The university of Caen Normandy welcomes more than 3,000 international students every year, and the community is mobilising to promote the integration of this group with its specific needs. On the front line with the Carré International, the student association ESN, Erasmus Student Network Caen, has set itself two objectives: to help the international community integrate and to raise awareness on mobility.

Helping the international community to integrate

  Throughout the year, volunteers from the ESN Caen association get together to carry out a range of activities for the international public at the university. "The aim is to combat loneliness," explains Orlanne Pinsault, a Language Sciences student and president of ESN Caen. "Our activities take the form of evening events, but also activities to discover Normandy in a more relaxed way, with weekend outings. Our flagship event is an international dinner. Each international student brings a culinary speciality from his or her country. It's a great opportunity to get to know each other. We also organise polyglot cafés, where you can speak in different languages, and café meetings, which are more about meeting people".

With around twenty active members, the association manages to run a number of projects in parallel. "We have a structure with different departments, such as communications and events," explains Orlanne. What do these volunteers have in common? They all share an "interest in international affairs and discovering new cultures", notes Orlanne.

Raising awareness on international mobility

In addition to its hosting role, the association also aims to develop more and more initiatives to encourage the student community to spend time abroad. "We have set up a buddy system," explains Orlanne, "the aim being to pair a local student with an international student. It's a nice way of welcoming international students, but it also helps the French community to forge links to help them prepare for their mobility and make the most of it. We try as much as possible to find common interests between the people sponsoring and those being sponsored. At the very least, they need to share a common language. Since the start of the academic year, we've already been able to create around a hundred pairs". 

The association can count on support from its national and international network, the Erasmus Student Network, to help it carry out its missions, particularly sponsorship. ESN Caen also has "great support from Carré international, which identifies us as a leading student association", explains Orlanne. T"he university also helps us to support our activities with funding from the Student and Campus Life Contribution (CVEC), and to gain visibility through communication relays".

Contact or follow the ESN Caen association on social networks