Hosting Master's students during their "stage"
In France , part of the program of Master’s degrees consists of a “stage”, during which students spend 6 months in a research institution, in a governmental agency, or in a business, to carry out a body of work on a topic that is related to the focus of their degree. In that context, we at the institute can welcome students in Saint Loup for their stage and supervise their work, as long as the latter does not involve laboratory or field work, for which we are not equipped at the moment. The best fit is for projects that involve a very detailed, critical analysis of a body of literature. In our case, such analyses go in great depth, cover the literature exhaustively, and invariably end up with a publication, of which the student is first author. At the moment, we do not propose financial support to students during their “stage” and there is a (reasonable) fee for lodging in the “gîte” (B&B) part of the institute’s property. Depending on donations we receive in the future, we may be able at some point to waive this fee eventually.
Hosting Worldpackers volunteers
We are registered with the international association “Worldpackers” to host volunteers who, starting in the Summer of 2025, in exchange for accommodation and cultural experiences, will help us with the service during the workshops and with the maintenance of the grounds of the Institute’s property between the workshops.
Other activities...
Depending on support and, especially, on the level of interest and willingness of French government officials to sponsor them, we could envisage other activities in the future, such as:
- Summer training programs for middle- and high school teachers about any one of the topics we are dealing with in the institute: soils, climate change, and environmental or educational issues.
- Extension work with farmers, farm advisors, and elected officials, to familiarize them to some of the topics addressed by the institute, so that eventually they can include coverage of them in their courses.