The University of Clermont-Auvergne organises a number of short courses for partner universities abroad. Generally speaking, these are Summer School type courses which take place in May and June. Other courses are also organised in January, for example, and in March during the famous Spring Break, to meet demand from North American universities, which often include this type of course as part of their students' degrees.

How do these courses work?

A group of students accompanied by one or two of their tutors come to stay in Auvergne (Clermont Ferrand or Vichy) and make use of UCA's facilities and skills.

The length of stay varies from 3 days to 6 weeks. Courses lasting only a few days are generally just a stop-over in Auvergne as part of a longer trip to France as a whole or even Europe.

Apart from classes taught by the foreign tutor(s), UCA staff may also teach up to 30 hours of classes or intervene as guest lectures, as well as professionals called in to share their experience.
All classes are taught in English, but a few FFL classes may sometimes also be offered.

A variety of themes are proposed: engineering, law, business, sociology, French literature, tourism, etc.

The group of students and their tutor(s) may also be hosted in Paris. In this case, accommodation in Paris and the trip are organised by the UCA contact.
A number of professional and cultural visits are organised, as well as excursions to Auvergne, Lyon, Avignon and the C?te d’Azur.

Some Summer Schools also benefit from the presence of a UCA intern responsible for accompanying and assisting the group.

Of course, each programme must meet the needs of the foreign university concerned and requires preparation in coordination with the UCA contact and the contact(s) at the partner university.

Some of these programmes have been up and running for more than 10 years, while others are organised on a one-off basis. New programmes have emerged over the past two years.

What is the purpose of Summer Schools and short courses?

Setting up these courses enables the organising department either to obtain study semesters for UCA students at the partner university, or to receive a fee for the services provided. Sometimes, a mixed format may be employed, according to the partners' needs and constraints.

This practice is being increasingly extended to other foreign universities, particularly in countries inspired by the North American model (South Korea, China, Australia and the Middle East).