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Since 1995 Siena has enjoyed a solid academic partnership with the Centre d'Etudes Franco-Americain de Management (CEFAM) in Lyon, France. Each year students from CEFAM enroll at Siena in order to complete their fourth year of studies and receive a dual degree from both institutions. In turn, CEFAM welcomes Siena students for semester-long study abroad. This February, Brother Brian Belanger, Ph.D., director of International Programs, participated in an exchange for administrators in higher education. This exchange is similar to one offered to faculty, which Aaron Pacitti, Ph.D. of the Economics department, took part in last November.
While in Lyon, Brother Brian gave presentations on Siena and the American educational system to groups of CEFAM students and spoke with prospective students about opportunities available at Siena. He was able to shadow various CEFAM administrators, contribute to curricular development and participate in meetings regarding new majors. He also met with numerous faculty and with CEFAM-Siena alumni residing in Lyon.
Funding for the exchange was sponsored by an Erasmus+ grant. This program, affiliated with the Education Agency of the European Commission, provides awards for the development of partnerships among universities outside of the EU.
Siena has graduated 130 students with a dual CEFAM-Siena degree. Until now, mobility has been limited to students. Erasmus+ has allowed the College to expand the relationship to include faculty and administrator exchanges. In March, CEFAM will send a faculty member to Siena for a one week teaching exchange.
"Students at CEFAM are preparing to come to the United States to complete their university education, so they are highly motivated and possess an excellent level of English. A significant component of the CEFAM curriculum includes a six-month internship. Students may do the internship in France, but most choose to go abroad to the UK, Switzerland, Luxemburg or even Singapore and South Africa. The experience they then bring with them to Siena makes for lively conversation in the classroom. Being bilingual and with strong international experiences, CEFAM student make a valuable contribution to academic discourse, but as can be imagined, they also enliven the campus’ social scene.
Since Lyon is the gastronomic capital of France, I sampled a wide variety of amazing foods during the twelve days of my stay. As an office team building exercise, I joined CEFAM administrators for a baking class. I baked my very own gallete des rois, a special pastry akin to a ‘king cake’ which is sold in pastry shops throughout the city during this season.”
Br. Brian Belanger, O.F.M.
Director of the Center for International Programs
