From 2 to 5 June, the University of Caen Normandy hosted several events dedicated its international strategy for education and research. Here are the highlights of a week dedicated to international attractivity.

A new building dedicated to nuclear physics

On Monday 2 June, 2025, the University of Caen Normandy announced a new project of a building dedicated to training and research in nuclear physics. With a €49 million euros financing by the Caen la Mer conurbation, the Calvados department, the Normandy region and the European Union, this project has a shared ambition: to make Normandy a leader in nuclear industry. The aim is twofold: to meet the growing need for skills and to strengthen the region’s educational, technological and scientific excellence in an industry of strategic importance for the socio-economic future of the region and the French nuclear industry.

The announcement was also an opportunity to look back at a number of European-scale projects in which the University of Caen Normandy takes part:

• Skills4Nuclear, a European network aiming to strengthen nuclear skills at the continent level. The University of Caen Normandie is the only French university of this network.
• Nuclear Meets Region, a new programme of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and inspired by the success of the University of Caen Normandy’s ecosystem in nuclear physics.

To find out more about what makes the nuclear physics offer at the University of Caen Normandy so unique, visit our website dedicated to the energy industry (website in French).

A shared moment on welcoming policies for the student and scientific community

At the same time, the University of Caen Normandy hosted two meetings dedicated to the welcoming of international comers: the National Euraxess France days (from 2 to 4 June 2025) and the Seminar of Reception of Campus France (4 and 5 June 2025). These events provided an opportunity to discuss practices, strategies and challenges involved in welcoming international students into higher education institutions.

Laurence Trotin, Deputy Director General of Services at the University of Caen Normandy, and Claire Guay, Administrative Manager of the Carré international, took part in a round table discussion with Agathe Kervella, Coordinator of the EURAXESS France network, and Karine Mouchelin, Director of Student Welcome and Life at Campus France. Mental health, inclusion, support for students and researchers in exile, links between research and training: all these issues call for closer cooperation between higher education, research and local authorities. This unprecedented sequence marks an important step towards an integrated approach to welcoming international visitors!

At the University of Caen Normandie, this policy is supported on a daily basis by the Carré international and all the staff involved. Each of them work hard every day to make Caen a welcoming study destination open to the world. Thanks to them, more than 3,500 international students choose the University of Caen Normandy to pursue their studies. In March 2024, the University of Caen Normandie was awarded the third star of the ‘Welcome to France’ label by Campus France, in recognition of its ambitious welcome strategy and innovative measures to promote excellence and inclusion.