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Le Confluent des Savoirs (CDS), UNamur’s public outreach and research dissemination service, has launched INSIGHT OUT, a series of popular science videos aimed at introducing the general public—as well as schoolchildren—to university research that is often considered too specialized to be accessible outside the academic world. 

The University of Namur and the Department of Education at the Haute École de Namur-Liège-Luxembourg are collaborating as part of the Local Integration Initiative (ILI) project, funded by the Walloon Region, to offer French as a Foreign Language (FLE) courses designed to promote the academic and social integration of migrant students.Beyond developing language skills, these courses place significant emphasis on learning the cultural and academic norms of higher education in Belgium. They also promote intercultural exchange, dialogue among students from different backgrounds, and the development of intercultural skills, in an environment that fosters openness, mutual understanding, and academic success.

JuryProf. Steve LANNERS (UNamur), ChairProf. Johan WOUTERS (UNamur), SecretaryProf. Pierre FRANCOTTE (ULiège)Dr. Marie HAUFROID (UCB)Prof. Lionel POCHET (UNamur)AbstractCurrently, Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains the second deadliest infectious agent in the world, responsible for 1.6 million deaths in 2021. The burden and cost of current treatment (6 months and 4,000 euros), coupled with the alarming emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains, underscore the absolute urgency of developing new therapeutic molecules. This study focuses on the Mycobacterium tuberculosis phosphoserine phosphatase (MtSerB2), an enzyme essential for serine biosynthesis and vital to the pathogen’s survival. Furthermore, this protein plays a key role in host invasion (through its interactions with the NF-κB factor and the cellular cytoskeleton), making MtSerB2 a prime therapeutic target for the development of new, potent anti-tuberculosis drugs.One of the innovative strategies explored in this thesis is based on destabilizing the protein’s structure (disruption of protein structure). The goal is to design a molecule capable of disrupting the enzyme’s conformation, thereby causing it to lose its catalytic activity. This new class of molecules is expected to exhibit significantly higher selectivity for MtSerB2 compared to its human homolog, human phosphoserine phosphatase (hPSP).To this end, the Mycobacterium avium phosphoserine phosphatase (MaSerB) was initially used as a model system, justified by its 83% sequence identity with MtSerB2 and its propensity to crystallize rapidly. Initially, a virtual screening of drugs already available on the market was conducted to identify potential inhibitors of MaSerB. Enzymatic assays based on malachite green detectionwere then performed to evaluate the inhibitory activity of the various candidates. The results demonstrated increased selectivity of these compounds for dimeric proteins (MtSerB2 and MaSerB) compared to the human enzyme hPSP.Notably, subsequent enzymatic assays conducted directly on MtSerB2 revealed response profiles that differed from those observed with the MaSerB model. To elucidate the molecular basis of these differences, the structure of the protein in its ligand-bound state is currently being investigated. To this end, protein-inhibitor complexes have been crystallized and will be analyzed by X-ray diffraction.

JuryProf. Carine MICHIELS (UNamur), ChairProf. Anne-Catherine HEUSKIN (UNamur), SecretaryProf. Stéphane LUCAS (UNamur)Dr. Rudi LABARBE (IBA)Prof. Joao SECO (German Cancer Research Center)Prof. Simon GALAS (University of Montpellier)AbstractRadiotherapy is one of the most widely used treatments for cancer and plays a central role in modern oncology. While technological advances have greatly improved the precision of radiation delivery, damage to healthy tissues surrounding the tumor remains a major limitation. In recent years, an innovative approach known as FLASH radiotherapy has attracted considerable attention. Unlike conventional radiotherapy, FLASH delivers the therapeutic radiation dose within a fraction of a second using ultra-high dose rates. A growing body of evidence suggests that this approach may reduce radiation-induced side effects in healthy tissues while maintaining the ability to control tumours. However, the biological mechanisms responsible for this protective effect remain poorly understood.This thesis addressed two key challenges in FLASH research. The first was the development and characterization of an experimental platform capable of generating ultra-high dose rate irradiations using the ALTAÏS accelerator at the University of Namur. This work involved designing irradiation systems, validating beam dosimetry, and establishing robust experimental protocols to ensure accurate and reproducible exposure conditions. The second objective was to introduce a new biological model for FLASH investigations: the microscopic nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). This organism offers several advantages, including a short life cycle, ease of handling, low cost, and the conservation of many fundamental biological processes shared with higher organisms. These characteristics make it an attractive complementary model for studying radiation responses and exploring the mechanisms underlying the FLASH effect.This thesis demonstrated the suitability of C. elegans as a model for investigating biological responses to ultra-high dose rate irradiation. Studies of developmental and neurobiological endpoints across multiple irradiation conditions highlighted its potential for mechanistic FLASH research. Together, these findings provide valuable tools to advance our understanding of the FLASH effect. More broadly, they contribute to the development of safer radiotherapy strategies aimed at reducing treatment-related toxicity and improving patient quality of life.

A day of discovery workshops at the Centre d'Autoformation et de Formation Continuée (CAF) Wallonie-Bruxelles-Enseignement to familiarize yourself with digital tools at the service of learning.Michaël Lobet holds a conference on the place of AI in education, entitled "Artificial intelligences: an opportunity for teaching?" .

The Confluent des Savoirs team would like to thank its partners for their support and participation in science outreach activities.

Researchers at ULiège and UNamur are developing a new electrochromic material: MoWOx.

An international team of researchers has just published an article in the prestigious journal Light: Science & Applications (LSA) from the Nature group.  The teams led by Professors Michaël Lobet and Alexandre Mayer (University of Namur) collaborated with the team led by Professor Shanhui Fan, one of the leading experts in the field, from the prestigious Stanford University in California (USA).  The result: an article entitled ‘Twist-Induced Beam Steering and Blazing Effects in Photonic Crystal Devices’, or the study of beam deflection by twisting in photonic crystal devices.  Come on, let's twist light again at UNamur! 

Michaël Lobet, professor in the Department of Physics, and André Fuzfa, astrophysicist and professor in the Department of Mathematics at UNamur, have just been awarded a grant from the Wernaers Fund to develop an original scientific project: the design of a comic strip that will explore all the fascinating facets of energy. Aimed at a "student" audience, it will weave the link between science and science fiction, and will be produced thanks to the invaluable pencil strokes of illustrator Jean-Marc Dubois.

Since its launch in December 2022, ChatGPT, the chatbot developed by OpenAI, an artificial intelligence company co-founded by Elon Musk, has continued to elicit astonished comments and concerned questions, including: is the human brain still useful?

Faced with the ecological crisis and soaring energy prices, the energy transition has become an undeniable emergency. Every day, at UNamur, researchers from a wide range of fields - geology, chemistry, physics, computer science - are thinking about innovative ways of dealing with this perilous future.

Professors, lecturers, assistants and pedagogical experts from UNamur took part in a workshop to evaluate and critique the use of ChatGPT in university courses. Numerous examples of practices including AI in teaching were carried out in the courses offered at UNamur this term. A survey was also carried out among Block 1 students on their use and knowledge of artificial intelligence.