Fostering the connection between research and education

[Article] - Published on October 17, 2025 in Enhancing Your Education, Faculties, Schools, and Institutes, Courses Taught in English, CHARM-EU European University

As part of the Charm-EU alliance, the University of Montpellier, in collaboration with SIRIC Montpellier Cancer, launched the second edition of an international interdisciplinary module on September 24, aimed at strengthening the link between research and education. The goal: to better prepare future researchers for high-level international and interdisciplinary research.

Training our future researchers by helping them understand research issues that are closely aligned with patients’ needs: this is the educational and scientific challenge addressed by the experimental module titled “Addressing Health Challenges in Internationally Connected Research Hubs,” or “ResearchHubs” for short. An international module conducted entirely in English, designed by the University of Montpellier and Utrecht University in collaboration with SIRIC Montpellier Cancer as part of the CHARM-EU alliance.

While the 2024 edition kicked off with an international conference focused on the screening and treatment of colorectal cancer, this year’s theme continues to explore therapeutic approaches to fighting cancer—but from a different angle: immunotherapies. Once again, the event brought together clinicians, researchers, and patient organizations. Whether in person or online, everyone came to share their expertise with some thirty international students from the University of Montpellier and Utrecht University. The various presentations covered cutting-edge research and its application in therapeutic processes, as well as common toxicities associated with immunotherapies. These discussions were enriched by the patients’ personal accounts of their care journeys, which were as poignant as ever.

Combination therapies and practical issues

A conference that launched the second edition of an experimental module designed to strengthen the link between research and education by leveraging the educational interactions between Utrecht and Montpellier. This is made possible by the commitment of coordinators from both teaching and research backgrounds who believe in the potential of this new approach to knowledge transfer and teaching. This is the case for Sandra Crnko and Niels Bovenschen at Utrecht University, and Sonia Cantel and Gilles Subra at the University of Montpellier. For the latter, Professor the Max Mousseron Institute of Biomolecules (IBMM) and also a project manager atUM the CHARM-EU alliance of European universities, the module offers a twofold benefit: “It covers all aspects of immunology and its application in oncology, a subject that is the focus of extensive global research, particularly with the emergence of combination therapies. This is all the more interesting given that Montpellier is home to some of the top researchers specializing in this field.”

That is why the module involves not only SIRIC Montpellier Cancer, but also the Montpellier Cancer Institute (ICM), the Montpellier Cancer Research Institute (IRCM), the Immune4Cure University Hospital Institute, and the Evocan-2 University Hospital Federation.“From a more pedagogical perspective, the way students learn here is completely different from what’s done elsewhere,” continues Gilles Subra. “We confront them with research problems—but concrete, real-world problems, the kind that arise right at the patients’ bedsides. From the very beginning, they know they will study and work in groups to find solutions. However, since they come from either Montpellier or Utrecht, they have neither the same educational background nor the same scientific training.”

Develop valuable skills

However, it is through transdisciplinary teams that students in the Research Hubs module will propose research projects related to immunotherapies, with the support of an international network of researchers dedicated to this field. This is the best way to develop the cross-disciplinary skills essential for conducting international research. What are these skills? Knowing how to draft proposals and secure funding, working collaboratively, managing projects when necessary, knowing how to engage with and connect to colleagues from other disciplines, demonstrating curiosity, and approaching a problem from its most fundamental aspects all the way to its societal implications…

“We’re tapping into the full richness of transdisciplinarity ,” insists Gilles Subra. What makes a good researcher is their ability to work in a group, because no one has all the skills needed to carry out a project alone. For Sonia Cantel, also a faculty member and researcher at IBMM, it’s another way to introduce them to the world of research:“As educators, we want to show them that they are capable of using their scientific knowledge with common sense and in a productive way to address a specific problem.”

What’s next? The five teams will present their research projects in late December. Then, early next year, several of the students will complete internships at research centers in Montpellier or Utrecht to further their hands-on research experience. As for the module itself, the 2026 edition is expected to focus more closely on immunotherapies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. New challenges lie ahead—and they’re no small ones.

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

According to Gilles Subra, this type of module is a readily adaptable model that should be tested in other disciplines.“Thanks to the instructional designers and colleagues involved in this project, we have a truly turnkey resource, ”he says enthusiastically. Any discipline could adapt this model: a public lecture on concrete topics or current research issues, bringing in people from civil society and NGOs, followed by interdisciplinary group work and then a small project… It’s an easily adaptable and financially sustainable model. “With the support of the CHARM-EU teams atUM, we can help any motivated colleague integrate it into their own master’s program.”

Keywords: Charm-eu, Training, International