ColibriSupport for students and researchers in exile

Co-FormER was not born in an office, but on the ground. For years, volunteers from the RUSF38 association have been supporting foreign students with their procedures, often in emergency situations. Their mobilization revealed a clear need: to offer migrants a structured, sustainable, and university-based learning space.
At the same time, more than 10,000 km away, the Federal University of Paraná (Brazil) developed an inspiring approach to integrating migrants through education. This model, known to the FLE (French as a Foreign Language) teams of the UFR LLASIC and the LIDILEM (Laboratory of Linguistics and Didactics of Foreign and Native Languages) thanks to a long-standing partnership, became the spark for the Grenoble project. 
This program, set up by RUSF and supported by the Directorate-General for International Relations of UGA, thus began in January 2019.

Co-FormER: an educational approach that connects pathways

At the heart of the program lies a simple yet powerful idea: teaching by learning.
UGA student-tutors receive pedagogical training delivered by faculty members and researchers in order to teach courses to newcomers.
This experience serves a dual purpose:
- for learners, it provides access to essential skills for their integration;
- for tutors, it offers an initial immersion into teaching and a concrete civic commitment.
Here, everyone progresses through one another. Reciprocity structures everything: learning becomes a shared act.

A long-term collective initiative

The Co-FormER program now brings together numerous departments and faculties of Université Grenoble Alpes: IM2AG, INSPÉ, LLASIC, ARSH, Faculty of Law, Grenoble Faculty of Economics, and works in coordination with the Colibri team from the UGA's General Delegation for International Relations and the DU Passerelle at CUEF Grenoble.
Co-FormER has received funding from the UGA IDEX, Campus France's "Bienvenue en France" program, and the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie's AIMES program. For the past four years, it has operated in part thanks to donations from associations such as the Union des étudiants exilés and companies like Audiclair.

In 2019-2020, this program helped train nearly 50 learners. In 2024-2025, there were more than 180. Demand for courses has therefore more than tripled.
The number of instructors remains stable at around 20 each semester. They currently provide between 150 and 200 hours of instruction per semester.

Co-FormER is carried out in collaboration with numerous associations committed to supporting migrants. This local network ensures that actions are in line with needs on the ground and strengthens ties between the university and society.

Several financial partners

The program is currently co-funded by Campus France's "Bienvenue en France" program, Audiclair, and the AIMES program of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie.
The UGA IDEX, via the "Social and Cultural Outreach 2019-2020" call for projects, helped fund its launch.