🇪🇸 🇫🇷 A Wonderful Stay at Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche

A first visit to Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche (UMH) proved to be a substantive experience, combining productive exchanges on collaborative learning frameworks with advances in robotics and brain-machine interface research.

This stay was rich across several dimensions:

• Deep and substantive discussions on collaborative learning — COILs (Collaborative Online International Learning) and BIPs (Blended Intensive Programmes) — with the team at the Escuela Politécnica Superior de Elche, opening concrete perspectives for joint learning experiences that would benefit students at both Polytech Lille and UMH.

• Stimulating exchanges on robotics and brain-machine interfaces with Prof. José Maria Azorin and his team (Brain-Machine Interface Systems Lab) and, in particular, with Cristina Polo-Hortigüela, whose work on neurorehabilitation systems combining robotic devices and brain-machine interfaces is both scientifically compelling and clinically meaningful. These discussions also addressed the NeurotechEU alliance as a natural framework for deepening joint research initiatives — a prospect that appears both timely and well-grounded.

• Visits to the Medical Robotics Unit led by José Maria Sabater-Navarro and the Rehabilitation and Assistive Robotics team led by Nicolas Garcia-Aracil, where the quality and ambition of the ongoing research constituted a notable aspect of the visit.

• A full tour of the UMH campus and its facilities, reflecting the university’s dynamism and commitment to excellence.

Particular thanks go to Alberto Rodriguez, Deputy Vice Rector for Internationalization, who served as an exceptional host throughout this stay. Alberto’s warmth, generosity, and sustained investment in making this visit meaningful went well beyond expectations — from guiding campus tours to initiating conversations with potential for long-term cooperation between Polytech Lille and UMH. His dedication and genuine hospitality made every aspect of this stay productive and memorable. Muchas gracias, Alberto.

Warm thanks are also due to Inma, whose support from afar has been a constant thread running through this collaboration from the outset, and to Coralie Ostertag from the University of Lille, whose administrative contribution was instrumental in making this visit possible. Behind every successful mobility, there are dedicated people working in the background — and Coralie is among them.

This stay has reinforced, once again, the importance of investing in authentic and lasting partnerships. The foundations laid here carry considerable promise.