Pictured (from left): Titouan Richaud, Romain Pepino, Sekoele Ramajoe, Manager: International Student Recruitment Officer at CUT, Matteo Cerrone, and Joris Marcheboeuf. The four exchange students from Centrale Lyon ENISE, France, will spend a trimester at CUT as part of the International Credit Mobility Programme. During their stay, they will collaborate with academics and students in the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology (FEBIT) on two innovative engineering projects: Digital Twin Development (Mechanical Engineering) and Digital Twin Development (Electrical Engineering).

The Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT), through the Centre for Global Engagement (CGE), welcomed four exchange students, Titouan Richaud, Romain Pepino, Matteo Cerrone and Joris Marcheboeuf from Centrale Lyon ENISE, France.

The students will spend a trimester at the university as part of the International Credit Mobility Programme, which continues to strengthen the growing academic partnership between CUT and Centrale Lyon ENISE. The partnership was initiated through a staff mobility visit by Professor Sampson Kusakana to Centrale Lyon ENISE, where opportunities for academic collaboration were explored. This engagement paved the way for reciprocal staff and student exchanges, creating meaningful opportunities for international learning, research collaboration and intercultural engagement.

As part of their onboarding, the CGE facilitated an orientation session to introduce the visiting students to CUT’s academic environment, student support services, campus life and key university processes. The session formed part of the university’s broader Internationalisation at Home agenda, which seeks to create inclusive spaces where international and local students feel welcomed, supported and connected.

During their stay, the students will collaborate with academics and students in the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology (FEBIT) on two innovative engineering projects: Digital Twin Development for the Campus Brewery, with a focus on Mechanical Engineering, and Digital Twin Development for the Solar Car, with a focus on Electrical Engineering.

These projects will provide valuable international experiential learning opportunities while contributing to the university’s research, innovation and applied engineering initiatives. They will also enable CUT students and staff to engage with international peers, exchange knowledge and strengthen collaborative approaches to real-world engineering challenges.

The partnership has already created valuable opportunities for CUT students. In 2025, Lebohang Nthama, a master’s student in Mechanical Engineering, spent a semester at Centrale Lyon ENISE through the programme. Building on this momentum, two additional master’s students in Mechanical Engineering, will commence their exchange program at ENISE during the second semester of 2026.

Hosting international students on specialised engineering projects demonstrates the quality, relevance and international competitiveness of CUT’s academic programmes and research capacity. It also reinforces the university’s growing international reputation as a destination of choice for academic mobility, innovation and collaborative knowledge exchange. CGE extends a warm South African welcome to the students and wishes them a rewarding, productive and memorable experience at CUT.