Nurturing the link between research and training

[Article] - Published on October 17, 2025 in Enriching your education, Faculties, schools and institutes, CHARM-EU European University

On September 24, as part of the Charm-EU alliance, the University of Montpellier, in collaboration with the SIRIC Montpellier Cancer, launched the second edition of an international interdisciplinary module designed to strengthen the link between research and training. The aim is to better prepare future researchers for high-level international and interdisciplinary research.

Training our future researchers to understand research issues as close as possible to the needs of patients: this is the educational and scientific challenge addressed by the experimental module entitled "Meeting health challenges in internationally connected research hubs", or "Research hubs " for short. This international module, entirely in English, has been designed by the University of Montpellier and the University of Utrecht, in collaboration with the SIRIC Montpellier Cancer, as part of the CHARM-EU alliance.

While the 2024 edition was inaugurated by an international conference focusing on colorectal cancer screening and treatment, this year's theme continues to focus on therapeutic means in the fight against cancer. But from a different angle: immunotherapies. Once again, the event brought together clinicians, researchers and patient associations. Whether in person or online, they all came to share their expertise with some thirty international students from Montpellier University and Utrecht University. The various presentations covered cutting-edge research and its use in therapeutic processes, as well as common toxicities in immunotherapy. These reflections were enriched by the ever poignant accounts of patients' care journeys.

Combination therapies and terrain problems

A conference that launched the second edition of an experimental module whose mission is to enrich the link between research and training by taking advantage of the pedagogical interactions between Utrecht and Montpellier. This is thanks to the commitment of coordinators from the worlds of teaching and research who believe in the potential of this new way of transmitting and teaching. This is the case of Sandra Crnko and Niels Bovenschen at the University of Utrecht, and Sonia Cantel and Gilles Subra at the University of Montpellier. For the latter, Professor at the Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron (IBMM), but also in charge of the CHARM-EU alliance of European universities at the UM, the benefits of the module are twofold: " It deals with all aspects of immunology and its use in oncology, a subject that is being studied extensively worldwide, particularly with the emergence of combination therapies. It's all the more interesting given that Montpellier is home to some of the best researchers in the field.

This is why not only the SIRIC Montpellier Cancer, but also the Institut du cancer de Montpellier (ICM), the Institut de recherche en cancérologie de Montpellier (IRCM), the Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire Immune4Cure and the FHU Evocan-2 are involved in the module. From a more pedagogical point of view, the way students learn has nothing in common with what is done elsewhere," continues Gilles Subra. We bring them face-to-face with research problems, but concrete problems in the field, those that arise at the bedside of patients. Right from the start, they know they'll be studying and working in groups to find solutions. However, as they come from Montpellier and Utrecht, they have neither the same teaching nor the same scientific training.

Developing valuable skills

However, it is in fact in transdisciplinary teams that the students in the Research hubs module will be proposing research projects linked to immunotherapies, with the support of an international network of researchers committed to this theme. This is the best way to develop valuable cross-disciplinary skills for international research. Which skills? Knowing how to draw up projects and get them funded, working in collaboration, managing if need be, knowing how to address and reach out to colleagues in other disciplines, demonstrating curiosity, embracing a problem from its most fundamental part to society...

"We're dealing with transdisciplinarity in all its richness ," insists Gilles Subra. What makes a good researcher is the ability to work in a group, because you never have all the skills needed to carry out a project on your own. For Sonia Cantel, also a teacher-researcher at IBMM, it's another way of introducing them to the world of research: " As trainers, we want to show them that they are capable of using their scientific baggage sensibly and productively to serve a specific problem. "

What's next? The five teams will present their research projects at the end of December. Then, at the beginning of next year, several of the students will take part in internships at research centers in Montpellier or Utrecht, to extend this hands-on immersion in research. As for the module itself, its 2026 edition is set to take a closer look at immunotherapies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. New challenges ahead, and not the least.

Research hubs: an easy-to-implement CHARM-EU module

According to Gilles Subra, this type of module is an easily replicable model that should be tested in other disciplines. Thanks to the educational engineers and colleagues involved, we have material that is truly turnkey," he says enthusiastically. Any discipline could adapt this model: a conference for the general public on concrete themes, current research issues, bringing in people from civil society, NGOs, then interdisciplinary group work followed by a small project... It's an easily adaptable and financially sustainable model. With the support of UM's CHARM-EU teams, we can help any motivated colleague to integrate it into his or her own Master's course .

Key words : Charm-eu, Training, International