Event

Thinking and travelling on foot: exploring memory and nature

The two authors will each read an excerpt from their book, then explain their choice to explore the themes of foot travel, nature and memory in their works. This reading will be followed by a discussion during which the audience and our students will be able to ask questions.This event aims to establish links between our research in "embodied cognition", cognitive narratology and travel literature, and our teaching activity. It will enable us to offer our students a bilingual activity while promoting the teaching and study of literature at UNamur and within the NaLTT Institute. We hope to invite interested researchers and their students via our respective networks. With this theme, we will also fit in with UNamur's ecological and pedagogical objectives.
See content
Event

Contemporary uses and relevance of Hegelian practical philosophy

Research seminar co-organized by Louis Carré and Sabina Tortorella as part of the activities of the Esphin Institute, the Department of Philosophy, and the Arcadie Center as well as the Marie Skłodowska-Curie SOCIAL project This seminar sets out to explore contemporary uses of Hegel's practical thought as well as to question its relevance and legacy. Themes central to recent philosophical debates, such as globalization, race, feminism and the Anthropocene, as well as contemporary challenges facing philosophical reflection - such as social justice and ecological transition, state sovereignty in the face of international markets and the emergence of supranational subjects, or the crisis of democracy in the face of the rise of populism and the return of war - may call for a mobilization of Hegelian thought. The aim of this seminar is not necessarily to propose a strictly historical-philosophical reading of Hegelian thought, but rather to seek to take Hegel beyond Hegel himself, by engaging in a reflection on problematics that find their first formulation in him, but that have developed far beyond his conceptual framework, or by questioning his concepts from perspectives that do not necessarily lay claim to Hegelianism. The aim of this approach is to bring Hegel's thought into dialogue with other philosophical traditions and currents of political philosophy, in order to question its ability to shed light on some of the major issues of our time. By questioning its topicality and limitations, this seminar aims to examine what practical Hegelian philosophy can still offer us today, and how it enables us to question our own problems from a renewed angle. While it is unlikely to provide ready-made solutions, it can perhaps help us to ask the right questions and think differently about the tensions of our time.Chiara Magni (Università degli Studi Roma Tre) will speak on the theme: "What rights for the accused and the convicted? Criminal prosecution and human dignity in the light of Hegel's practical philosophy"Link to attend the online seminar Contact: sabina.tortorella@unamur.beThis project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101150961.
See content
Article

With AI, it's all about putting the user in control

For Bruno Dumas, computer science fits in with the principles of applied psychology Artificial intelligence (AI) is interfering in our professional as well as our private lives. It both seduces and worries us. On a global scale, it is at the heart of major strategic, societal or economic issues, still being debated in mid-February 2025, at the AI World Summit in Paris. But how can we, as users, avoid being subjected to it? How can we gain access to the necessary transparency of its workings? By placing his research prism on the user's side, Bruno Dumas is something of a "computer psychologist". An expert in human-computer interaction, co-president of the NaDI Institute (Namur Digital Institute), he defends the idea of a reasoned and enlightened use of emerging technologies.
See content
Article

Towards a new generation of human-inspired linguistic models: a groundbreaking scientific study conducted by UNamur and VUB

Can a computer learn a language like a child? A recent study published in the leading journal Computational Linguistics by Professors Katrien Beuls (Université de Namur) and Paul Van Eecke (AI-lab, Vrije Universiteit Brussel) sheds new light on this question. The researchers argue for a fundamental revision of the way artificial intelligence acquires and processes language.
See content
Event

Public thesis defense - Movsun KUY

This thesis presents a novel approach to address the challenges of deploying and managing Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) in resource-constrained and multi-domain environments. The proposed solution leverages a Raspberry Pi clusterbased approach for NFV deployment in resource-constrained environments, combined with a deployable Sidecar VNF (S-VNF) coordinator for multi-domain NFV orchestration.The thesis demonstrates the feasibility of integrating NFV into edge computing environments by successfully deploying and managing Network Services (NSs) on a Raspberry Pi cluster. The S-VNF coordinator facilitates efficient cross-cloud NFV deployment and management while ensuring security and interoperability.While the obtained deployment and scaling delays in the testbed setup were significant due to the bare-metal deployment process used, the proposed solution remains valuable in environments where service maintenance time is a critical factor.By automating deployment and scaling, organizations can minimize the impact of service maintenance time, improve customer satisfaction, and enhance system resilience. Moreover, the solution enables NFV to be deployed effectively in edge environments, providing benefits such as reduced latency and improved network performance.Overall, this thesis contributes to the advancement of NFV by providing innovative solutions for deployment and management in challenging environments. The proposed framework has the potential to enable the widespread adoption of NFV and drive the development of new network services.Directed by Prof. Laurent SCHUMACHER and Prof. Sokchenda SRENG.In front of a jury composed of:Prof. Wim VANHOOF, President, University of NamurProf. Laurent SCHUMACHER, Co-Promoter, University of NamurProf. Sokchenda SRENG, Co-Promoter, ITC Graduate School (Cambodia)Prof. Florentin ROCHET, Internal Member, University of NamurProf. Johann MARQUEZ-BARJA, External Member, University of AntwerpProf. Bruno QUOITIN, External Member, University of MonsProf. Raveth HIN, External Member, ITC Graduate School (Cambodia)You are cordially invited to a drink, which will follow the public defense.For good organization, please give your answer by Thursday March 20 by means of this link.Contact: Daelman Isabelle - isabelle.daelman@unamur.be
See content
Article

MOSI, from word to sign: a bilingual reading aid from French to Langue des signes de Belgique francophone (LSFB)

Instantly obtain a translation in sign language (LSFB) of a word written in French: that's what MOSI (Du mot au signe) makes possible. This new tool is the fruit of a collaboration between the University of Namur, the asbl École et Surdité and the asbl LSFB, supported by the King Baudouin Foundation.
See content
Event

🐺 Loup, qui es-tu?

We are pleased to invite you, on Thursday June 19, 2025, to Julie Duchêne's lecture on the results of the "Loup, qui es-tu?" project.As part of this lecture, Julie Duchêne (PhD in History UNamur/FNRS FRESH) will present the results of her thesis devoted to the history of the wolf on Walloon and Luxembourg territories from the 18th to the 20th century, shedding new light on the history of the wolf in Wallonia. What were the images of the wolf conveyed by sources during this period? What policies were put in place by the various states to combat this species, until leading to its disappearance in the early 20th century? And, finally, who were the wolves that populated our lands at that time? Finally, Julie will share with the public the results of paleogenetic analyses carried out on a dozen naturalized wolves preserved in partner museums, institutions and venues throughout Wallonia, a project that was a first in Belgium, at the crossroads of history and biology. We hope to see many of you at this event. Welcome to you all! Sign up
See content
Article

UNamur: the nerve center of wild literature

Last June, the UNamur Board of Directors officially announced the creation of the Observatoire des Littératures Sauvages (OLSa). Founded in 2022 under the leadership of Denis Saint-Amand, FNRS qualified researcher in the Department of French and Romance Languages and Literatures, this research center studies how literature is constructed outside of books and literary institutions, through alternative objects or channels.
See content