A Back-to-School Season with International Flavors at SGM

For the 2025–2026 academic year, the Materials Science and Engineering BUT program at the Nîmes University Institute of Technology (IUT) is embarking on a major new direction by resolutely expanding its international reach.

Starting in their second year (BUT2), students who wish to do so can choose the “International” track, in which five instructors teach their courses entirely in English. This means that more than 120 of the 180 hours of coursework are taught in the language of Shakespeare.

To ensure the educational quality of this bilingual program, the teachers prepared thoroughly: all of them completed a one-week training course offered by the University of Oxford called “Oxford EMI” (English as a Medium of Instruction). Some even took advantage of their vacation time to improve their English abroad.

This ambitious initiative aims to equip students with the language skills necessary to understand technical documents in English—which are ubiquitous in the industrial world—and to communicate effectively with international counterparts throughout their careers.

The “International” track also opens the door to study abroad programs, thanks to partnerships established between the IUT de Nîmes and several partner universities: the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), ETS Montréal, Cégep de Saint-Jérôme (Canada), and Trinity College Dublin (Ireland).

Finally, this trend will ultimately encourage the enrollment of international students in the SGM program, thereby enriching the intercultural experience for all students.

A remarkable evolution for a program that now combines substance, innovation, and an openness to the world.

"Our class feels like a family; I chose this group to improve my English."

"I chose to join the English group because it's a golden opportunity to practice, learn, and even think in English, which is the best way to improve your English skills. Furthermore, we're a small group, so we can learn in the best possible conditions."

"I joined this group to improve my vocabulary and technical terms, and I really appreciate the positive atmosphere in the group."