[Getting Started #11] Setting Up an Erasmus+ Capacity Building Project

[Article, Video] - Published on March 16, 2026 in Major Programs, Development

Emmanuel Houzé (MRM) and Emilien Azema (LMGC) areProfessors. With support from the Partnerships and Innovation Department, they launchedGreen Gecko, an educational cooperation project bringing together eleven universities in Thailand, the Philippines, and Europe. They tell us about it in theDécollage,by the Dipa of theUniversityof Montpellier.  

“The idea behind this is to change the curricula at engineering schools in Southeast Asia so that students can acquire skills related to the environmental transition,”explains Emmanuel Houzé,Professor MRE and director ofthe IAE. Together with Emilien Azema, director of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and head of international relations at the Faculty of Sciences, they launched Green Gecko.  

A cooperation project with four engineering schools in Thailand and four in the Philippines to enhance their curricula by adding ten modules related to the energy transition.“These include, for example, calculating carbon footprints or conducting circular economy analyses—skills that may be of interest to industry,”explains the director of the IAE.  

To set up this project, the two faculty members applied for funding through the“Capacity Building in Higher Education”action of the Erasmus+ program. They received support from the Dipa until the contract was signed, at which point the Dipa handed the project over to the Office of International Relations. “We came in with a fairly general idea, and the Dipa translated it into language the European Commission could understand,” notesEmilien Azéma. “They were there from start to finish during the project’s drafting […] It’s hard to get, but once you have it, it’s incredibly satisfying!”  

Keywords: Takeoff, Innovation