On Monday, February 6^th, Rennes 2 welcomed a group of 10 students and accompanying faculty member from the University of Iceland (Reykjavík) to our campus for the beginning of an intensive language program that will last though Friday, February 17. The students will participate in close to 20 hours of French classes a week at the CIREFE, the Rennes 2 French-language learning center. The majority of those classes will also include other international CIREFE students, with an additional 4 hours a week being dedicated to a specific intensive course organized by CIREFE teacher Gil Prévost. University of Iceland faculty member, François Heenen, is also accompanying the students and will give a afternoon lecture on the theme of the Icelandic language on February 16th.

In addition to the on-site classes, the program also includes a virtual component, with:  online meetings and a Discord space created between 5 students of the Rennes 2 Master « Didactique des Langues » program and the participating Icelandic students in a system of mentoring. In order to take full advantage of this unique mobility program, the students will be also offered a variety of cultural activities in and around Rennes (Mont St. Michel, the Opera of Rennes, a guided visit of the historical center of Rennes and a visit to the Museum of Brittany, as well as other intercultural events proposed by the Rennes 2 mentors). Once completed, the two-week intensive program will provide participants with 6 ECTS credits.

This partnership between Rennes 2 and the University of Iceland was initiated by Associate Professor Mrs. Griselda Drouet (Rennes 2 University, Languages Faculty, Master Didactics of Languages, LIDILE) and Adjunct Lecturer Mrs. Ásta Ingibjartsdottir (University of Iceland, Faculty of Languages and Cultures) and aims to bring Iceland and Brittany closer together, two distinct geographical areas and cultures which share many historical common points. Within this new framework, 2 students from the University of Iceland were received on the Villejean campus last year also thanks to an ERASMUS+ mobility program. They were able to take courses in various subjects (history of art, archaeology, history of antiquity, literature), and French-language evening classes at the CIREFE.