ColibriSupport for students and researchers in exile
Co-FormER wasn’t conceived in an office, but in the field. For years, volunteers from the RUSF38 association have been helping international students navigate their administrative procedures, often under time pressure. Their efforts have highlighted a need: to offer migrants a structured, sustainable, and university-level learning environment.
At the same time, more than 10,000 km away, the Federal University of Paraná (Brazil) is pioneering an inspiring approach to integrating migrants through education. This model, familiar to the teams in the FLE (French as a Foreign Language) section of the LLASIC Faculty and at LIDILEM (Laboratory of Linguistics and the Pedagogy of Foreign and Native Languages) thanks to a long-standing partnership, became the spark for the Grenoble project.
This program, established by the RUSF and supported by the UGA’s Office of International Relations, thus began in January 2019.
At the heart of the program lies a simple yet powerful idea: learning by teaching.
UGA student tutors receive pedagogical training from faculty members and research professors to teach courses to new arrivals.
This experience serves a dual purpose:
- for learners, access to skills essential for their integration;
- for tutors, an initial immersion in teaching and a concrete civic engagement.
Here, everyone moves forward thanks to one another. Reciprocity underpins everything: learning becomes a shared act.
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The Co-FormER program now brings together numerous departments atUniversité Grenoble Alpes UGAUniversité Grenoble Alpes IM2AG, INSPÉ, LLASIC, ARSH, the School of Law, the Grenoble School of Economics… and works in conjunction with the efforts of the Colibri team at UGA’s Office of International Relations and the “Passerelle” university diploma program offered by the CUEF in Grenoble.
Co-FormER has received funding from UGA’s IDEX program, Campus France’s “Bienvenue en France” program, and theAIMES program of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie. It has been operating in part for the past four years thanks to donations from organizations such as the Union of Exiled Students and companies such as Audiclair.
In 2019-2020, this program trained nearly 50 learners. In 2024-2025, there were more than 180. Demand for courses has therefore more than tripled.
The number of trainers has remained stable at 20 per semester. They currently provide between 150 and 200 hours of training per semester.
Co-FormER is run in collaboration with numerous associations working with migrants. This regional network ensures that actions are tailored to local needs and strengthens the links between the university and society.
The program is currently co-financed by Campus France's Bienvenue en France program, Audiclair, and the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie's AIMES program.
UGA's IDEX, Call for Projects "Social and Cultural Impact 2019-2020," helped launch it.
