From June 15 to 26, 2026, Mines Nancy hosted the first edition of its French Summer School on Sustainable Materials and Green Technologies. For two weeks, students from Taiwan, the United States, Morocco, Armenia, and Hungary gathered in Nancy to address major challenges related to the energy transition, critical materials, and artificial intelligence.
Organized by Mines Nancy, the University of Lorraine, and several international partners,
this summer school was designed as a comprehensive experience, combining scientific sessions, teamwork, visits to research sites, and cultural immersion.
The academic program included several seminars led by the professors from the University of Lorraine, as well as by visiting professors from Kyoto University and Yerevan State University.
But the summer school wasn’t limited to lectures. Divided into international groups,
participants worked on very practical projects with the goal of devising solutions to current challenges that they presented to their professors and peers.
The projects topics included, among others:
- the use of artificial intelligence to automate waste sorting;
- the design of a smart energy assistant to reduce a campus’s emissions;
- giving electric vehicle batteries a secondlife;
- decarbonizing materials using artificial intelligence;
- recycling solar panels.
Beyond the results, this collaborative effort allowed them to exchange ideas, combine
their skills, and develop solutions based on very different perspectives.
The summer school also gave students the opportunity to explore the research environment at Mines Nancy and the University of Lorraine. They visited the Jean Lamour Institute and at the STEVAL experimental station, which specializes in the recovery of raw materials and waste substances. These visits and meetings with researchers gave the students a concrete glimpse into the work being conducted on innovative materials and future technologies.
The cultural program was also a very important part of the experience. The students followed interactive French classes to gain a deeper understanding of the French language and culture.
They also participated in several activities to explore Nancy and the Grand Est region, including a city tour, a tour of Art Nouveau heritage sites, a French cooking workshop, an excursion to the Vosges Mountains, and a day trip to Strasbourg that included a visit to the European Parliament. This experience fostered a genuineinternational dynamic among students, from diverse cultural and academic backgrounds.
When asked to “Describe your experience in one short sentence,” the students’ responses reflected this unique atmosphere:
- “A fantastic cultural exchange”
- “Unforgettable and enriching”
- “Interesting challenge”
This summer school showed how important is a combination of studies, teamwork and intercultural exchanges. This allows the students to better embrace the complexity if major challenges through a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach.