On March 4, 2026, three students from the College of Information Science participated in an official visit to the Gradignan City Hall in France as part of the short-term study program currently being held at the IUT de Bordeaux (University Institute of Technology, University of Bordeaux).
This program is offered to students of the School of Informatics and is being conducted at the IUT de Bordeaux—one of the University of Tsukuba’s CiC partner institutions—from February 26 to March 24, 2026. The program is organized and supervised by Associate Professor Claus Aranha of the Institute of Engineering, Information and Systems, together with Professors Serge Bouter, Timothée Lévi, Sophie Cartier, and Bruno Mery of the IUT de Bordeaux.
Although a meeting with the Mayor of Gradignan, Mr. Michel Labardin, had initially been planned, it was not realized due to his commitments related to the upcoming mayoral election scheduled for March 2026.
Instead, the students were warmly welcomed by Ms. Claire Rivenc, a city councilor in charge of international relations and partnerships with the University of Bordeaux. Under her guidance, the students, accompanied by Professors Serge Bouter, Timothée Lévi, Nicholas Journet, and Sophie Cartier, as well as a number of University of Bordeaux students, visited the city-run Musée de la Vigne et du Vin (Museum of Vine and Wine). There, they learned about the history of winemaking and viticulture in the Bordeaux region and viewed tools and materials historically used in grape cultivation.
Gradignan is known as a university town that hosts the IUT de Bordeaux and actively promotes international exchange through partnerships with sister cities. This visit provided the participating students with a valuable opportunity to deepen their understanding of the local community and its culture.
We extend our sincere appreciation to the faculty members of the IUT de Bordeaux for organizing this visit, and to Ms. Claire Rivenc and the staff of Gradignan City Hall for their kind hospitality.
