French Connection

A team of UCD researchers and teaching staff have completed a series of visits to French and Arabic-speaking partner the Université de Tunis. The visits – funded by Erasmus+ ICM – formed part of UCD’s  first study and teaching exchange with a French-speaking university in North Africa.

UCD doctoral student Raghad Abu Shammala was part of the team of researchers and teaching staff who visited the Université de Tunis.

“The city of Tunis is inspiring,” says Raghad, whose goal was to amplify her doctoral research on children's experiences of their rights of voice and participation in education, exploring this topic in a North African context. “The city is an incredible mix of cultures. Tunisia is an Arabic country, but with a strong European influence; for example French is commonly used, particularly in cafés and shops. The culture, the architecture, the food - fusing Arab and European culture in such a vibrant way - there is so much to absorb and explore.”

Raghad’s visit was part of an Erasmus+ ICM (International Credit Mobility) project involving a first-time collaboration between UCD’s School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics and the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences at the Université de Tunis. In 2022, UCD was awarded €19,720 in Erasmus+ ICM funding by the Higher Education Authority, Ireland's Erasmus+ National Agency, to support the academic mobility of students and staff between the two institutions.

The project was led by UCD's Prof Mary Gallagher, who developed the concept for the project with her collaborator of over 20 years: Samia Kassab, Professor of French and Francophone Literature at the Université de Tunis. The project was designed to create opportunities for students to explore literary and linguistic traditions not traditionally studied in either country, to explore new opportunities for collaboration, and to leverage opportunities for students and staff to develop French, English or Arabic language skills. 

“The exchange programme has been even more fruitful than we could have anticipated," says Mary. "Collaborations with French-speaking universities in North Africa offer incredible opportunities for our staff and students interested in practising their French or Arabic language skills, as well as the chance to experience a very accessible part of Africa.”

“As well as welcoming postgraduates from Tunis, we have had the opportunity to host leading Tunisian professors of world literature in French”, Mary continues. “But perhaps most significantly, we have sent a delegation of PhD students and staff to Tunis to collaborate with their North African counterparts on areas including migrant medicine and refugees’ healthcare experiences, the history of Muslim migration to Ireland and comparative educational systems. It’s exciting to see these new Irish-Tunisian connections take shape.”

Research visits

Research visits by the four UCD doctoral students – who were able to attend an international conference on migration co-hosted by the University of Palermo and Université de Tunis - have enabled them to develop new angles for their research and new professional connections, while a teaching visit to Tunis by David Kerr, Professor of History at UCD, has developed new inter-institutional links between history faculties.

UCD doctoral student Tasneem Filaih, who is undertaking a PhD in History, was one of the doctoral students to visit Tunis. “Participating in the Erasmus+ ICM programme was a truly enriching experience,” she said. “It provided an excellent opportunity to improve and apply my language skills, connect with fellow PhD students, and collaborate on a funding proposal for an interdisciplinary symposium inspired by our shared research interests.”

For doctoral student Aoife Joy Keogh who also had the opportunity to visit Tunis, a key benefit was the chance to experience immersion in a different culture. Reflecting on the visit, Aoife said, "International mobility opportunities that immerse students in cultures and languages of countries outside of Europe are incredibly important for authentic intercultural dialogue within academia. Being immersed in the Arabic culture and language enabled me to look beyond Eurocentrism and enhanced my appreciation for international partnerships and discourse in research." 

In addition to their research work, the students had the opportunity to explore historic sites, sample local cuisines - including brik au thon (a savoury filo pastry stuffed with mashed potatoes, egg and tuna), bambolouni (a traditional Tunisian sugared donut) and Fricassé (sandwich stuffed with tuna, olives, harissa and potatoes), almond and mint tea - and even being welcomed to the homes of Université de Tunis staff for traditional Tunisian meals.  

During the course of the project, UCD welcomed the Vice-President of the Université de Tunis, Professor Emna Beltaïef, and Professor of French and Comparative Literature, Sonia Zlitni Fitouri. In addition to delivering seminars and lectures, Emna and Sonia joined high-level discussions on the future of the partnership.

Doctoral students from the Université de Tunis, Amina Ben Yezza and Zeineb Golli, visited UCD on doctoral mobilities in 2024 and 2025. In addition to leveraging resources at UCD’s James Joyce Library for thesis research, the students engaged with researchers and teaching staff across UCD, working closely with Prof Gallagher and Mary Beth Allen, Assistant Professor of French and Francophone studies at the University of Connecticut, whose own Erasmus+ ICM visit to UCD was timed to coincide with that of the Tunisian researchers due to their shared research interests in French literature.  

While this 2022-2025 Erasmus+ ICM project has now completed, the impact of the project continues to be felt. Two of the researchers – Tasneem Filaih and Ambra Bergamasco – have already secured funding for proposals developed during their visit to Tunis. As a result of the funding awards - which involve both the UCD Humanities Institute and the UCD School of Geography - a symposium titled ‘Migration beyond Emergency: Testimony, Care, Belonging and Diaspora’ will be held on 28-29 May 2026 in UCD.

Find out more

• Photo caption: Main image (L-R) Samia Kassab, Mary Gallagher and Raghad Abu Shammala. Second image: Raghad during her mobility in Tunis. Third image: a cityscape in Tunis. Fourth image: UCD doctoral students Aoife Joy Keogh and Tasneem Filaih with Université de Tunis student Amina Ben Yezza.
• The multidisciplinary UCD team who travelled to Tunis consisted of Prof. Mary Gallagher, Prof. David Kerr, Ambra Bergamasco (PhD student), Aoife Joy Keogh (PhD student), Tasneem Filaih (PhD student) and Raghad Abu Shammala (PhD student).
• The mobilities mentioned in this article were funded under Erasmus+ Key Action 171 (also known as Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility). In 2022, UCD was awarded €19,720 by the (opens in a new window)Higher Education Authority (Ireland’s Erasmus+ National Agency) to implement this Erasmus+ ICM mobility project with the Université de Tunis.
• Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility (ICM) is a strand of the Erasmus+ programme that enables staff and students to undertake mobility periods in non-Erasmus programme countries. Non-Erasmus programme countries are mainly countries outside of Europe and in the East of Europe).
• If you have an idea for a mobility project and are interested in finding out how Erasmus+ ICM funding works, email (opens in a new window)erasmusicm@ucd.ie
• Between 2015 and 2025, UCD obtained over €2.1 million in KA171 funding to support the academic mobility of over 500 students and staff between Ireland and partner countries all over the world.
• Read about the experience of Amina Ben Yezza, a student from the Université de Tunis who visited UCD through this Erasmus+ ICM project in summer 2024 or find out about the experiences UCD staff and students who have undertaken Erasmus+ KA171 mobilities in Kenya, Mozambique and New Zealand.