The Department of Computer Science and Computer Engineering recently hosted 10 European students on campus as part of a summer research program. The program serves as a study abroad experience for international graduate and undergraduate students, while also allowing them to conduct hands-on research with University of Arkansas faculty members.

Students who participate in the program are recommended by faculty members at their home institutions and spend three months on the Fayetteville campus carrying out computer science and computer engineering research.

"My favorite element of the program was the collaborative work on my research project," said program participant Marion Chiariglione. "I worked with a master's student on my project and, since I love working in groups, it was a really nice addition to the program. Being able to run your ideas past another person is amazing. I also really liked discovering how a research lab works."

Chiariglione enjoyed the program so much she decided to stay at the University of Arkansas to complete her undergraduate degree.

Christophe Bobda, a professor in the College of Engineering, implemented the program in 2010. Since that time, 40 students have participated in the program and several have opted to return to the University of Arkansas for graduate education. Program participants have come from Cameroon, France, Germany and Mexico.

Kevin Labille participated in the program in 2013 and chose to pursue a computer science doctoral degree at the University of Arkansas after completing the summer program. His decision to make Fayetteville his graduate school home was influenced by the academic and non-academic experiences he had at the U of A.

"I love the extra-curricular activities the University of Arkansas offers," Labille said. "The numerous RSO events, the programs and trips offered by the Office of International Students and Scholars, the iFriend program, etc. As far as I know, things like this aren't offered by universities in France. I also think Fayetteville is a great town full of lovely and kind people. But, most importantly, the University of Arkansas is an amazing academic school."

The students who took part in the 2017 summer program are:

• Dimitri Beautems – Dijon, France, worked with John Gauch on 3D programming interface research
• Marion Chiariglione – Avignon, France, worked with Susan Gauch on computational literary analysis research
• Vincent Dereclenne – Dijon, France, worked with Qinghua Li on cybersecurity research
• Maxime Etienne – Dijon, France, worked with Christophe Bobda on sensor network research
• Antione Gall – Dijon, France, worked with Christophe Bobda on sensor network research
• Tim Hansmeier – Paderborn, Germany, worked with David Andrews on computer architecture research
• Fabien Lain – Dijon, France, worked with Christophe Bobda on sensor network research
• Romain Osso – Druyes-les-Belles-Fontaines, France, worked with Susan Gauch on sentiment analysis research
• Clement Roux – Nogent, France, worked with Susan Gauch on a music recommender system
• Pierre Vignon – Sens, France, worked with Susan Gauch on social networks in literature research