Franco-Polish Symposium June 15th to 16th – Warsaw and Łódź

Studia i badania 15—16/06/2026 Łódź, Warszawa

Call for expressions of interest

For this fourth edition of the Symposium dedicated to the sharing of best practices in welcoming international students, Campus France, through its “Bienvenue en France” label team, in collaboration with the French Embassy in Poland, the NAWA national agency, SGH Warsaw and the Lódź University of Technology, is pleased to bring you a programme focusing on the experiences and issues shared between France and Poland in welcoming international students.

As host countries for European and international student mobility, France and Poland implement policies designed to attract students, which create major challenges for university campuses in terms of enhancing the quality of their welcome and support for international students. The Symposium is a bilateral event, which aims, is to respond to these challenges and to share good practices implemented by French and Polish HEIs.

France and Poland already enjoy a dynamic and well-established partnership, further supported by the Treaty of Nancy, signed in 2025, which aims to deepen ties between the two countries in key areas including higher education, research, and innovation. Academic links are well illustrated by the existence of 57 Franco-Polish double degree programmes and 18 Erasmus Mundus across a wide range of disciplines. In addition, numerous institutions collaborate through Erasmus+ mobility schemes (France is the fifth destination), joint research projects, and participation in European university alliances (27 alliances in which both France and Poland are represented). These partnerships reflect the strong academic ties and shared commitment to internationalisation.

The symposium will provide an excellent opportunity for French institutions to meet their Polish counterparts, explore new avenues for cooperation, exchange good practices in welcoming international students, and develop new joint initiatives in education, mobility and research.

In France, since the launch of the national attractiveness strategy (2018) “Bienvenue en France”, Campus France has been coordinating the “Bienvenue en France” Label, which aims to support the quality of reception facilities for international students in French HEIs.

Since 2019, Campus France has awarded the “Bienvenue en France” label to 184 French HEIs, which are undertaking a process of continuous improvement and continue to invest in international mobility and their attractiveness. The labelling process is based on 28 indicators covering the entire student experience, from pre-departure preparation to arrival, to settling in, integration into campus life (accommodation, academic and language support…), career services and alumni relations.

In Poland, NAWA is an institution established on October 1st, 2017, which plays a significant role in promotion of higher education in Poland worldwide. This institution supports Universities in the international promotion. NAWA offers programmes of financing both outbound and inbound mobility as well as programmes for institutions helping them to host international students such as “Welcome to Poland” NAWA programme, “Strategic Partnerships” or programmes supporting Alliances of European Universities.

Description of the event

Campus France collaborates with the French Embassy in Poland, NAWA, SGH Warsaw and the Lódź University of Technology to invite you to a bilateral event aimed at sharing of best practices in welcoming international students and enhancing the student experience.

The symposium will focus on topics such as welcoming refugee students, European university alliances from the perspective of welcoming students, the welcoming chain in terms of students' needs and expectations, the involvement of local authorities, and alumni networks.

Objectives

Share experiences and best practices, reflect on developments in reception facilities
Understand the obstacles encountered and the solutions
Visit the facilities, services for welcoming and supporting international students in Warsaw and Lodz at the HEIs hosting the event.

Participant profile

Participants are all operational staff involved in welcoming and supporting international students at their institutions.This symposium will bring together around fifty participants (French and Polish HEIs)

Collaborative event

An invitation to contribute is extended to HEIs wishing to share their practices in relation to the five themes defined below. This ‘Call for Expressions of Interest’ is an application form to be completed, see below.

Five themes will be the focus of this symposium:

Welcoming students in needs

Higher education is an important lever for the integration of refugee students or students in needs. Support measures specifically implemented for refugees students, in terms of training programmes, the organization of induction events and mentoring, among other things, are now taken into account in the welcoming practices of HEIs.

Welcoming students within and from outside European Universities Alliances.

The aim of this theme is to consider shared tools to facilitate the reception of international students within an alliance of European universities. This may involve promoting best practices within the consortium to create a continuum of student experience. The issue of welcoming international students from outside the alliance is also a matter for discussion.

Alumni network

The institution runs a network for former international students through virtual and in-person activities. It uses its association network and a dedicated internet platform to organise events, workshops and meetings, thereby promoting exchanges and maintaining links between former students. The recognition of alumni in alumni ambassador programmes and the development of a sense of belonging are also factors that contribute to the institution's attractiveness.

The welcoming process/chain

The support for international students begins as soon as they start preparing for their study abroad experience. Contacting key people at the University and providing information before their arrival make their arrival easier. The arrival and study period of international students is a matter for all departments at the University

Within a given area, assistance with administrative procedures is increasingly being pooled. Local authorities are becoming more and more involved in providing services to facilitate the process of finding accommodation.

Learning by doing

Interactive format : Participants would take part in practical workshops designed to simulate innovative student engagement activities. During the workshops, participants could earn micro-badges linked to specific skills and experiences. Collecting several badges would allow them to unlock a larger “meta- badge”, reflecting a deeper understanding of innovative approaches to international student integration. The format would be based on flexible learning pathways and experiential learning, encouraging active participation, collaboration, and reflection.

Themes in addition to those mentioned above:

-Information and/or training for staff (administrative and academic) on interculturality

Developing staff competencies to design innovative and inclusive learning formats for international students, including co-creation of courses and intercultural teaching approaches.

-Students' new expectations for their well-being

Responding to evolving student needs through flexible learning paths, blended learning formats, and supportive international communities.

- The development of a sense of belonging to a study community

Building international student communities through collaborative learning, intercultural activities, and shared educational experiences.

Conditions of participation

This call for interest is open to institution with the “Bienvenue en France” Label and to Polish HEIs which are committed in welcoming international students.