Gain professional experience abroad through Erasmus+

A European Commission survey revealed that 64% of employers consider international experience to be a factor in hiring. In addition, 92% seek soft skills such as those acquired through mobility programs (openness, curiosity, problem-solving, decision-making, self-confidence). These are all skills that Erasmus+ mobility programs help develop.

Depending on the field of study and academic program, international mobility takes different forms at UNamur. For many undergraduate and graduate students, it involves an internship at a foreign institution, most often at a research center. That’s the path chosen by Lee Denis, a doctoral student in the Department of Physics, who spent three months at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CFA) in Boston during her master’s program. “At UNamur, I was working in a group specializing in infrared molecular spectroscopy. The goal of this type of research is, in particular, to characterize the interaction between molecules and light in order to generate data that can then be used to study atmospheres, particularly those of exoplanets,” explains Lee Denis. “My internship at the CFA allowed me to discover a scientific database that bridges the gap between researchers working on spectroscopy and those studying atmospheres using telescopes, satellites, or other instruments. In particular, I worked on water and on how results produced in the laboratory can be made available and useful to the entire scientific community. The results obtained were subsequently put to further use and were even presented at a conference.”

Beyond the research conducted in the United States, what else did you gain from this experience? “This internship helped me become more independent and confident. I was also able to expand my professional network and saw tangible results, notably by becoming a co-author of a scientific article published during this exchange,” says Lee Denis.

For Isabella Fontana, director of the International Relations Office, these exchange programs can also have an impact on students’ future academic paths. 

But Erasmus+ exchanges work both ways. As a result, UNamur also hosts international students and doctoral candidates for research internships. A recent example? In 2026, four Cambodian students joined the Department of Mathematics and the Namur Research Institute on Complex Systems (naXys) thanks to Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility funding. 

Among them was Vannuth Ven, a master’s student in data science at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC), who chose to spend four months at UNamur. “I chose UNamur for its recognized expertise in mathematics and data science. This exchange allowed me to discuss my research with experienced researchers, exchange ideas in an international environment, and develop new perspectives for my work in the fields of artificial intelligence and the analysis of learning data in education.”

Vannuth Ven’s research focuses on data science and machine learning, with a particular emphasis on deep learning and dimension reduction methods. “As part of Cyril de Bodt’s team, my main task was to conduct research on optimization algorithms for a dimension reduction method called ‘Multi-Scale t-SNE.’ I compared the performance of four optimization schemes across 21 diverse datasets, developed an accelerated implementation, and created an interactive web platform allowing the community to reproduce and explore the results. ” This research also led to a research paper submitted to the WSOM+ 2026 international conference and published in Springer LNCS.

“Hosting these international students also allows us to strengthen our ties with partner institutions and continue to develop new research collaborations,” concludes Isabella Fontana.