On October 9 2025, a delegation from the Department of Sciences and Life Technologies welcomed Mr. Pierre Vieyres, Director, and Mr. Olivier Pennetier, Deputy Director of the University Institute of Technology (IUT) of Bourges, part of the University of Orléans, to the HELHa campus in Mons.
This visit was part of an ongoing effort to strengthen international cooperation and provided an opportunity to:
- Exchange ideas about collaborative projects in teaching and research
- Visit several campus laboratories
- Present the Department’s activities and those of the CeREF Technique (HELHa Research Center)
This initiative followed an initial meeting between Nicolas Velings, Director of the Department of Sciences and Life Technologies, and Pierre Vieyres during the EURASHE Congress in Portugal last spring.
HELHa and the IUT of Bourges share a common goal: to strengthen their international outlook.
Several collaboration opportunities were discussed, including:
1. Student exchanges in various fields such as Construction, Electronics, Home Automation, and Technical Building Management, with possibilities for internships, semester courses, or Blended Intensive Programmes (BIPs).
The Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) is an innovative Erasmus+ mobility combining:
- A short on-site mobility (usually five days) hosted by a partner institution
- Collaborative virtual activities before or after the mobility, encouraging interdisciplinarity and the use of digital tools
2. Research collaboration related to the CeREF Technique’s electronics and electromechanics cluster.
“We are exploring collaboration around our PERMABOT project, which is closely related to their DesherbRob project. More broadly, their expertise in robotics could open doors for joint initiatives. A visit to their facilities in Orléans and Bourges could take place in November or December” explained Jean-Baptiste Coulaud, researcher at CeREF and lecturer at HELHa.
3. Exchange of teaching practices, including the sharing of experiences on Open Badges, a digital certification system used to recognize and highlight skills or commitments often developed outside traditional academic pathways.
About the IUT of Bourges
As part of the University of Orléans, the IUT of Bourges offers six Bachelor-level programmes, including:
- Building and Public Works
- Land Use and Planning
- Science and Industry
Each year, the IUT welcomes around 1,000 students, of whom 30% are apprentices.
What’s next?
The HELHa delegation — composed of Nicolas Velings, Barbara Lefèvre, Hélène Deleu, Jean-Baptiste Coulaud, Stéphanie Eggermont, Maxim Dumortier, and Vesna Jerkovic — plans a reciprocal visit to Bourges during the second semester.
“I truly appreciated this meeting with the management team of the IUT of Bourges, located south of Orléans. It was fascinating to discover another higher education system with many similarities to ours. The IUT, part of the University of Orléans (over 18,000 students), is a dynamic institution focused on practical and innovative projects. The discussions were extremely fruitful, and the idea of future collaborations between students and teachers was met with great enthusiasm” said Barbara Lefèvre, Director of Teaching at HELHa.
Follow all our international projects:
University College of Louvain en Hainaut – International – HELHa
Published on 24 October 2025