June 10, 2024 – The Cultural Services of the French Embassy is delighted to announce the fifth annual call for applications for the prestigious Community College in France (CCF) Summer Bootcamp.
Conceived within the framework of the U.S. Department of State and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Transatlantic Friendship and Mobility Initiative, CCF aims to significantly enhance and diversify student mobility across the Atlantic. The program focuses on providing hands-on educational opportunities through immersive workshops, informative site visits, and comprehensive vocational training. This initiative is made possible through a strategic partnership with Community Colleges for International Development.
Since its inception, CCF has been committed to offering dynamic short-term summer ‘bootcamps’ designed for students currently enrolled in community colleges. In the upcoming 2024 cycle, CCF is set to award 75 Summer Bootcamp scholarships.
In 2025, French universities will offer programs based on two themes:
Business and Sustainable Development: The bootcamps could highlight how economic activity, particularly through certain technical solutions, can enhance the planet’s habitability and address contemporary environmental and social challenges (such as reducing inequalities, combating discrimination, and preserving democracy).
Artificial Intelligence (IA): Recent advances in AI are profoundly transforming our societies, affecting both interpersonal relationships and the professional sphere. This revolution has attracted significant private investment and varying degrees of public policy attention globally. The proposal will help students better understand the concept of AI and raise awareness about the economic, societal, and ethical issues posed by this technology.
Over the past five years, CCF has emerged as a groundbreaking and sustainable study abroad model, fostering a symbiotic relationship between French educational institutions and American community college students.
Despite the fact that more than 40% of U.S. college students attend community colleges, a mere 1.7% of students who study abroad hail from these institutions, largely due to financial constraints and time limitations.
The Cultural Services of the French Embassy addresses this disparity by offering community college students a unique and affordable opportunity to study in France.
The program combines a work-study model with low-cost tuition in French schools, coupled with a rigorous vetting process by the French Embassy, ensuring that students receive a high-quality education at an affordable cost.
For French schools, CCF provides an unparalleled opportunity to connect with a network of U.S. schools, broadening their international reach and enhancing their educational offerings.
Over the past five years, CCF has emerged as a groundbreaking and sustainable study abroad model, fostering a symbiotic relationship between French educational institutions and American community college students.
Despite the fact that more than 40% of U.S. college students attend community colleges, a mere 1.7% of students who study abroad hail from these institutions, largely due to financial constraints and time limitations.
The Cultural Services of the French Embassy addresses this disparity by offering community college students a unique and affordable opportunity to study in France.
The program combines a work-study model with low-cost tuition in French schools, coupled with a rigorous vetting process by the French Embassy, ensuring that students receive a high-quality education at an affordable cost.
For French schools, CCF provides an unparalleled opportunity to connect with a network of U.S. schools, broadening their international reach and enhancing their educational offerings.
To participate as a CCF Summer Bootcamp host, French institutions submit a detailed proposal outlining the program topic and associated activities. This year, five distinguished French schools have been selected to host CCF Summer Bootcamps, each focusing on sustainability:
- Go Green ! (Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour)
- Beyond the Postcard: Nature, Culture, and Sustainability in the French Caribbean (Université des Antilles)
- Some Like It Sustainable (Université de Montpellier)
- Science for Sustainable Development: From Conservation of Natural Heritage to Future Society (Université de Lille)
- Sustainable Engineering (Ecole supérieure des technologies industrielles – ESTIA).
The results of the call for projects will be announced on July 19th. Students will be able to apply starting this fall.
The Cultural Services of the French Embassy promotes the best of French arts, literature, cinema, digital innovation, language, and higher education across the US. Based in New York City, Washington D.C. It also builds partnerships between French and American artists, institutions and universities on both sides of the Atlantic.
Community Colleges for International Development helps member colleges further their internationalization initiatives and develop globally competent workers by providing a wealth of knowledge, resources, and experience in developing international programs. Founded in 1976 and representing more than 140 community, technical, and vocational institutions from 14 countries, CCID is dedicated to creating globally engaged learning environments.
Photo: (c) Chris Karidis