IN Mobility at UMONS
Every year, the FTI-EII welcomes many students from all over the world as part of study mobility programmes.
Testimonial
Hello!
My name is Jesús Plaza Bellido, I am currently studying Translation and Interpreting at the University of Malaga and I spent my Erasmus year in Mons in 2019-2020.
This exchange was an experience I will definitely never forget, as I had the opportunity to meet a lot of great people and travel around the country. At the beginning, everything seemed so complicated, since there was a lot of paperwork to do, but the mobility coordinator, Sarah Graindorge, helped me a lot with that and all went well. I only have good words when it comes to the University and the campus, the facilities were incredible and I really enjoyed the courses there. As for Mons, I can say that it is a charming city with lovely places, such as the belfry, Waux-Hall Park, the Grand Place… Oh! And for those who like partying, there are three words you need to learn by heart: « Marché aux herbes ». These were probably the most repeated words during my stay in Mons.
Belgium in general is wonderful (in spite of the weather, which can be bothering sometimes). There are many well-known beautiful cities that are a must-visit, such as Bruges, Brussels or Ghent (I especially liked this one), but there are some others cities that were not so familiar to me and which I really recommend, as is the case with Kortrijk or Liège; I remember I had so much fun running up the “Montagne de Bueren” to reach the top as fast as possible.
I really wish I could turn back time and return to Belgium, and I believe that anybody who has the opportunity to do an exchange in Mons should not miss the chance, as I am sure it will be an experience they will always keep in their hearts.
Jesús Plaza Bellido
Are you a student from abroad who would like to attend our university?
Find out more about the FTI-EII and the courses it offers, the services for exchange students and the list of contacts in the INCOMING Student Guide (PDF available soon).
For more information, visit the INCOMING Mobility page of the International Relations Office: https://web.umons.ac.be/fr/international/mobilite-incoming/
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An academic year is divided into two main semesters, both of which include teaching and examination sessions. The summer resit period does not feature any teaching sessions.
As a general rule, a course unit (a set of lessons) is taught over a semester and is assessed at the end of said semester. To pass a course unit, you must obtain at least 10/20.
You can sit an exam twice in the same academic year, at the end of two different semesters, i.e.:
- in January and in August/September for 1st semester courses,
- in May/June and August/September for 2nd semester courses.
If you choose a 1st semester course from BAC1, a resit exam will also be organised in May/June. This is known as the ‘three-chance rule’ (January, May/June, August/September).
Description of the Institutional Grading System
The mark of 10/20 is the official threshold for passing a course. For information purposes, grades can be interpreted as follows:
| Local grade (UMONS) | Qualitative equivalent |
| < 8 | Fail — considerable further work is required |
| 8 to ≤ 9,5 | Fail — further work is required |
| 10 to ≤ 11,5 | Sufficient — Pass |
| 12 to ≤ 13,5 | Satisfactory |
| 14 to ≤ 15,5 | Good |
| 16 to ≤ 17,5 | Very good |
| 18 and above | Excellent |
ECTS grading scale
| ECTS
Grade |
% of successful students normally achieving the grade | Definition {only of failing grades) |
| A | 10 | EXCELLENT — outstanding performance with only minor errors |
| B | 25 | VERY GOOD — above the average standard but with some errors |
| C | 30 | GOOD — generally sound work with a number of notable errors |
| D | 25 | SATISFACTORY — fair but with significant shortcomings or errors |
| E | 10 | SUFFICIENT — performance meets the minimum criteria |
| Fx | – | FAIL — some more work required before the credit can be awarded |
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As an exchange student, you can design your own study programme to meet your academic objectives, subject to approval from your home institution and your coordinator at the FTI-EII. To do this, you will need to complete a Learning Agreement listing the courses you have chosen.
The FTI-EII trains future translators with a perfect command of French and two foreign languages (among Arabic, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, English, German, Italian, Russian or Spanish), as well as future interpreters with a perfect command of French and two foreign languages (among Danish, Dutch, English, German, Italian, Russian or Spanish). The Faculty thus offers a wide range of Bachelor’s and Master’s courses taught using all these language combinations. From BAC3 onwards, students can also study a third foreign language from the following: Arabic, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, English, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish. The Faculty also run translation workshops for MA1 and exchange students to demonstrate how a translation office operates. The workshops take place over a two-week period in the second semester and are run by the students with supervision from the teaching staff.
The FTI-EII also offers French as a Foreign Language (FLE) courses to its international students. These courses are tailored to the needs of future translators and interpreters. Student are able to develop their written and oral skills, as well as their production and comprehension skills in French. In addition, students will be able to convey facts and arguments from various written and recorded sources, summarising them coherently. They will also be able to express themselves spontaneously on complex subjects in a clear and structured way, and use organisational tools to articulate and link their discourse coherently. The course includes exercises in the analysis, correction, summarising and reporting of written texts and speeches, grammatical analysis and reflection, as well as stylistic and semantic analysis of written and oral work.
In order to help exchange students draw up their course programme, the Faculty has also created specific teaching units covering the learning activities most likely to be of interest to them. All these units are listed under the ‘Bloc Mobilité’ tab in the Bachelor’s degree in Translation and Interpreting programme.
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The International Relations Office (SRI) welcomes international students and organises various activities, including Welcome Days at the beginning of each term. Students can meet other exchange students and academic coordinators and are given all the information they need for a smooth start to their exchange.
The SRI also provides administrative support to students and has set up weekly office hours on campus for this purpose. Sarah Graindorge (sarah.graindorge@umons.ac.be) is responsible for coordinating outgoing and incoming mobility for the FTI-EII.
For more information, visit the SRI page: https://web.umons.ac.be/fr/international/mobilite-incoming/ !
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- International Relations Office
Sarah Graindorge
Administrative Coordinator
- Faculty of Translation and Interpreting
Faculty Coordinator (Dean of the FTI-EII)
Christine Michaux
Contact at the FTI-EII
Sylvie Lebailly
Academic Coordinators at the FTI- EII
| Departement | Coordinator | Contact |
| German | Natacha Body
Camille Lambillotte |
natacha.body@umons.ac.be |
| English | Jean Robertson | jean.robertson@umons.ac.be |
| Arabic | Najwa Hamaoui | najwa.hamaoui@umons.ac.be |
| Chinese | Kevin Henry | kevin.henry@umons.ac.be |
| Danish | Peggy Van Ceulebroeck
Margrethe Eriksen |
peggy.vanceulebroeck@umons.ac.be |
| Spanish | Marta Bonet | marta.bonetbofill@umons.ac.be |
| Italian | Mylena Piccinelli | mylena.piccinelli@umons.ac.be |
| Dutch | Hanne Cardoen | hanne.cardoen@umons.ac.be |
| Russian | Daria Balandina | daria.balandina@umons.ac.be |