University cooperation has always been a valuable channel for showcasing the quality of the French educational system. Today this international cooperation takes several different forms. The most common form, known as “Francophone courses”, is a partnership between one or more French universities and a local university. It is aimed essentially at students in the final two years of a degree course (Master’s). In 2005, 11,000 students were enrolled on 167 Francophone courses all over the world.
The recognition of “credits” allows foreign students to pursue their studies at a university in France. For instance, Cambodian students can enroll for a Master’s degree in engineering in Toulouse (in the southwest). The University of Cairo, in Egypt, is cooperating with the University of Paris-IX-Dauphine to issue French degrees in journalism, business law and political science.
Over the last few years, a strong financial commitment from the state has enabled new university institutions to be set up, increasing the visibility and influence of French educational expertise abroad. For instance the French university of Armenia, in Yerevan, and the French university of Egypt in Cairo, provide an education — from undergraduate to postgraduate level — which is based entirely on French academic criteria and lead to a dual diploma, French and local.
Founded in 2000, the French university of Armenia enjoys enormous prestige in the country. Its 700 students follow courses in law, management and business taught in French. The French university of Cairo, founded in 2002, has 350 students studying management, applied languages and engineering sciences.
In the 1990s, other universities and colleges, receiving less subsidy from France, had already opened the way for this new international visibility. Founded in 1992, the university of Galatasaray, in Istanbul, Turkey, has 2,400 students who are studying, in French, Turkish and English, engineering sciences, law, economics, arts and humanities, social sciences and communication. A number of Master’s courses lead to a dual diploma. The institution is funded mainly by the Turkish state and by local and French corporate sponsorship, with support from France.
The Saint-Joseph University in Beirut in Lebanon was founded by French Jesuits at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1992, a major cooperation scheme was established between this institution and a consortium of over 30 French universities. All subjects are taught there, with the possibility of dual diplomas for certain Master’s degrees.
Also in Beirut, ten years ago France, in partnership with the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, helped to launch the École Supérieure des Affaires (ESA) business school which teaches students in French, and issues a French MBA. Today this institution enjoys significant influence among the Gulf countries, proof of the quality and appeal of a French MBA.
A third and more recent form of cooperation is the establishment in other countries of French universities and “Grandes Écoles” renowned worldwide for their excellence. One example is the Sorbonne (University of Paris-IV) that opened a satellite in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) in October 2005, at the express request of the Emirate, which has entirely financed the project. The requirements in terms of teaching and the award of a degree are exactly the same as those at the Sorbonne in Paris.
The flagship event of 2005 — the Year of France in China — is still the founding of a joint satellite branch of the four prestigious ‘Écoles Centrales’, France’s top engineering schools, within the Beihang aeronautical university in Beijing, at the request of the Chinese. The course comprises one year studying the French language, followed by a two-year foundation course, then a three-year engineering course, taught by French lecturers.
“Foreign students accord increasing importance to the quality of the education”, stresses Antoine Grassin, director of scientific and academic cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE). To meet these demands, France subjects its teaching to continuous re-appraisal. In order to take this further, a quality charter is due to be signed in 2006, which will cover all the institutions supported by France abroad.
