‘The University of Montpellier is confirming, more than ever, its role as a European campus by welcoming, this week, members from the nine universities of the CHARM-EU European alliance,’ said Philippe Augé, President of the University of Montpellier. Bringing together nearly 150 participants around a shared ambition, ‘inspiring minds, shaping the future’, this European week strengthened links between the alliance’s communities and opened up new prospects for cooperation. 

Accustomed to working together remotely, the working groups involved in the CHARM-EIGHT project used the Charming Week as an opportunity to meet in Montpellier and advance concrete projects relating to mobility, digital tools, communication and governance. These exchanges aimed to facilitate academic pathways, connect digital environments, engage communities over the long term and strengthen the shared experience of students and staff. Beyond the work carried out, the face-to-face meetings also helped to facilitate inter-work package collaboration, place each action within a common purpose and consolidate the interpersonal relationships that are essential to the alliance’s long-term sustainability.

Internationalising Curricula 

This collective, future-oriented momentum was also reflected in two events held almost simultaneously in Montpellier: one on teaching through English, the other on the use of generative AI in teacher education. Hosted by the IUT Montpellier-Sète, the event dedicated to English as a medium of instruction (EMI), brought together practices from the alliance’s universities with those of Copenhagen, Groningen in the Netherlands, and the Institut Agro Montpellier. 

(c) IUT Montpellier-Sète – Université de Montpellier

Discussions drew on the first mapping of EMI practices within the alliance, presented by the University of Montpellier, which has been developing, since 2024, a structured offer combining intensive training with personalised pedagogical coaching. ‘Many lecturers are reluctant to leave their comfort zone and expose themselves to the judgement of students who may sometimes have a better command of English than they do. Beyond demystifying teaching in English, what opens up for participants is a broader engagement with internationalisation,’ explained Philippe Gerbier, Director of the IUT Montpellier-Sète. In the medium term, this meeting could help to structure an EMI community of practice, co-develop shared tools and lay the foundations for a common framework for the internationalisation of teaching. 

Sharing Training Challenges 

Another topic, another venue. But the same ambition to foster new ways of teaching, learning and collaborating across Europe. At the Faculty of Education (FDE) of the University of Montpellier, the event devoted to the use of generative AI in teacher education brought together, over almost three days, teacher educators from several European countries. 

(c) Faculté d’éducation – Université de Montpellier

Through presentations, hands-on workshops and co-construction sessions, participants worked on several key issues: regulation, lesson preparation, support, learning activities and assessment. ‘The uses of AI, or AI literacy, are at the heart of current concerns within international faculties of education. We were therefore able to compare perspectives and build strategic pathways together in order to address future training challenges. Organising a CHARM-EU event through the FDE is also one of our strategic priorities: it enables us to take our place within the alliance and to share the training issues that matter to us in education and the social sciences,’ analysed Agnès Perrin Doucey, Dean of the Faculty of Education in Montpellier. 

Inauguration of a New Connected Space

The final highlight of Charming Week 2026 was the inauguration of the new CHARM-EU space at the University of Montpellier, in the presence of representatives from all CHARM-EU partner universities. Located on the top floor of the Richter University Library, this space brings together offices, meeting rooms and pedagogical spaces connected to all the alliance’s campuses. These equipped hybrid rooms reflect a pedagogical project oriented towards internationalisation, inclusiveness and challenge-based learning, as exemplified by the joint master’s programme Global Challenges for Sustainability. ‘The singularity of this space lies in the fact that the room and the teaching were conceived at the same time: teaching on a European scale, connected, multi-campus, modular and student-centred. It is intended to be used by all colleagues who need connected spaces as a means of supporting their innovative teaching,’ emphasised Gilles Subra, CHARM-EU project officer at the University of Montpellier. 

This unifying event highlighted CHARM-EU’s role in stimulating inter-institutional cooperation, the sharing of expertise and the circulation of ideas. ‘Charming Week in Montpellier reminded us of the very essence of CHARM-EU: a shared space where innovative ideas are translated into concrete action. The collaborative energy observed throughout the week testifies to the essential role of international cooperation as a driver of a genuinely interconnected and transformative European higher education area,’ summarised Meritxell Chaves, Secretary General of the alliance. It was a conclusion that reflected the spirit of this Montpellier week: European, collaborative and resolutely future-oriented. 

Original article: Charming week 2026 : une semaine européenne connectée – Université de Montpellier