was fully sponsored for his three-week immersive programme in Montpellier. "France has allowed me to expand my horizons and gain invaluable insights that will undoubtedly shape my future endeavours in sustainable development and climate resilience," he holds.
He says that the most impactful moments came when he saw the experimental farm's innovative initiatives to combat climate change and a local housing community in Montpellier that used pionnering sustainable building material projects. With these enriching encounters, he would continue collaborating with his peers to tackle the pressing sustainablity challenges that his generation is facing.
"This three-week immersive programme at Accent Français has been a transformative chapter in my journey, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of it," Wilson says.
'A rare opprtunity to study mountain science'
Abbie Lee, who is currently doing Biomedical Engineering and minoring in Neuroscience at the City University of Hong Kong, decided to go to Chambéry for three weeks in which she was introduced to a wide range of topics - including the environment, rural development planning, and issues related to mountain management. Abbie's programme is a fruitful collaboration between Campus France and the prestigious Université Savoie Mont-Blanc (USMB), which stands as a university that boasts 18 state-of the-art research laboratories.
'Over the past three weeks in France, I have found the experience to be truly fulfilling and enjoyable. From the hike to the Croix du Nivolet to the visit to the Lyon-Turin Construction Project Site, the activities proposed by the French+Sciences Programmes Scholarship have steadily escalated in excitement nd enrichment,' acknowledges Abbie.
In the first week of the programme, Abbie and her international peers visited the Lac de la Gittaz and Roseland, two artificial dams in the French Savoie region. These are two of the dams that make up the La Bâthie Hydraulic Energy Centre, generating renewable energy to fulfill the energy consumed by the surrounding areas. During their free time, they went to Lyon for a glimpse of the big city in France. During the second week in Chambéry, our scholarship recipient Abbie went to the EDYTEM laboratory, where PHD students and postdoctorate researchers presented their work in the field of Paleoecology, looking at the history of environment and vegetation of the past, and Numerical modelling of ancient tsunamis, seeking to improve tsunami hazard assessements through quantitative understanding of sedimentology. 'The PHD students also presented to us the topic of hydroclimate and lake sediments, where they collected lake sediments to make reconstructions of historical changes,' said Abbie.
The programme also allowed her to do a site visit to the Lyon-Turin construction project site, a bilateral cooperation between France and Italy to improve passenger and freight transport connectivity so that people can travel from France and Italy within two hours.
'The total length of the rail line is planned to be around 270 km, and it is the longest railway tunnels in the world. The project encountered significant engineering challenge due to the mountainous alpine terrain. Thanks to the French+Sciences Programmes Scholarship, I was able to appreciate the engineering and scientific aspects of international cooperation.'
