After a summer of interning in Brock University’s science labs, Jimmy Lauberteaux and Andy Poupon are headed home to France.

The students were here as part of the University Mentorship (UM) program — run by Brock International Services — which welcomes visiting faculty, staff, students and scholars from universities around the world. They come to visit, collaborate and conduct research with Brock faculty, staff and students.

Receiving support from International staff, students are matched with a mentor at Brock who has similar research interests. Lauberteaux, who worked in Dr. Travis Dudding’s lab and Poupon, who worked with Dr. Tony Yan, spent their summer completing research projects spanning the synthesis of a new compound to the synthesis of BODIPY analogs as fluorescent sensors for nitroreductases.

Both students travelled from Ecole nationale superieure de chimie de Rennes (ENSCR) to complete their internship and have since gained a wealth of new knowledge and experience.

“In France we practice English but not the scientific language. This enabled me to lead some experiments and research by myself and gain some initiative and independence,” said Poupon.

Similarly, Lauberteaux made strides in the realm of chemistry and the English language. “The UM program enabled me to develop new knowledge in chemistry both in the practical and theoretical perspective, as well as my English level.”

Brock mentors see many students from France, particularly from ENSCR, as Brock’s scientific programs and labs appeal to many international scholars.

“My experience with the UM participants from France and Brazil has been very positive. All of them – five from France and one from Brazil – have strong academic backgrounds. These participants and the other students in my research lab enjoyed learning from each. They have always been extremely supportive,” said Yan.

Having received over 150 students from 31 countries, the UM program has grown in popularity over the years and students continue to come through various routes. We have students from Brazil participating in the Science without Borders program for an internship placement, and also from the countries in the Caribbean through the Emerging Leaders in the Americas scholarship program.

“Many students also come self-funded for their international experience. Like Andy or Jimmy’s, many European institutes require an international internship experience as mandatory to graduate. The UM participants often join the research labs at Brock but also work on joint or independent research projects supervised by Brock faculty for as short as a few weeks to up to one year,” said Liv Park, Scholar Services & Program Assistant for Brock International Services.

Choosing Brock was a pretty simple choice for Lauberteaux.

“I chose Brock University for two main reasons: The first one is its localization. Indeed, this university has the huge advantage to be close to Niagara Falls, Toronto, USA and it’s quite useful for a foreign student eager to discover new landscape like me. The second and the most important reason is the research programs carried out by the different groups in chemistry,” he said.

Poupon encourages incoming UM students “to enjoy their journey as much as possible and to make a lot of trips to discover Ontario and Quebec.”