Conference on student reception by Campus France: the collective challenge of international students’ reception in France

The Conference of Reception was open by Donatienne Hissard, new General Director of Campus France, and re-established the traditional meetings of French specialists of international reception that couldn’t have been held onsite since 2019. In the wake of the Jeudis de l’accueil (Tuesdays of Reception) that were held in digital format last year, the 2022 conference gathered more than 400 people from 163 French higher education institutions in seven plenary round tables and four workshops.

Reunions focused on four main themes

A “time of positive reunions”. These were the words used by the General Director of Campus France to underline the importance of the new exchanges between all partners “at the time when we register a recovery of student mobility”, at the time when “international competition in this field will start again and the quality of reception will become a key aspect of France’s attractiveness”. According to Donatienne Hissard, it was time to meet to “assess the progress made and challenges to face”.

The Conference on Reception focused on four main themes:

• the new reception national policy: the “Bienvenue en France” strategy and certification of institutions, and progresses in relation with visages and stays;
• the action of government operators, with the presence of the CNOUS, CNAM and CAF, and the actions of regions and local authorities with the Observatoire territorial de la mobilité internationale;
• Europe, with the intake of Ukrainian students and a comparison of reception systems in various European countries;
• concrete actions and initiatives of integration, an overlook of good practices developed on the field by French higher education institutions.

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The impact of university diplomacy

The “Bienvenue en France” strategy launched in 2018 by the French government, characterised by all participants as a success, has been the central concept of the Conference discussions. The first round table served as a pit stop to assess the call for projects in relation with the kickstart fund of the scheme, which allowed over a hundred institutions to benefit from subsidies to improve their reception system. The importance of this university diplomacy working on the field, underpinned by stakeholders, relies on the quality of reception the engagement of all to make a success out of this reception chain, with institutions first, but also all types of partners. In line with this state of mind, the certification of institutions (138 today), clearly appeared as a pillar of the “Bienvenue en France” strategy, and seems to have served as a true catalyser of energies to develop everywhere, in certified institutions, new good practices in relation with reception.

In this context of improvement, the modernisation in relation with visas and stays, especially with the creation of the France-Visas portal, and the new “Administration Numérique pour les Etrangers en France” (ANEF, Digital Administration for Foreign Students in France), raised many debates in which the keywords were simplification, digitalisation... But also the need of human support!

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Key operators and partners

The main key partners and operators in the reception chain were determined to attend the conference organised by Campus France. The CNOUS, which presented its many services and emphasised the importance of partnership in all its actions, as well as the CNAM, which developed health services for international students, and the CAF, which presented its new information brochures, led a round table dedicated to them.

Local authorities, and especially the regions and cities, which also represent “a fundamental element in the international opening and influence of the territories”, were also present at the Conference of Reception for the launch of the 2nd edition of the Territorial Observatory of the mobility of foreign students and researchers in France. The report, which includes statistics, was produced by Campus France and commissioned by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is the result of a unique collaboration with Régions de France, France Urbaine and the Association des Villes Universitaires de France (AVUF). It offers an original look at territorial internationalisation strategies and mobility support mechanisms.

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At the time of Europe

Just when France holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, but also while war rages in Ukraine, the participants assessed the reception of Ukrainian students and researchers in France within the framework of the “Emergency Ukraine” scheme. The following issues were discussed:

• the coordination around the “Bienvenue en France” strategy of all the actors (Prefectures, CNAM, CNAF, CROUS) for the reception of refugees;
• the commitment of establishments which identify students displaced by the crisis whom they welcome directly for the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation;
• the emergency platform created by Campus France, which enables displaced students in Ukraine benefiting from temporary protection to be put in touch with institutions ready to welcome them.

Another round table was dedicated to a European comparison of hosting systems, especially in the Netherlands with the presence of a representative of the national agency NUFFIC, but also in Estonia (with the University of Tallinn) and ESN France (Erasmus Student Network).

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Good practices and a toolbox

In almost all the round tables and workshops, representatives of French higher education and research institutions (universities and schools) gave their point of view on themes on the agenda.

The active participation of the institutions was particularly worth of interest during the round table on certified institutions, but also during the session on integration actions, sponsorships and the organisation of the “Nuits des étudiants du monde” (Evenings of Students from the World), during the workshops on the socio-psychological support of students and in the one on reception prior to arrival, on hybrid reception as well as on multi-site and shared reception methods. All of these interventions, in the session and during the questions and answers with the audience, can provide an immense source of good practices for their counterparts and form a “toolbox” to be used for reception in the field.