Erasmus Guide IUT NANCY-CHARLEMAGNE 2013-2014
Welcome! 3 Nancy-Charlemagne Institute of Technology Presentation Who are we? 4-6 On your arrival Peer-Monitoring system Reception Administrative registration Registrering to courses Student life 7-8 9-11 Classes Exams and grades The courses in «Campus Lettres» French courses for foreigners (FLE) Services 12-13 Library CREM Transports Housing Useful telephone numbers and websites 14 15 16 Testimonies 17
Welcome! Dear Student, Welcome to IUT Nancy-Charlemagne. This is a guide prepared with the intention to facilitate your Erasmus experience as much as possible. 3
Nancy-Charlemagne Institute of Technology Presentation IUT Nancy-Charlemagne is one of the most important Institut Universitaire de Technologie in one of the greatest student cities in France. IUT consists of more than 1800 students and over a hundred staff members (teachers and administrative staff). Our difference from other universities is that our trainers are not only full time teachers but mostly part-time lecturers who also work in their field of teaching. So here our education is both theoretical and practical. IUT Nancy-Charlemagne is composed of five departments in total (see page 5). To see which one you have chosen or can choose, you have to attend the first meeting with the International Head Officer in September 2013. All courses are given in French and with the lecturers who are eager to help you, this is a great occasion to improve your level of language. We are also proposing French courses for international students (page 11). So don't panic we are here to help you. 4
Map of the IUT Departments and services of the IUT 5
Who are we? Virginie Marjorie Christine In the International Office we are three. We are busy with everything that concerns international students (welcoming, course program, learning agreements...) Marjorie Antoni teacher / Head of the International Office Virginie Bernard assistant Christine Gunthel assistant Do not hesitate to visit us for help or consultancy! iutnc-international@univ-lorraine.fr 0033 (0)3-54-50-38-60/61 6
On your Arrival Peer Monitoring System A couple of years ago, the International Office created the peer monitoring system. Essentially it's really simple; the students of our university contact you before your arrival to meet you, then they help you through your stay; with classes and French, with discovering the French culture and also discovering Nancy. Though this system is not obligatory, we'd strongly advise you to participate to it, as it will help you a lot. Your peer monitor will be contacting you a couple of weeks before your arrival. Erasmus students during the International Week 7
Reception Every year, with the collaboration of ESN (Erasmus Student Network), we are organizing receptions for our Erasmus students. So on these days, lots of various interesting activities take place in order to facilitate the integration of our incoming students. For the students arriving in the first semester, there will be a reception organized in Gare de Nancy by ESN, from the end of August to mi-september. Our activities include: - Information meeting about the classes and the administrative registration with the team of the International Office - A meeting between the peer mentor and the peer mentee - Presentation from ESN: Student life in Nancy - Intercultural workshops Administrative registration On your arrival at the university we recommend you to visit the International Office in order to finalize your registration. We will ask you to fill in some administrative papers, because without these, we can't make you an official student of our university! Important documents : please bring with you a European Health Card which will be valid during the whole academic year, a proof of Third-Party Insurance and 2 identity photos. This will facilitate the registration process. Once you are done with the paperwork, the only thing left will be to visit the Service Scolarité and grab your brand new student card. Registering to Courses This part is essential in order for us to fix your course schedule and to make sure you are evaluated for the classes you have attended. This procedure generally consists of two steps: - In a first step, you will be given a paper that indicates the courses you have chosen to take by the International Office. You will be asked to fill it in as you desire. - In a second step you will be given a second paper called Learning Agreement. You should complete it, sign it and return it to the International Office. 8
Student life Classes Choosing classes As an Erasmus student, you are given the chance to choose and to attend any courses from any department while being a student of one department. For example if you are studying Communication or Advertising, you can choose other courses from Marketing or Management which are indeed in another department. You will receive the list of the available courses during the first meeting. Attendance Here in our university, attendance is mandatory. So in each class, the teaching staff comes in with an attendance paper and notes the absentees. If a student is regularly absent, they can be called by the director and worse can be forced to quit the IUT. Being late for classes Regular lateness is also not authorized in our institution. Arriving to the class after the roll call will make you noted down as absent. So it's important to be careful to not being regularly late and not just for these reasons, but also in order to show respect to the class by not perturbing it frequently. Our teachers Classes in Nancy-Charlemagne are either given by regular teachers who have their own offices at the IUT, or either by part-time instructors who work outside and come to our institution to give special classes. But no matter which, please keep in mind that they are all here to listen to you and help you. So don't hesitate to get in touch if you face any problems! Note Taking Some of our teachers authorize taking notes with a portable device (a laptop or a tablet) and some are strictly against it. So it should be a good idea to ask them first. 9
Exams and grades Evaluation of the Student In normal universities a student's success is generally being evaluated in short periods and in a really intense way. Whilst in IUT Nancy-Charlemagne, the evaluation isn't just an exam. In fact you are going to be evaluated according to how well you have done in your class assignments, your homework all semester long and to how well you have dealt with your group projects. Grading The grades are from 0 to 20. And every instructor has their own way of noting, which generally depends on their expectations. Given the fact that French is not your mother tongue, they will also change their ways slightly to help you understand more easily. Make-up Exams For any reason if you miss an exam and would like to attend the make-up exam, you'll have to give a certificate of absence to retake it. Please inform the International Office of any absence to an exam ASAP! The make-up exams take place at the end of each semester (for the first semester it's generally in December/January, for the second in July) 10
The Courses in Campus Lettres You can also attend other courses from other members of University of Lorraine, and especially from the faculty of literature and social sciences (Campus Lettres et Sciences Humaines). However, be cautious about these listed: Avoid courses that take place in the same times with those you have chosen from the IUT. Systematic presence in some of those other courses may not be obligatory; so in order to have more information and to present yourself as an Erasmus student, make sure to speak with each teacher. For these classes, there is a specific campus registration process to complete (we can help you with that). French courses for foreigners (FLE) IUT proposes free French courses for Erasmus students (non-french speakers). These courses are not obligatory but we strongly advise you to follow them, because then you will have the opportunity to be more comfortable with your French. And not to forget that these classes will bring you 2.5 ECTS credits. 11
Services Library It's located on the first floor in the IUT. You can serve from a big number of documents and also can borrow them for a pre-defined period of time. Type of document Books Dissertations of Internships Periodicals (magazines and dailies) Dictionaries and encyclopedias 15 days 3 to 7 days 3 days (except the last published) 1 day You can borrow up to 12 documents at one time: 4 dissertations, 4 books and 4 periodicals. In order to borrow one or more documents, you only have to show your student card to the library workers (so that they can register you). A catalog of the books in our library can be found here: http://scd.univ-nancy2.fr http://bu.univ-lorraine.fr/bibliotheques/iutnancy-charlemagne 12
CREM The Media Resources Center is found on the 7 th floor. Our computer lab gathers both multimedia and image/sound processing facilities and students of IUT always have access to the multi-purpose hall, to our computing facilities, to our language laboratories and while doing those, you can also benefit from our numerous equipments (professional cameras, electronic cameras) and our documents (dvds, cds, magazines, audio books in various languages etc.) 13
Transportation Bus and tram The transportation here is provided by STAN and consists of 28 different lines of bus and tram in total. Any information about them or about the lines is accessible from their website. The bus stop closest to IUT is the bus stop Charlemagne, from which the lines 122, 126, 134 and 135 goes through. The second closest bus stop is Medreville, which is right next to the University Restaurant. It's also possible to reach the city center by using 130, which passes from Medreville. The tarifs for occasional trips: - One pass only ticket PASS 1 : 1,30 E - Ten pass ticket PASS 10 : 8,70 E * You can get these tickets from any bus driver or any stan kiosk that can be found next to some bus stops. If you are or are planning on traveling frequently in Nancy and in its suburbs, it could be a good idea to subscribe to STAN for a card Simplicités that you can use for transportation. On regular use, its tariffs should be more profitable than tickets. Bikes www.reseau-stan.com Using the services of Vélostan you can also rent bicycles. Using Vélostan Lib kiosks, which are exclusively available all around the town, you can rent bicycles for daily and weekly use. Also from the Vélostan Boutic shops, you can rent bicycles for even up to a year, which is more convenient and profitable again, in long term usage. And not to forget that aside from being ecological, bicycles are one of the most used and most recommended ways of transportation around Nancy. www.velostan.fr 14
Housing Being an Erasmus student, you have the possibility to accommodate in a room in a university residence during your stay in Nancy. There are also other student residences in Nancy, managed by CROUS (regional center for students a company that provide various types of accommodations to students). And which have bigger and more spacious rooms than university residences do. University Residence of MEDREVILLE Located right next to IUT Nancy-Charlemagne and Restaurant of University, Medreville receives lots of Erasmus students every year. The loans depend on the type of room you choose: - room without a toilet : 167,80 EURO - room with a toilet : 251,90 EURO - studio : 328,70 EURO On the other hand there are always other student residences (like Aristide Briand), and before deciding you can check all of them from the link below: www.crous-nancy-metz.fr/crous/sites/crous/accueil/logement/ If you choose to stay in a CROUS residence, please be careful with the following: - If you wish to arrive during the last week of August, please make sure to arrive before 4 p.m. - Make sure you bring enough money with you, because you may be demanded to pay a deposit at your first entrance. (This again depends on the room you choose. Ex: 180 euro for a room without toilets, 234 EURO for a room with toilet etc.) - If you have a guarantor, please bring the corresponding papers (photocopies of his/her last three pay cheque stubs, his/her ID, proof of residency and of his/her bank receipt (rib)) - Consider making an insurance plan for your room before or at your arrival. 15
Useful telephone numbers and websites Telephone Numbers Urgent Medical Aid Service : 15 Police : 17 Firefighters : 18 European Urgency calls : 112 (from a mobile phone) SOS : 3624 To make a call outside of France, you should type 00 + country code + the number you'd like to call(without the 0) To make a call from outside of France to France, Useful websites about the IUT and Nancy https://www.facebook.com/iutcharlemagne www.nancy.fr www.ot-nancy.fr www.toutnancy.com www.nancystan.com www.nancybynight.com www.monptidoi.com International Students Network of Nancy contact@esnnancy.fr Tel: 06-60-56-26-42 www.esnnancy.fr We strongly recommend you to get touch with them. You won't regret as it will help you to discover new places and to make new friends! The information included in this guide consists of and has been gathered from the information taken from the given websites of different organizations. 16
Testimonies For me, discovering Nancy and it's culture was a real pleasure. And also this year that i have spent in France has given me a chance to improve my French and also it has taught me how to be more independent. Everyone had been really helpful during my stay so I strongly recommend IUT Nancy-Charlemagne! Anastasia, Pays-Bas The reception days helped me enormously to understand how everything functions in IUT, because it was a little different than my University. And I also really liked the system of peer monitoring because it has given me the chance to meet lots of French people and to go to Jeroen, Belgique I will surely come back to Nancy, it's a really beautiful city! The students, the Profs and the staff had always been really willing to help, the task sharing was wonderful. I will always have great memories of my stay here, which, sadly passed too quickly... Tina, Allemagne 17