www.umons.ac.b
UMONS Place du Parc n째20 7000 Mons +32 (0)65 37 31 11
Research at UMONS
Research at UMONS ‘ Who thinks little, errs much.’ Leonardo Da Vinci
Table of contents Message from the Rector_____________________________________________________ 1 How research is structured__________________________________________________ 2; 4 Research at UMONS_________________________________________________________ 3 Areas and Thematic Clusters: Synergies__________________________________________ 5 1. Sciences_____________________________________________________________ 6 1.a CISMA – The Interdisciplinary Centre for Mass Spectrometry__________________ 7 1.b Matter and Materials________________________________________________ 8 1.c Modelling Complex Systems_ ________________________________________ 9 1.d Numerical and Molecular Ecology_ ____________________________________ 10 1.e Physics of Fundamental Interactions and Geometry________________________ 11 I. A few achievements_ ______________________________________________ 12 2. Engineering Sciences __________________________________________________ 14 2.a Biosys__________________________________________________________ 15 2.b Energy__________________________________________________________ 16 2.c Materials________________________________________________________ 17 2.d Risks___________________________________________________________ 18 2.e Information Technologies____________________________________________ 19 II. A few achievements_ ______________________________________________ 20 3. Medicine and Pharmacy_ _______________________________________________ 22 3.a BIOMED – from biomarkers to medicines________________________________ 23 3.b EXCEL – dysfunctions of excitable cells and their adaptation_________________ 24 III. A few achievements_ ______________________________________________ 25 4. Architecture and Urban Planning__________________________________________ 26 4.a Spaces quality and Sustainable Cities_ _________________________________ 27 IV. A few achievements_ ______________________________________________ 28 5. Economics and Management_____________________________________________ 30 5.a Organizational analysis_ ____________________________________________ 31 5.b Market analysis___________________________________________________ 32 5.c Management support Tools_ _________________________________________ 33 5.d Analysis of decision making__________________________________________ 34 V. A few achievements_ ______________________________________________ 35 6. Institute of Human and Social Sciences (ISHS)________________________________ 36 6.a Power, socialization and conflict_ _____________________________________ 37 6.b Transmission of practices, thoughts and social images_ ____________________ 38 7. Psychology and Educational Sciences______________________________________ 40 7.a Evaluation_______________________________________________________ 41 7.b Development_____________________________________________________ 42 7.c Communication___________________________________________________ 43 VI. A few achievements_ ______________________________________________ 44 8.Translation and Interpretation_____________________________________________ 46 8.a Terminology______________________________________________________ 47 8.b Translation studies_________________________________________________ 48 8.c Literary Translation_ _______________________________________________ 49 8.d Applied research in translation and the media____________________________ 50 VII. A few achievements_ ______________________________________________ 51 AVRE - Research Support and Technology Transfer Department________________________ 52 Index_ __________________________________________________________________ 54 Notes___________________________________________________________________ 56
Message from the Rector Nobody can right now assess what the role of research will be in the future, but what we can say with certainty is that there will be no future without research. We can also say that while, throughout history, the main goal of science has been to expand the frontiers of knowledge, today this objective has become inseparable from strategic issues confronting our society. Society needs researchers. It needs them in order to meet the challenges facing it, and God knows there are many of these. It needs them to improve the quality of life, and also to enable our economies to remain competitive. It needs them to diminish the threats to the environment and society. Around the world, people are pointing to the particular role of universities, whose missions have expanded considerably in recent years. There are of course the traditional missions of providing quality education and high-level research, with the essential link between teaching and research which is specific to the university. A third mission of service to society has coexisted, over the last twenty or thirty years, with these two fundamental missions. Today people are talking increasingly of innovation as the fourth mission of the university. The insistence with which this fourth task is being pressed calls for care and lucidity by universities, which need to strike a balance between two extremes: On the one hand, the old model of an independent university, populated by professors driven solely by a passion for truth and the search for prestige, is a thing of the past. The ivory tower has, so to speak, been replaced by a watchtower, more and more related to society. On the other hand, innovation in the sense of maximizing the economic benefit of knowledge is only one of the possible outputs of scientific research. Against this background the University of Mons has restructured its organization to focus both on the quality of its basic research and on the transfer of knowledge to serve society. This brochure presents the research potential of our institution, starting from a set of themes that cover the main strengths of its faculties. I wish you pleasant reading. Calogero Conti
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How Research is structured
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Research at UMONS The University of Mons (UMONS) is publishing this brochure to show the breadth and diversity of the research activities undertaken in its laboratories, and how these activities are structured into thematic clusters. Research is a vital mission of UMONS, with no effort spared to achieve the goals of excellence identified later in this brochure, and to promote a quality approach among its researchers. The University is keen to continue developing strong collaborations with universities and research centres at regional, national, european and international level, and is so doing to ensure the increasing competitiveness of its scientific production. Interdisciplinary research projects are particularly encouraged. Through its research and its close links with the industrial sector, UMONS also participates very actively in regional development. The Multitel, Materia Nova and INISMA research centres that it has created, along with the spin-offs and start-ups that revolve around it, are located mostly in the Initialis Science Park. The geographical proximity and small size of these organizations enables the university to maintain close and fruitful dialogue with them.
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How research is structured The University of Mons (UMONS), is located in the city of Mons, the capital of the Belgian province of Hainaut, a city with ancient traditions of hospitality, the cultural capital of the region, less than an hour by road from Brussels, Charleroi and Lille and just 75 minutes by train from Paris. The UMONS buildings are spread out across the historic centre of Mons, which forms the real university campus. UMONS is also a founding partner of the ‘Hainaut Cluster’, consisting of the university and other higher education institutions. This teaching and research cluster has ‘branches’ throughout the Province of Hainaut and offers students more than 250 degree courses. Research is one of the university’s key missions, with more than 600 researchers working in some 80 research departments in 7 faculties and 3 institutes. These research departments regularly make their expertise available to the public authorities and private companies. Through its research and its close links with the industrial sector, UMONS plays a very active role in the region’s development. The merger of the UMH (Université de Mons-Hainaut) and the FPMs (Faculté Polytechnique) has enhanced the structure of the research activities at UMONS. These revolve around three sectors representing the university’s major orientations: Human Sciences, Health and Life Sciences, and Sciences and Technologies. These sectors are subdivided into seven areas, reflecting the research fields of the seven UMONS faculties. The latter organize their research strategies in thematic clusters which are presented in this brochure. Prof. Ph. Dubois Vice-Rector for Research
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Areas and thematic clusters: synergies
Clusters/Areas
Sciences
Engineering Sciences
Medicine and Pharmacy
✘
(✘)
(✘)
(✘) (✘)
1.a
CISMa (The Interdisciplinary Centre for Mass Spectrometry)
1.b
Matter and Materials
1.c
Modelling Complex Systems
1.d
Numerical and Molecular Ecology
✘ ✘ ✘
1.e
Physics of Fundamental Interactions and Geometry
✘
2.a
Biosys - Biochemical and bioprocess engineering
(✘)
✘
2.b
Energy
2.c
Materials
(✘) (✘)
2.d
Risks
2.e
Information Technologies
✘ ✘ ✘ ✘
3.a
BIOMED – From biomarkers to medicines
(✘)
(✘)
✘
3.b
EXCEL – Dysfunctions of excitable cells and their adaptation
(✘)
(✘)
✘
4.a
Spaces quality and Sustainable Cities
5.a
Organizational analysis
5.b
Market analysis
5.c
Analysis of decision making
5.d
Management support tools
6.a
(✘)
Architecture and Urban Planning
Economics and Management
Psychology and Educational Sciences
Translation and Interpretation
(✘)
(✘)
(✘)
✘
(✘)
(✘)
Power, socialization and conflict
✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘
✘
6.b
Transmission of practices, thoughts and social images
✘
✘
7.a
Assessment: assessment of individuals, groups, organizations and institutions
✘
7.b
Development: functional and structural changes in human systems
✘
7.c
Communication: communication, involving an active link with at least one human
✘
8.a
Terminology
8.b
Translation studies
8.c
Literary Translation
✘ ✘ ✘
8.d
Applied research in translation and the media
✘ Key ✘ : Main areas (✘) : Related Areas
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Contact AREA 1. Christian Michaux Tel.: +32 (0)65 37 33 01 christian.michaux@umons.ac.be
1.
Sciences Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Computer Science and their interactions (chronologically listed) are the classical disciplines in the domain of sciences. Science research is at the forefront of today’s technological developments: GSM, GPS, antibiotics, computers, etc. Viterbi’s algorithm, for instance, formulated back in 1967, is used in every cellular phone today. The lack of appreciation for Sciences is partially due to the time-lag between the fundamental discovery of something new and its application in everyday situations. Yet science research paves the way for tomorrow’s world. At UMONS, science research is structured around the following fields: • numerical and molecular ecology • matter and materials • modelling complex systems • the physics of fundamental interactions and geometry • an interdisciplinary centre for mass spectrometry (the CISMa).
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1.a.
CISMA – The Interdisciplinary Centre for Mass Spectrometry The Interdisciplinary Centre for Mass Spectrometry (CISMa) was set up in January 2010. Research in and using mass spectrometry has become an increasingly important and multi-disciplinary scientific activity world-wide. Areas of application include analytical chemistry, atmospheric chemistry, synthetic polymer chemistry, proteomics, molecular imaging, functional genomics and so on. The centre, with its large range of spectrometers, is involved both in its own research and in offering its facilities to industrial and academic laboratories in Belgium and abroad. The Center has at its disposal an important number of spectrometers and other linked instruments. It offers a wide range of services for external and industrial laboratories, in Belgium and abroad.
Expertise Mass spectrometry is used to analyse molecules ionised in the gaseous phase on the basis of their mass. Of all analytical techniques, this methodology is one of the most widely used due to its characteristics and its large spectrum of applications. Researchers working in the Centre’s laboratories have wide experience in applying such techniques, in particular in organic chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, biological chemistry (DNA, lipids and proteins), synthetic chemistry. The center also developed expertise in the following areas: • validation of synthetic chemical processes; • characterization of polymer structures; • surfaces analysis; • quantification of proteins and peptides in complex matrix; • identification of metabolites; • quantification of pollutants.
Highlights The Interdisciplinary Centre for Mass Spectrometry (CISMa) has acquired a lot of its equipment through grants from the F.R.S.-FNRS, the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office, the Region of Wallonia and the European Space Agency, and is now one of Belgium’s leading centres in this domain. Equipment available includes: • an Ion Trap HCT Ultra Plus (Brucker); • a Waters QToF Premier and a Waters QtoF2; • a Waters AutoSPec 6Fh; • a ToF-SIMS IV (Ion-Tof Gmbh); • a Q-Tof Ultimate (Waters), a EQP 500 (Hiden Analytical); • a PPM421 (Balzers); • a QMG 421 (Balzers). One of the Centre’s main features is the complementarity of its equipment and its researchers.
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1.b.
Matter and Materials Matter is a general term for what makes up all physical objects (defined in terms of space and mass). A material is a matter of natural or artificial origin which has been selected by man for certain specific properties and manufactured for specific uses in such various domains as medical prostheses or photovoltaic cells. Matter is commonly said to exist in solid, liquid and gaseous forms. However it also exists in such less known states as plasma or liquid crystal, whose properties are widely exploited in novel materials. The relation between states and shapes of matter and the properties of the materials formed from them is the main focus of research in this area.
Expertise UMONS research in this area is conducted by some ten laboratories working in chemistry, physics and marine biology. They focus on systematically investigating the various states of matter and on manufacturing novel materials with predefined properties such as conductivity, resistance to deformation or water, etc. Within this field of research, nanotechnology, or the exploitation of specific properties of materials on an atomic and molecular scale, is a fast emerging area. The chemistry labs working in this field have set up CIRMAP (the Research and Innovation Centre on Polymeric Materials). The 130 people involved in this centre are particularly active in the synthesis of novel materials, catalysis, and the theoretical modelling of electronic and optic properties of materials designed for electronic plastics. The physics labs are mainly involved in research into covering and impregnating surfaces, bio- and nanotechnologies, and modelling techniques. The two websites http://morris.umons.ac.be/cirmap and http://crmm.umh.ac.be provide details of the research performed at UMONS in this field.
Highlights • CIRMAP has at its disposal equipment unique in Wallonia: XPS+UPS, reactive extrusion equipment for polymers (the sole installation of this type in Europe). In 2003, one of the laboratories was awarded the European Commission’s Descartes Prize. • The Materia Nova research centre (http://www.materia-nova.com), a UMONS spin-off operating in the area of novel materials, plays a leading role in transferring technology from research performed in University laboratories to industrial manufacturing. In 2010, together with CIRMAP, it was awarded an ‘Eco-Booster’ prize for its novel green method for producing high value-added bioplatics (for sustainable applications) from agricultural surplus and waste. • Research in this area is supported by a range of contracts from the ARC, IAP, F.R.S.-FNRS, private companies, the Region of Wallonia, and the European Commission.
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1.c.
Modelling Complex Systems The concept of complex systems is quite recent, having emerged in the course of the 20th century. Developments in biology, chemistry and physics boosted its rise by providing a lot of examples of such systems. Mathematical tools emerging in the context of the study of chaotic phenomena and the rise of computer science in the aftermath of WWII provided unmatched computational resources making analysable phenomena previously considered to be too complex. These techniques are now at the forefront of the study of various complex systems found in life sciences and social sciences (economic modelling, cognitive modelling, etc.).
Expertise There are more than 15 laboratories in the Faculty of Sciences involved in this area of research, ranging from experimental studies of biological, chemical and physical systems to the compilation of new mathematical models and IT software. The computer science and mathematics laboratories have expertise both in modelling complex IT systems, (software, databases, networks, etc.) and in the domain of verifying complex embedded systems. Other parts of these same laboratories are expert in building tools in numerical analysis, dynamic systems, probability and statistics, game theory, automata theory and mathematical logic. Most of the biology, chemistry and physics laboratories have developed wide experience in modelling and simulating complex systems: ecosystems, structures and properties of interfaces in macromolecular chemistry, of various surfaces, of thin film substrates, etc. The ‘Research’ sections on the websites http://biologie.umons.ac.be, http://chimie.umons.ac.be, http://informatique.umons.ac.be, http://math.umons.ac.be, http://physique.umons.ac.be provide detailed information on the research performed at UMONS in this domain.
Highlights • The UMONS laboratories working in this field are supported by many research contracts: from ARC, IAP, F.R.S.-FNRS, private companies, the Region of Wallonia, and the European Commission. • The laboratory for the numerical ecology of aquatic ecosystems develops opensource software, such as Zooimage (http://www.sciviews.org/zooimage/), used for analysing digitalized images of plankton. • The INFLUX laboratory is participating in a joint research project with CNRS laboratories, INSERM (in Marseilles) and Harvard University (USA), modelling in vitro human cells with a view to investigating the spatial constraints applying to cells in human tissue. • In July 2009, Julie De Pril, a PhD candidate working in the Effective Mathematics Department was the first mathematics student in Belgium to be awarded one of the prestigious doctoral grants from the L’Oréal-Unesco Foundation. • In 2010, several of the University’s computer science laboratories became members of the NumEdiart Institute.
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1.d.
Numerical and Molecular Ecology Ecology is the scientific study of interactions determining the distribution and quantity of living organisms in ecosystems. The UMONS laboratories involved in this domain mainly work on two aspects important for the understanding of the mechanisms governing ecosystems: numerical aspects and molecular ones.
Expertise Research on numerical and molecular ecology at UMONS is focused on four laboratories working in marine biology, the numerical ecology of aquatic ecosystems, proteomics and microbiology, and the study of pollinating insects. The skills developed in the context of numerical ecology are linked with quantifying parameters determining the states of populations of living organisms and their environment, from statistical data to the construction of models enabling researchers to simulate behaviour and predict the evolution of these ecosystems. The laboratory has developed skills in: • environmental microbiology with a focus on characterizing the microbic flora of industrial sites or linked to marine organisms (e.g. Corals); • marine biology and more specifically the study of echinoderms and adhesion processes; • numerical, chemical and molecular ecology of pollinators such as bees and bumblebees. These expertises require the use of state-of-the-art techniques such as mass spectrometry, electronic microscopy, real time PCR, etc.
Highlights • The UMONS laboratories working in this field are supported by many research contracts: from ARC, IAP, F.R.S.-FNRS, private companies, the Region of Wallonia, and the European Commission. • The UMONS laboratory for the numerical ecology of aquatic ecosystems has one of the most impressive installations of aquariums with coral reef mesocosms among Belgian French-speaking universities. • The European Space Agency has given the UMONS proteomics and microbiology laboratory the task of studying bio-reactions involved in the artificial MELISSA ecosystem designed as part of the ‘Mars Exploration Objective’. • The UMONS Zoology laboratory, in collaboration with researchers from the Faculty of Agronomic Sciences of Gembloux, has set up a reputed database containing bio-geographic data for hymenoptera – ((bumble)bees, wasps, etc.) - from West Europe: the Hymenoptera Atlas.
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1.e.
Physics of Fundamental Interactions and Geometry The four fundamental interactions are thought to be responsible for all physical phenomena observed in the universe. The strong interaction is indirectly responsible for the cohesion of particles in the atomic nucleus. The electromagnetic interaction can be observed in electricity and light phenomena. Weak interaction is the force at work in the sun’s core during fusion. Gravitation is the interaction (force) which explains the reciprocal attraction of massive bodies. It is the force which determines the overall shape of the universe and its geometry. And of course, it is the force that keeps us on the ground. Mathematical modelling of these interactions has led to important theoretical developments in geometry.
Expertise Research in this domain at UMONS is done in some ten physics and mathematics labs specialized in theoretical physics and mathematics and in experimental particle physics. The laboratory of nuclear and subnuclear physics is specialized in the theoretical study of the strong interaction, with the main aim of understanding the properties of hadrons. The laboratory of elementary particle physics has acquired experimental competences through its participation in major international research programmes, in particular with CERN. The theoretical physics laboratories have strong research records in mechanics, gravitation, cohomology, quantum mechanics, gauge theories, astrophysics and spectroscopy. This research requires various techniques of simulation using appropriate mathematical tools. The mathematics laboratories in this field are working on the basic mathematics behind these physical theories, such as the geometry of Banach spaces, the geometrization of algebraic theories (axiomatization), or algebraic geometry.
Highlights • The UMONS laboratories working in this field are supported by many research contracts: from ARC, IAP, F.R.S.-FNRS, private companies, the Region of Wallonia, and the European Commission. • The team researching model theory is a member of the European network MODNET which is supported by national and international grants. Between 2004 and 2008 it was a Marie Curie research training network. • Research on the physics of elementary particles benefits from IISN support and from the UMONS team’s participation in major international research projects such as the ones conducted in CERN or the IceCube experiment tracing neutrinos at the South Pole.
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I.
A FEW Achievements MADAGASCAR HOLOTHURIES S.A. In the whole Indo-Pacific Ocean, the fishing of holothuroids, also called sea cucumbers, is so important that their natural populations are in decline. To solve this problem, a sea cucumber mariculture project was initiated in Madagascar in 1999. Co-financed by the Belgian Society of the University for Development (CUD) and the Malagasy Government, the project ended by the creation of a sea cucumber hatchery and farm. UMONS, ULB and the local University of Toliara were partners in this project that has allowed the settling of the first commercial company of the West Indian Ocean that is based on sea cucumber aquaculture. This company is a belgo-malgachian spin-off whose actionaries are IMBC Spin Nova, the ULB and the "Institut Halieutique et des Sciences Marines de TulĂŠar" with two malagachian private company.
Opti2Mat Opti2Mat is an Programme of Excellence in the Walloon region. It brings together six laboratories of the University of Mons and a Research Centre (Materia Nova) around two research themes: the development of a vacuum-applied thin organic coating and the development of chemical sensors on optical fibres. The Opti2Mat programme will make it possible to develop new technologies. These will be available to partner companies Arcelor Mittal and Sonaca or to any other interested company with a view to developing new job- and wealth-creating products and processes in the Walloon region. www.opti2mat.be
Materia Nova Founded by the former FPMs and the former UMH in 2000, Materia Nova is a research centre working in various technological fields related to materials science. It employs 70 people and is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2010. Materia Nova retains a close relationship with its founders, with the Scientific Research Board made up of the university professors who host the research centre’s teams in their departments. This close synergy between the two structures is a major asset: UMONS provides expertise in basic research while Materia Nova is directed towards applied research. This close link between the two kinds of research ensures a continuum and expands the possibilities of transfer from the university lab to the industry. www.materia-nova.com
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2.
Engineering sciences Engineering research is concentrated in five fields: Information and Telecommunications Technology, Materials, Energy, Biosystems and Natural and Technological Risk. Within these five fields, nearly 300 teachers, researchers and technicians are working on multidisciplinary topics that relate directly to the needs of our society and to technology issues confronting manufacturing industry. From basic research via specialist PhD theses, to technology transfer, applied research and industrial scale-up, all the scientific components needed for technological innovation come together and enrich each other in each of the research fields.
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Contact CLUSTER biosys Alain Vande Wouwer Tel.:+ 32 (0)65 37 41 41 alain.vandewouwer@umons.ac.be
2.a.
Biosys The research activities of the Biosys cluster are focused on life sciences, looking into scientific and engineering aspects of biomedical and biochemical systems and bio-processes. The applications are very diverse, related to the agro-food, environmental and pharmaceutical sectors, as well as to biomedical engineering. Research activities take four main directions: • biomechanics and bio-optics; • bio-signals and medical image processing; • biochemical systems analysis, modelling, instrumentation, optimization and control of bioprocesses; • ecology and environment.
Expertise • Modelling and simulation studies of the human circulatory system and human locomotion. • Design of orthoses, passive and active prostheses. • Development of optical sensors and surgical tools based on lasers and fibre Bragg gratings. • Analysis of bio-signals and medical images as a tool for diagnosis and therapeutic follow-up (computer-aided diagnosis of pulmonary embolism, radiotherapy planning and monitoring tools, the classification of sleep phases, the detection of vocal pathologies, computer-based assistance for anaesthetists). • Experimental studies of bioprocesses (e.g. cultures of micro-organisms for specific applications, cultures of algae, yeast, bacteria and animal cells). • Production of molecules labelled with stable isotopes. • Separation techniques (and in particular, simulated moving bed chromatographic processes). • Mathematical modelling, optimization, software sensor design, and control as applied to bioprocesses and biological systems. • Mathematical modelling and control of (waste)water treatment plants. • Organic waste treatment, biomethanisation and synthesis of biofuels.
Highlights • Research teams from the Biosys cluster take part in the Interuniversity Attraction Pole (IAP) DYSCO (Dynamical Systems, Control and Optimization), as well as in the coordination of the ‘Modelling, optimization and control of (bio)chemical processes‘ work package. • The Biosys cluster has several pilot plants, including a simulated moving bed (SMB) chromatographic process, bioreactors for the cultivation of micro-algae, yeasts, bacteria and animal cells, and state-of-the-art instrumentation technology such as UPLC, NIR, etc.
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Contact CLUSTER Energy Marc Frère Tel.: +32 (0)65 37 42 06 marc.frere@umons.ac.be
2.b.
Energy The UMONS Energy cluster is a competence centre bringing together the activities of all departments involved in the area of energy. The services arising from these activities aim to meet the needs of private companies, research and development laboratories, as well as public agencies and authorities. They cover the areas of providing expertise, determining technical feasibility, carrying out R&D and offering education and information. The resulting activities are categorized into five different themes: • energy and buildings; • fuels, combustion and CO2-related problems; • electricity generation and transport; • geothermal energy and heat pumps; • energy and industrial processes.
Expertise The Energy cluster has significant know-how and technological background in the following areas: • the development and study of industrial and laboratory prototypes (for heat pumps, thermal energy storage systems, combustion equipment, CO2 capture equipment, etc.); • the development of simulation tools to calculate the performance of industrial process installations and their equipment. These tools can be used to conceive and dimension prototypes as well as calculating the energy performance and environmental impact of existing processes. They can also be used for regulation and control purposes (solar heating, combustion equipment, heat pump, geothermal installations, heat storage, electromagnetic fields, high-voltage grid hardware, electricity transport networks, CO2 capture and storage); • assistance in urban and architectural design work integrating renewable energy sources in buildings (low energy buildings and passive houses); • development of reference calculation methods to evaluate the energy performance of buildings • study and optimization of bioprocesses for the production of biofuels (bioethanol made from bacterial stocks, genetically adapted yeasts, and biodiesel made from microalgae); • characterization of energy-active materials (new generations of photovoltaic cells, materials for storing thermal energy, for transporting electricity, for treating combustion gases, for CO2 storage; • c haracterization of energy sources (deep geothermal, shallow geothermal).
Highlights • The Energy cluster collaborates with a number of regional, national and international organizations with the aim of creating a network of all actors involved in the energy domain (Eco-construction cluster, asbl Maison Passive, APERe, TWEED Cluster, e2b Energy Efficient Buildings, Renewable Heating and Cooling, the International Institute of Refrigeration, Belgian and European Heat Pump Associations). • The Energy cluster actively participates in the implementation and transposition of energy-related European directives into Walloon regional legislation (e.g. the energy performance of buildings, the utilization of renewable energies). • The Energy cluster is also involved in many of the Marshall Plan projects (Solautark: thermal storage using solid-gas reactions; AirCycle: Cooling equipment using the Joule cycle; Multiphi: Virtual multiphysics prototyping).
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Contact CLUSTER matERIALS Marjorie Olivier Tel.: +32 (0)65 37 44 31 marjorie.olivier@umons.ac.be
2.c.
Materials The Materials cluster brings together the various players from the UMONS Polytechnic Faculty working in the field of materials, from their design to their use. Main topics studied are: • metals and metal alloys; • electrochemistry of functional coatings: surface treatment and corrosion prevention, applications for gas sensors; • ceramics, glass and cement; • heterogeneous catalysis and adsorbents; • geomaterials; • structures and construction materials.
Expertise • Electrochemistry of functional coatings. • Electrochemical methods for the evaluation of coating lifetimes (EIS, SVET, SKP, SECM, electrochemical AFM). • Protection of metal substrates through organic and inorganic coatings (self healing). • Solid state physics and chemical sensors based on semiconductors and optical fibres. • Design and characterization of ceramics and glass-ceramics: correlation between microstructures and properties; optimisation of compositions and design processes. • Mechanical and non-destructive testing of metals, glass and ceramics and constructions (in situ) using ultrasonoscopy, A-scan and C-scan, radiography, tomography, XRD. • Characterization of photovoltaic cells (Grätzel) by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and development of new dye sensitized solar cells and cells based on ZnO nanowires. • Heterogeneous catalysis and porous materials (Metal Organic Frameworks – MOF). • Extractive and physical metallurgy (microscopy, and image analysis, SEM, etc.). • Manufacturing technology and equipment design ((micro)-machining, metal forming by forging, and the forming of composites using resin transfer moulding (RTM)). • Piezoelectric materials: motors and actuators for space and aerospace applications, glass-ceramics. • Geological analysis of geological materials and rocks and their characterization (mechanical, qualification, destructibility, separation, etc.), petrographic analysis. • Optimisation of construction structures (in situ measurement, modelling).
Highlights • The Clearzinc project (ERDF Convergence Programme) aims to develop a new anti-corrosion treatment for steel, replacing galvanisation. An innovatory solution is being studied combining a surface treatment based on protective oxides and incorporating corrosion inhibitor reservoirs during treatment and/or in a highly reticulated organic coating. The partners are the Department of Material Science (SdM) of the Materials Research Centre, the Materia Nova Research Centre, BCRC, ULB, CRM and CoRI. • Two laboratories of this thematic cluster are parts of the Opti2Mat Programme of Excellence (see p.12).
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Contact CLUSTER risks Christian Delvosalle Tel.: +32 (0)65 37 44 03 Christian.delvosalle@umons.ac.be
2.d.
Risks The Risks cluster covers the research and consulting activities focused on the control of the natural, industrial, environmental or organizational risks. Using an interdisciplinary approach, it aims to develop innovative solutions intended to control the potential damage to people, property, infrastructures, business activities and the environment brought about by human activities or natural phenomena. The Risk cluster has: • 22 professors, 15 researchers, 24 PhD students and 14 research departments; • 142 publications (2007-2009): 26 contributions to journals, 4 books, 4 chapters to books; • 77 communications; • 33 project reports.
Expertise Natural Risks (Geological) • Karstic phenomena. • Geophysical imaging. • Hydrogeology and aquifer contamination. • Vulnerability of buildings to seismic hazards. Natural Risks (Climatic) • Lightning risk. • High voltage laboratory. Technological Risks (Safety Engineering) • Reliability of industrial equipment, maintenance optimization. • Vibration monitoring on rotary machines. • Reliability of equipment subject to vibrations and shocks. Technological Risks (Major Risks) • Major industrial risks, process safety and risk prevention. • Risk analysis and the modelling of the consequences of accidents. • Development of methodological tools and software for risk assessment and management.
Technological Risks (Transport and fire) • Vibration and noise nuisances, vehicle vibration comfort. • Kinematic and dynamic vehicle behaviour. • Fire, pool fires, warehouse fires. Technological Risks (Environmental aspects) • Combustion, CO2 capture and storage in geological formations. • Treatment and recycling of waste. • Delimitation and characterization of polluted sites. Organizational Risks • Modelling and assessment of organizational risks. • Hospital risks. • Risks related to project management. Risk Management • Risk representation and mapping. • Failure detection and identification. • Risk-informed decision-making and crisis management.
Highlights • The main activity of the Major Risk Research Centre is the control of technological risk. The main areas of expertise involve the study of scenarios and the modelling of major accidents, land use planning around chemical plants, and emergency planning. The Centre has a ‘fire’ laboratory fitted with a cone calorimeter (measuring heat flow and the toxicity of fumes). • RAMS (Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, Safety) engineering is focused on maintenance optimization based on approaches combining statistical reliability models and physical degradation measurements. The Risks cluster has contributed to the development of specific reliability-centred maintenance platforms tailored to the needs of different sectors: manufacturing, steel, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, transportation, telecommunications, etc. • With regard to karst risk management, our research has a two-fold aim: first, to increase awareness and understanding of karst phenomena and the context in which they occur and, second, to develop and improve methods for detecting risk areas, or even monitor them using minimally invasive underground imaging techniques (electrical resistivity tomography, seismic imaging techniques, etc.). These activities are part of a tiered approach to karst risk management, distinguishing elements necessary for the assessment and management of risks at different levels.
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Contact CLUSTER Information Technologies Joël Hancq Tel.: +32 (0)65 37 47 30 joel.hancq@umons.ac.be
2.e.
Information Technologies The Information Technologies cluster is a competence centre working on technologies for the collection, formatting, transmission, processing and exploitation of information (data or signals). Its know-how covers the whole range of technological resources necessary such as electronics (new hardware, microelectronics), computer science, transmission systems including telecommunications networks. The centre concentrates on the following fields: • electronics; • computer science; • telecommunications; • data processing, data analysis and decision support tools; • signal processing and multimedia.
Expertise Electronics Hardware and software solutions for signals processing, baseband integrated circuits for wireless communications, analogue and digital integrated circuits (Analogue Mixed IP), high performance on-board and reconfigurable systems, ESL/EDA design methodologies and certification tools. Computer Science Resource management and scheduling for grid computing, creation of planning and resource allocation software handling uncertainty and change, computerised medical and industrial image analysis and decision support. Telecommunications Characterization and metrology of active and passive optical systems, metrology of error rates, photonic telecommunications systems: new photonic components (fibre lasers and optical amplifiers), the study and characterisation of HFC (Hybrid Fibre Coax) broadcasting networks, the simulation of data networks: designing and developing heterogeneous networks. Data processing, Data analysis and Decision support tools Multi-criteria decision support, multi-objective and metaheuristic optimization, data mining, production management, logistics and transportation. Signal processing and Multimedia Speech analysis and synthesis, speech recognition, image analysis and processing, pattern recognition, audio signal processing, sensors and data fusion.
Highlights • Founder of MULTITEL asbl (www.multitel.be) an independent walloon research centre specialized in telecommunications, signal and image processing. • Fouding member of CETIC asbl (www.cetic.be) the computer science excellence and private research centre linking university research and industry. • Coordinator of NUMEDIART, an excellence program in digital arts and founder of the INSTITUTE NUMEDIART for new media art technology in 2010 (www.numediart.org).
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II.
A FEW Achievements Multitel MULTITEL is a research centre into Telecommunications, Signal Processing and Image, which owes its birth to the UMONS Polytechnical Faculty (FPMs). The centre started by conducting research with funding from Europe and the walloon region, and in 1999 acquired the status of a non-profit making research centre. Today Multitel is composed of a multidisciplinary team of over 80 engineers and technicians. The research centre offers its scientific expertise in voice technology, data merging, applications on fibre optics, image processing and enterprise data processing networks. In addition to its R&D activities, Multitel offers services in optics, telecoms and enterprise data processing networks. www.multitel.be
Numediart The Numediart Institute for New Media Art Technology was founded in 2010 by the University of Mons. Building upon MONS 2015 (Mons will be the European Capital of Culture in 2015), the Institute organizes internationally-renowned scientific training and research activities in the area of new media art technology. The topics covered by the Institute are: audio, image, video, gesture, and bio-signal processing, for applications in which the interaction between man and machine aims at creating emotions. These activities are performed in the framework of the Numediart Program coordinated by the Numediart Consortium made up of some fifteen members, amongst them, representatives of research, arts, entertainment and industry. www.numediart.org
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Contact AREA 3. Robert Muller Tel.: + 32 (0)65 37 35 20 robert.muller@umons.ac.be
3.
Medicine and Pharmacy The Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, with its excellent teaching reputation, is well-known for its multidisciplinary scientific research conducted at an international level and ranging from basic research to applied biomedical research. New labs focusing on toxicology, pharmaceutical analysis and cancer cell biology, have recently been added to the Faculty, complementing other fields of expertise such as molecular imaging, electrophysiology or molecular biology. The Faculty brings together researchers from many different disciplines (biologists, chemists, doctors, pharmacists, physicists. etc.), underlining the trans-disciplinary approach needed to translate scientific discoveries into practical applications. Such discoveries typically begin at ‘the bench’ with basic research — in which scientists study disease at a molecular or cellular level — then progress to the clinical level, or the patient’s ‘bedside.’
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3.a.
BIOMED – from biomarkers to medicines In various pathological contexts (inflammation, cancer tumours, etc.), the BIOMED (from Biomarkers to Medicines) research area is searching for new agents for diagnosing, treating and forecasting diseases, assessing their biological activity and characterising them in vitro and in vivo for the purpose of developing new formulae and target areas. Truly multi-disciplinary, this research area focuses on identifying pathology biomarkers, developing tracers for diagnosing them, and designing medicines for treating them. Genomics, proteomics, metabonomics, microscopy and preclinical molecular imaging are combined with the expertise of partner labs in chemical synthesis, biological physics, pharmaco-chemistry, the extraction and analysis of natural molecules in an effort to design innovative tracers and medicines.
Expertise • A consortium of 12 multi-disciplinary teams consisting of internationally recognized doctors, chemists, pharmacists, physicists and biologists. • Active involvement in the multi-modal imaging platform CMMI (Centre for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging, see p.25) UMONS/ULB, the CISMa (see p.8) and the Aresa cluster (Health Research Association). • A wide range of experimental techniques: organic and inorganic synthesis, HPLC, state-of-the-art analytical methodologies (NMR, SM, IR, UV/Vis, fluorescence, PCS, etc.), cell cultures, metabonomics, molecular cloning, phage display, DNA/RNA analyses, in vivo optical imaging, MRI, microwave- or ultrasound-assisted synthesis, polymeric surfaces, characterization of recombinant proteins, proteomics, enzymology, bio-chemistry, bio-electrochemistry, etc.
Highlights • Some 80 teachers, researchers and technicians. • More than 100 publications in international journals over the last 5 years and several patents in the biomedical field. • State-of-the-art lab equipment for microscopy, preclinical imagery (MRI, optical imagery), NMR, UV-visible or mass spectrometry, and magnetometry, worth several millions Euros. • National and European research contracts with public and private organizations.
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3.b.
EXCEL – dysfunctions of excitable cells and their adaptation This research orientation links up experimental labs with analysis and modelling labs looking into the extraordinary capability of excitable neuronal and muscular cells to adapt to their environment in response to internal changes (disease, medication, etc.) and external ones (learning, exercise, etc.). The experimental labs study the molecular mechanisms governing protein synthesis and post-traductional modifications allowing the survival and the plasticity of excitable cells in various conditions, while the modelling side looks into models for analysing electro-encephalographic and electro-myographic signals and identifying their complex relationships.
Expertise • All in vivo and in vitro electrophysiological techniques, extra- and intracellular recordings, patch-clamp, electrical or chemical stimulations. • Behavioural studies in rat and mice. • Stereotaxic intracerebral injection, use of osmotic minipumps. • In vivo electromyography, nerve stimulation, spirometry. • DNA/RNA/protein analysis, molecular cloning. • Histology, immunohistochemistry. • Confocal microscopy, total internal reflexion fluorescence microscopy. • Primary cultures of neurons and muscular cells. • Organotypic brain slice cultures. • Organ baths, brain slices kept artificially alive for 12 hours. • Cell line cultures and transfections. • Biomechanics, 3-D recording of human movements. • Artificial neuronal networks. • Classification and analysis of biological signals (ECG, EEG, EMG). • Mathematical modelling.
Highlights • International collaboration (USA, United Kingdom, Netherlands, France). • National (FMRE, FNRS, ERDF (Biofact), FRFC) and international projects (AFM, France, FSH Society, USA, ABMM). • Some 30 researchers. • More than 60 publications in international scientific journals over the last 5 years.
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III.
A FEW Achievements CMMI The Centre for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging (CMMI) was created with financial support from the European Union and the Walloon Region (ERDF). Under the aegis of the Wallonia-Brussels University Academy, the CMMI responds to the wish of the Free University of Brussels (ULB) and University of Mons (UMONS) to pool their outstanding facilities and competences in order to provide the scientific community with an integrated, high-performance platform for preclinical biomedical imaging. The Centre for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging can make available a wide range of modern instrumentation and methodologies ranging from electron microscopy to in vivo animal imaging. It offers quality tools and services to industry and to academic laboratories, along with specific training modules in the use of its equipment. www.cmmi.be
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Contact AREA 4. Vincent Becue Tel.: +32 (0)65 32 84 10 vincent.becue@umons.ac.be
MULTI-SECTORS MULTI-SECTORS AREAS AREAS
4.
Architecture and Urban Planning The ‘Architecture and Urban Planning’ research field focuses mainly on integrated approaches. Identifying the architectural, urban and landscape heritage constitutes an important step in these approaches, encompassing the full scope of architectural phenomena, and involving both the perception of the built environment and new urban strategies. These interdisciplinary approaches involve social sciences as well as technical and art disciplines, pointing to new knowledge at the crossroads between scientific research and conceptual project work. The research team aims to design innovatory cooperation projects involving all stakeholders in the development of a city and its territory. These projects will be carried out from a transversal experimental viewpoint involving a plurality of approaches, fields and knowledge.
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4.a.
Spaces quality and Sustainable Cities Research work focuses on social, technical and environmental issues, usually following one of the four research paths: • ReSEau, ‘Recherche et Sciences des Espaces’, or Spatial Research and Science, is a broad-based Interfaculty path focusing on the organization and spatial perception of the components of heritage, mobility, morphology, technology and the countryside; • mitigation, vulnerability and resilience of urban ecosystems, with a particular focus on the interactions between urban areas and their natural environment; • architecture, urban planning and society, focusing on the actors and ways of enabling them to better contribute to the spatial evolution, thus ensuring a more appropriate use of our living environment; • ‘optibuilding’, focusing on such technical aspects as energy, materials, structures, and their environmental impacts, with tools being developed for evaluating performance and the resulting ambiance.
Expertise The Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning and the Department of Architectural Engineering have combined their expertise to set up an interfaculty thematic cluster. It is devoted to applied research into architecture and the multi-scale modelling of built-up areas, related to spatial planning and urban renewal in the context of multi-partner projects. ReSEau aims at conducting research to improve the living environment and built-up areas. One of its primary aims is to give the University of Mons a specific footprint in the French Community, highlighting areas where the University’s expertise is already known: the organization and spatial perception of the components of heritage, mobility, morphology, technology and landscape. This research focus has several key objectives which, if placed end-to-end, should allow the development of concepts, models and assessment tools for sustainable urban development (district level), incorporating all elements of a city (its people, activities and urban places). The objective and subjective quantification of urban development scenarios, and the development of a methodology for assessing the impacts and implications of the project, will constitute a key element complementing this research. The research team will be developing modelling tools on different spatial and temporal scales in a systemic and multidisciplinary approach to providing decision-making support.
Highlights • In collaboration with Hainaut’s urban planning institute (Maison de l’Urbanisme), the Faculty is organizing a set of lectures, projects and missions promoting the University within society. • Workshops are being held, involving an interaction between the various stakeholders and enabling relationships to be built and projects initiated. This involvement is particularly visible on the mid-year and final examination boards, which include a significant proportion of those involved in architecture and urban planning in Hainaut.
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IV.
A FEW Achievements Collaboration with ‘la maison de l’urbanisme du Hainaut’ (Hainaut Urban Planning Centre) The Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning provides visibility to the subjects taught in close collaboration with the Maison de l’Urbanisme du Hainaut, set up to undertake outreach and provide information to the public on town and country planning issues, within the framework of and consistent with the Walloon Town, Country and Heritage Planning Code Contacts with certain environmental professionals provide a concrete link between student work and the spatial, historical, social, diagnostic and other analysis being carried out on the ground, with a trickle-down effect into society at large. Among the conferences held on the Architecture Campus, we can cite those on protected historic centres and the application of regulations on building in protected urban areas, as well as that of André Godard, one of the great names in the architecture of Mons, whose work is often quoted in Walloon reference books. www.maisonsdelurbanisme.be
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Contact AREA 5. Alain Finet Tel.: + 32 (0)65 37 32 91 alain.finet@umons.ac.be
5.
Economics and Management In terms of research, the orientation around the fields of economics and management allows a high degree of complementarity. Though these two areas have relatively high levels of differentiation, they may ultimately prove to be complementary with regard to the subjects researched. Broadly speaking, economics has more of a quantitative character, whereas management has a more qualitative one, though the two areas have numerous interactions. Indeed, the differences in approach can lead to different perspectives, different areas of investigation and different tools used for modelling results. The humanist vocation - in the sense of Humanities – of the WarocquÊ Faculty of Economics and Management (FWEG) naturally leads to research fields in which the individual component overweights. However, societal challenges and the systemic effects caused by events going beyond the scope of individuals require the use of broad-based investigative tools. For all these reasons, Researches in the field of Economics and Management will be gathered together within Warocque Research Institution and organized around four thematic clusters.
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5.a.
Organizational analysis Whether companies, communities or individuals, when working for a common goal, all have complex ways of functioning. The research conducted at the WarocquĂŠ Faculty in analysing such organizations is focused on looking at these economic entities and their heterogeneity. Whether applied to commercial companies, small businesses, family businesses or multinationals or to public enterprises, it translates into characteristics underlining training and knowledge, culture, history and the way organizations look at the concept of performance (financial, economic, social, etc.). These are all features that our research attempts to integrate through appropriate approaches. To do this, the research methodologies used can be both qualitative and quantitative and apply to both national and international contexts.
Expertise Micro-finance Whereas research into traditional financial performance tends to give exaggerated importance to the goal of profitability, research into micro-finance attempts to demonstrate that this needs to be qualified, taking geographical and cultural contexts into account. Corporate governance Corporate executives are subjected to control procedures minimizing their discretionary power. Research into corporate governance analyses how executives can leverage control mechanisms and solutions available to the various stakeholders to avoid managerial discretion leading to a process destroying value. Environmental-friendly production management Environmental challenges are causing substantial changes in production management models. As a result, the WarocquĂŠ Faculty is devoting a certain amount of research to the way in which economic actors adapt to limit negative environmental impacts on societal well-being. Public Finance Federal and regional authorities are economic actors as such. In this context, research in the public domain can help understand the potential multiplier effects of public expenditure and the manner with which various transfers are made.
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5.b.
Market analysis Markets are places where buyers and sellers come together to trade. Market players behave in different ways dependent on the object being traded. The research conducted within the Warocqué Faculty therefore covers the analysis of different markets including the stock market, the banking market, product markets and even labour markets. Such research can highlight the interrelationships between markets, including the phenomena of propagation and contamination and looking at the way agents create market dynamics through their behaviour.
Expertise Finance The areas of expertise with the Faculty’s finance research are broad-based, going beyond the ubiquitous paradigms of companies’ stock market value. Analysis of the Labour Economics Research in this area uses microeconometrics, applying them to various problems affecting the Labour Economics and the economics of personnel and adopting a qualitative approach to HR management practice. Family Businesses This area of expertise is covered by the Department of Accounting and Management. It aims to further our understanding of the characteristics of family businesses and how they operate differently to quoted companies.
Highlights • Journal des Entreprises Familiales: this journal explicitly targeting family businesses aims to promote research in the area of family businesses based on complementary research done in the areas of management, law and sociology.
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5.c.
Analysis of decision making The achievement of strategic options from business companies may be conditional to the optimum use of decision-making support methods. The researches within the Faculty of Economics and Management focus on how decision-making processes are set up in organizations. More specifically, the objective is to highlights the variables likely to influence decision-makers behaviors and to provide them with helpful decision-making tools. This research is based on the hypothesis that decision-making processes reflect choices dependent on environments and particular – most often evolving- contexts. From this perspective, the tools used are differentiated according to these factors governing decision-making processes.
Expertise Marketing and Communication The research carried out here looks into industrial marketing, international marketing, communication, consumer behaviour, consumer communities and company growth. Quantitative methods Research here enables the choices facing individuals and companies in environments characterised by high levels of uncertainty to be modelled.
Highlights • MACBETH (‘Measuring Attractiveness by a Categorical Based Evaluation TecHnique’) is a methodology providing decision-making support. It allows the evaluation of options taking multiple criteria into account. The fundamental difference between MACBETH and other methods of multi-criteria decision analysis is that it only requires qualitative judgments differentiating the attractiveness of various elements to generate ratings for the options attached to each criterion and thereby to weight the criteria. The Department of Quantitative Methods has built up specific expertise in recent years in the use of this management tool.
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5.d.
Management support tools The research carried out in the Faculty in this area deals with the tools (mainly IT and statistical ones) available to managers to support them in their work. With the circumstances governing management not always predictable, these tools are proving to be indispensible in contexts of high uncertainty. This research also enables potential links between certain decisions and higher systemic effects to be highlighted.
Highlights Creation of a trading room within the Faculty: This will enable students and researchers to become familiar with market behaviour, with a special focus on why and how a new piece of information can cause major movements in a market.
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V.
A FEW Achievements CERMI Created in 2007 within the Wallonia-Brussels Academy, the Centre for European Research in Microfinance (CERMi) is an interdisciplinary research centre. Co-directed by Professors Marek Hudon (ULB), Marc Labie (UMONS) and Ariane Szafarz (ULB), CERMi brings together nine doctoral students based in Mons (UMONS) and Brussels (ULB) and 30 research associates in Europe and the United States, with the mission of promoting quality research into microfinance and providing scientific advice to players in the sector. It already has several accomplishments to its credit, including the organization in June 2009 the first European scientific conference in microfinance, which took the FNRS’s 2010 Wernaers Prize. www.cermi.eu
AAIG: Association Académique Internationale de Gouvernance Governance is an umbrella term for a range of mechanisms for controlling a company’s senior management to ensure that the decisions they take are in the interests of the company’s various stakeholders. Until 2002, research in this area was concentrated primarily in AngloSaxon environments. In that year the FWEG created the ‘Colloque International en Gouvernance d’Entreprise’ (International Symposium on Corporate Governance), with the aim of bringing together all Francophone researchers in the field of governance. The experiment proved an immediate success and has been repeated every year since. With HEC Montreal now on board, the event has become an international and widely recognized event, with symposia held successively in Montreal, Strasbourg, Geneva, Bordeaux, Florence and Metz. With the development of governance in the Francophone community, the symposium’s founders created the ‘Association Académique Internationale de Gouvernance’ that allows researchers to benefit from strong synergies between the different departments of the Faculties of Management that are conducting research into this issue. www.aaig-asso.com
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Contact InstitutE Christiane Bughin Tel.: +32 (0)65 37 32 46 christiane.bughin@umons.ac.be
MULTI-AREAS THEMATIC CLUSTERS
6.
Institute of Human and Social Sciences (IHSS) The focus of Human and Social Sciences is on anthropology, history, political science and sociology, with research being conducted in numerous facets of these four fields. In the fields of political science, social sciences and education, the IHSS is looking into issues revolving around political, ideological and cultural life, interpersonal influences and the influence of power structures inside society, through the study of forms of conflict, socialization, reproduction and changes of the social system. In the fields of sociology, ethnology and history of ideas, it explores issues related to education and teaching, media and ‘Knowledge Society’, transmission of knowledge and social images, cultural values and practices, epistemology and philosophical and political thought.
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6.a.
Power, socialization and conflict The issue of ‘power’, understood as an organizational, interpersonal or political question, is one of the main topics of social sciences. It concentrates on the processes governing society cohesion and social construction. IHSS research underlines a multi-level and multi-paradigmatic approach that aims to be dynamic and comparative and takes into account the question of ‘power’ in all its dimensions, basically as a political and social reality involving authority, strategy and influence. Various levels of analysis are used, ranging from the macro-social level (systemic processes), via the mezzo-social level (organizational strategies and interactions) to the micro-social level (individual strategies).
Expertise Power • Analysis of current topics in Belgian politics and the social cleavages within the Belgian political system. Socialization • Socio-anthropological approach to studying socialization. • Following the theoretical and methodological tradition of Bourdieu and the Chicago school of sociology, in studying socialization in the environment of schools. Conflict • The sociology of violence and domination, especially in a school context, is looked at here, studying the inter-relationship between global domination and the violence of everyday life. • Studying the social and political tensions and crisis in Belgian contemporary history.
Highlights • Collaboration projects between groups of universities on such topics as ‘socialization’, ‘school ethnography and youth ethnography’, ‘Chicago School paradigms and methods’ (Becker, Goffman, Hughes, Strauss). • Annual collaboration within a Belgian inter-University team (under B. Rihoux (UCL), dir.) on the Political Data Yearbook of the European Consortium of Political Research (ECPR).
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6.b.
Transmission of practices, thoughts and social images The study of how knowledge and social images are created and transmitted is one of the most active fields of research in social sciences. In this field, the IHSS is conducting research both at a global level (transmission and adoption of cultural traits; knowledge buildings systems) and at a local level (the logic behind adopting and transforming traditions). Research is also being conducted on the formation of political and philosophical ideas about modernity, and on questions of methodology and epistemology in social sciences.
Expertise Transmission of practices • Anthropological research into local feasts (recent ones – Halloween, or old ones – Carnival, etc.) aimed at understanding the reasons of their success and their social importance. Transmission of thought • Studying XVIIIth Century ideas, looking into the emergence of rationalist, materialist and atheist thought, with a special focus on the work of Jean Meslier. • Studying the influence of the Chicago School of Sociology, in an epistemological perspective inspired by the works of Pierre Bourdieu, Michaël Pollak, Pitirim Sorokin and Charles Wright Mills. Transmission of social images • Studying the formation of specific knowledge-building systems and regimes in contemporary society (academic and training aspects, the influence of the media, technological and scientific aspects), with a special focus on the impact of new information and communication technologies and the Web. A further focus is on the processes leading to the formation of a globalised and competitive environment in training and higher education.
Highlights • Organization of activities within the European Network of Interactionist Sociologists. • Participation in a joint research project UMONS – ULB – EHESS (France) entitled ‘20 objets pour repenser les pratiques en anthropologie’ (‘20 items to take into account when rethinking anthropological practices’). This project aims to study evolving practices, and things that are changing in a world on the move.
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Contact AREA 7. Agnes Van Daele Tel.: + 32 (0)65 37 31 50 agnes.vandaele@umons.ac.be
7.
Psychology and Educational Sciences Research in the fields of psychology and education covers all the various aspects (normal, pathological, stable, dynamic, etc.) of the processes of the human mind and their observable behavioural manifestations. The results of this research can be applied to individuals as well as to groups, communities, even entire societies. The research itself aims both at understanding human behaviour and workings as well as the factors that condition their change. Whether fundamental or applied, this research work potentially links into a wide variety of societal sectors: education, work, health, personal help and social action mechanisms, etc. The field is thus greatly interdisciplinary and is characterised by a wide variety of possible disciplinary specialisations.
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7.a.
Evaluation The research carried out in the ‘evaluation’ theme focuses on the information-gathering processes conceived in a methodological framework that ensures that the criteria of quality (reliability, validity, objectivity, etc.) are respected. These criteria are expressed both quantitatively or qualitatively and are intended to be applied to an identified characteristic (knowledge, know-how, life skills, traits, etc.) of an individual, group or institution. They apply specific techniques (interview, task, biophysical measurement, etc.) and are used for a given purpose (describe, diagnose, decide, certify, qualify, etc.).
Expertise • Evaluation of policies and educational systems. • Conception and evaluation of training mechanisms (remote, interactive multimedia, integrated, etc.). • Conception and validation of tests and evaluation tools. • Evaluation of language skills and neurodegenerative pathologies. • Evaluation of individual cognitive strategies for diagnosis. • Evaluation of quality of life and of services for disabled people. • Evaluation of psychotherapy techniques. • Evaluation of risk from psychopathy, diagnostic evaluation of sexual predators. • Human reliability in at-risk systems, evaluation of human and organizational risks. • Evaluation of stimulation programmes (for parenting skills, language acquisition and other uses). • Evaluation of diagnostic tools (risk and protection factors, resilience, etc.). • Evaluation of research - initiatives. • Statistical indices for measuring human development.
Highlights • ‘Observation and Analysis of Behaviour’ focus: set of automated audiovisual and computer equipment shared by several research teams within the Faculty. This equipment helps improve the gathering and treatment of data on human behaviour for quite diversified subjects (individuals-groups, ‘normal’ or ‘not normal’ subjects, etc.), in the laboratory or in the field, according to different disciplinary orientations. • ‘Esprit’ (‘Scenario-based interactive distance learning environment’) is a remote learning platform that enables students to carry out learning activities under the supervision of on-line tutors. Esprit is royalty free and can be also used for research, being designed for easy gathering of source material references. • The training support service: the training support service (SAA) is a pedagogical consultation which assesses the abilities and learning potential of children and adolescents with specific needs, works out individual projects, gives specific trainings and supports the adaptability to integrated school situations.
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7.b.
Development Research carried out under the theme of ‘development’ focuses on the functional and/or structural changes of individuals, communities, systems and/or societies, both with controlled etiologies (curative, preventive, educational, organizational intervention, etc.) or without (pathology, accident, spontaneous evolution, etc.).
Expertise • Family and community development and social action. • Human development in southern countries and in extreme contexts. • Study of serious developmental deficiencies (handicaps) and educational aid. • Study of developmental and personality disorders, appropriate treatments. • Study of mental suffering in situations of social upheaval. • Analysis of the determinants of suffering at work and improvement of working conditions. • Study of impairments in acquiring reading and number skills, cognitive rehabilitation. • Study of normal and pathological ageing.
Highlights • The caring center for high potential young people is a training centre for professionals (teachers, psychologists, educationalist, and members of psycho-social centers) willing to improve their skills on how to approach and help high potential children and teenagers, and their families. • The Association for Innovation in Orthopedagogics (AIO) aims to provide educational assistance for people with impairments or maladjustments, as well as support for ageing people and their entourage to encourage their personal development and social integration.
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7.c.
Communication Research under the ‘communication’ theme is focused on the exchange of messages between functional entities (individuals, communities, animals, machines, etc.) through various channels (spoken, written, non verbal, etc.) that involve an active link with at least one human. It includes processes centred around communication itself (description and comprehension of natural communication processes and their development; conception of methods and means to support and/or improve them) and around acts of communication as clues that may provide information on other aspects of the entities involved (evolution of learning processes, significance of silence in the clinical relationship, language markers of psychopathology, early signs of dementia, hearing testing for young children, etc.).
Expertise • Study of spoken language, disorders of speaking and hearing. • Language disorders and dementia. • Cognitive remediation and non-verbal communication. • Study of spoken communication, especially in a multi-language environment. • Human-machine interfaces in work situations. • Analysis of the uses of information and communication technologies. • Education in media and media communication. • Social communication in contexts of vulnerability (analysis and intervention).
Highlights The Speech Sciences Laboratory, with researchers from both UMONS and ULB, is undertaking various research projects into the processing, by the speaker-percipient, of the facts of language in all their observable manifestations. This research, both fundamental and applied, covers a wide field of investigation using various methodologies. Coordination of a research network linking UMONS, the Université Victor Segalen-Bordeaux2 and the University of Osnabrück. This research focuses on the normal and pathological ageing of language, and on its cognitive and logico-mathematical aspects.
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VI.
A FEW Achievements CREAS C.R.E.A.S. (Educational Resource Centre for Social Action) was created in September 1995 at the joint initiative of the Mons-La Louvière Subregional Committee for Employment and Training, the former University of Mons-Hainaut and the ‘Education and Family’ non-profit association, with financial support from the European Social Fund. Today it is well-known to psychosocial and educational practitioners, to whom it offers a broad range of training activities and methodological support. C.R.E.A.S.’s action is designed to promote the social integration and employment of people exposed to a process of exclusion owing to multiple social, economic and cultural disadvantages. This it does by strengthening the professional competence of the intervening parties: project leaders and coordinators, social workers, educators, psychologists, pedagogues, leaders, teachers, volunteers and socio-educational players involved in individual, social or community development. www.creas.umons.ac.be
SUSA A recognized competence centre in the field of autism, the Specialist University Department for Persons with Autism (SUSA) plays an important role in introducing and disseminating current concepts of autism and intervention tools, in French-speaking Belgium and beyond. For many years, SUSA has worked on developing a series of training programmes for parents and professionals. Topics include: • valorization of social roles; • individualized interventions and projects; • educational interventions with persons with autism; • assessment of persons with autistic profiles; • communication: initiative and spontaneity; • sensitization to social, emotional and sexual education needs. www.susa.be
Compagnons asbl Compagnons asbl has developed an accompanying service in ordinary environment for adults with mental deficiency (SAPHA). It also takes innovating initiatives regarding supported lodging in collaboration with regional partners.
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Contact AREA 8. Alain Piette Tel.: +32 (0)65 37 36 01 alain.piette@umons.ac.be
8.
Translation and Interpretation As an autonomous subject, by nature interdisciplinary, translation fulfils a number of missions. It is both a vehicle and a product of globalisation, responding to the multilingual character of international institutions and organizations. Against the background of the linguistic and cultural diversity found in our world, it raises the stakes of civilisation both in word and in writing. Theoretical aspects include the description of translation phenomena, the definition of explanatory principles and theoretization of translation practices. Practical aspects range from the implementation of these principles and theories in training translators, to the development of translation tools and critically reviewing translations.
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8.a.
Terminology The aim of terminology as a scientific discipline is to facilitate communication in the different fields of human knowledge by making available glossaries listing the terms of a specialised domain in one or more languages. Moreover, today’s scientific communication needs to be able to rely on accurate and up-to-date terminologies to meet efficiency and quality requirements. The FTI-EII (Faculté de Traduction et d'Interprétation)’s terminology project operates at the crossroads between research in hard sciences and linguistic production, aiming to provide the translator with terms and definitions within the University’s research and teaching environment.
Expertise We aim to compile glossaries in French, English and German in collaboration with various UMONS departments. Such glossaries can be used as teaching aids or as complementary documentation to course books and syllabuses. They can also be used as databases, helping to translate specialized texts using computer-assisted or even fully automated translation tools. Such an approach includes: • the analysis of French, English and German corpora: this involves using a bottom-up process to extract and structure the terms of a specialized field, eventually leading to the creation of conceptual systems ; • together with a specialist from the particular field, a definition is subsequently formulated for each term respecting the editorial standards in use in lexicography. Given the profile of the FTI-EII researchers, priority is given to the exact sciences in this project. The source language is French. Translations are provided in English and German, with further languages being added depending on the fields studied. It is also intended to compile reverse lexica, where French is the target language (German-French and English-French).
Highlights The activities of the team focus on automating terminology tasks: • The automatic extraction of terms using formal rules and statistical analysis; • Machine translation, currently carried out on a SYSTRAN platform and tested in the context of translating the University of Mons website. Among the team’s current achievements, one can mention terminological work done within the context of the European Terminology Certificate (in collaboration with European universities taking part in the Tempus programme) in the fields of astrophysics and climatology.
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8.b.
Translation studies ‘Translation studies’ as a discipline gained prominence in the 1970s, encompassing a new field of investigation deemed to have arisen after WWII, although basic issues had been tackled back in Cicero’s time. Starting out from a linguistic approach soon felt to be too narrow, specialists from other disciplines have broadened the subject and the research horizon, with it now extending from the diachronic and sociological sphere to cognitive sciences and psycholinguistics. On top of this come the problems raised by teaching translation at university level and the link not just to the professional world, but also to other disciplines that cannot be isolated from translation as soon as one deals with literary or specialized texts.
Expertise • Acquisition of practical oral and written translation skills through making translations, into both French and foreign languages, for the market (international institutions, museums, the city of Mons, etc.). • Production of studies covering both theoretical and the practical aspects of translation. • Literary translation skills. See here, among others, the bilingual collection of poems ‘Land to Light on/Une Terre où se poser’, by Dionne Brand and translated by Nadia D’Amelio, Kris Lauwerijs’s translations of German Novels into Dutch, and theatre translation by Thilde Barboni.
Highlights • Organisation of international conferences in the field of translation studies. • Contributions to ‘Cahiers internationaux du Symbolisme (CIS)’. • Main collaboration partners: SEPTET (Society of Practices and Theories Studies in Translation), TRACT (Paris 3), Ulg, ULB, ETI- Geneva.
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8.c.
Literary Translation The sheer bulk of translated literature published each year would justify the study of this discipline. But our interest goes wider. Literary translation deserves being treated as a research field per se, given its intrinsic complexity – torn between source and target –, its belonging to all areas of thought and human activity, and its immense cultural and literary impact. In addition, the aim of this specific field of research is to transform literary translation into a field allowing students, PhD candidates and researchers alike to consider this discipline not just as an intertextual and intercultural working ground but also as an art.
Expertise • Practical skills in the translation of literary texts, running from editorials or papers published in international specialist journals (on arts and humanities subjects), to theatre texts, poetry and fiction, into French or into foreign languages, for the publishing market. • Production of studies covering both the theoretical and the practical aspects of translation. See the CIPA publications (2006, 2008 and 2010) from the International Conferences held at UMH and UMONS, including the recent international symposium on ‘E.A. Poe’s Extraordinary Translations’ (November 2009). • See also the various publications by the teaching staff, including the bilingual collection of poems ‘Land to Light On / Une terre où se poser’, by Dionne Brand, translated by N. D’Amelio, Kris Lauwerijs’s translations from German into Dutch, and theatre translation by Thilde Barboni.
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8.d.
Applied research in translation and the media The shortage of specialists and the growing role played by communication technologies in training are creating a breeding ground for the development of advanced tools and disciplines in the field of translation and interpreting (T/I). The research conducted at the CERM since the early 1990s on the future of specialised workstations for translators or interpreters set the foundations for responding to the evolution of market needs and professional technical and cognition standards, tying in with university and post-university training in T/I.
Expertise • ‘Audiodescription’, cross-linguistic narration added to oral translation on the screen for the visually impaired. • ‘Respeaking’, simultaneous translation (written) on-screen, based on speech recognition, for the hearing impaired. • The screen translation or interpretation of audiovisual documents, in the form of subtitles, inter- or intra-linguistic surtitles, lip-sync dubbing or voice-over, used in adapting literary works to the screen, and taking into consideration lip-sync dubbing and post-synchronization. • ‘CAT’, computer aided translation, and ‘MT’, machine translation, and the limits of the latter. • ‘Visio-interpreting’, which combines high quality ICT and simultaneous or consecutive remote interpreting. This technique played a pioneering role in teleinterpretation (and remote-interpreting).
Highlights • Synergy with the private sector: collaboration with prestigious companies in the fields of applied research, the design of new technical tools, and internships. • Prototype for visio-interpreting. • Technical tools for speech recognition in simultaneous interpretation. • Software for professional lip-sync dubbing. • Software for professional subtitling. • Spin-off project. • Virtual whiteboard and remote simultaneous translation.
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VII.
A FEW Achievements CERM: CENTRE FOR MULTIMEDIA MEDIA STUDIES AND RESEARCH The Faculty of Translation and Interpretation - International Interpreters School of UMONS has a Centre for Multimedia Studies and Research (CERM), which, in addition to research on the interaction between new technologies and translation-interpretation, offers a series of student courses and training programmes. CERM seeks to provide optimum conditions for scientific research and training in audiovisual translation and remote interpretation. Combining educational and technical services, the centre provides logistic support to researchers and students, based on the latest and most efficient communication technologies, as applied to translation and to conference interpretation.
Russian Cultural Centre The Cultural Centre of Russia at UMONS was created in 2008 thanks to the Russkiy Mir Foundation, an international fund set up to promote Russian language and culture. The UMONS Russian centre is a real crossroads visited by professionals, students and lovers of this rich culture. The centre offers, among other things, training, lectures and the dissemination of Russian works. www.centrerussemons.net
The American Studies Center Founded in 1991 with the sponsorship of the UMH, the Embassy of the United States of America, the Commission for Educational Exchange between the United States of America, Belgium and Luxembourg (Fulbright), and the Center for American Studies of the Royal Library of Belgium, the American Studies Center of the UMONS is a center for research and reference on various aspects of American Culture in general and the humanities in particular. It is accessible to the whole Mons community of researchers, professors, students or individuals. It is located on the campus of the UMONS. The American Studies Center of the University of Mons is a member of the American Studies Network, a European network of eighteen similar research centers disseminated throughout Europe.
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Research Support and Technology Transfer Department - AVRE (administration et valorisation de la recherche) With a range of services and expertise relating to Academic Research, the AVRE department provides researchers and businesses with effective interface between academia, the corporate world and government. Its strong, 14-persons team, drawn from varied and complementary backgrounds, manages research activities and promotes research outcomes, taking care of every stage of the interface process from seeking calls for offers and project assembly through to protecting results, scientific promotion and technology transfer. As a member of the LIEU (Liaison Entreprise-UniversitĂŠ - Business-University Link) network, AVRE cooperates actively with its counterparts in other universities of the French Community and the Brussels region. The LIEU Network enables members to complement each other in situations in which a collective approach provides added value. Contact: Anne De Smedt Tel.: +32 (0)65 37 47 82 contact@avre.umons.ac.be
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INDEX A AAIG_________________________________________________________________________ 31; 35 Analysis of decision making_________________________________________________________ 5; 33 Applied research in translation and the media____________________________________________ 5; 50 Architecture and Urban Planning______________________________________________________ 5; 26 AVRE__________________________________________________________________________ 4; 52
B Biomed_______________________________________________________________________ 5; 23 Biosys_________________________________________________________________________ 5; 15
C CERM________________________________________________________________________ 50; 51 CERMi___________________________________________________________________________ 35 CIRMAP___________________________________________________________________________ 8 Clearzinc_________________________________________________________________________ 17 CMMI_ __________________________________________________________________________ 25 Communication_______________________________________________________________ 5; 43; 44 CREAS_______________________________________________________________________ 42; 44
D Development____________________________________________________________________ 5; 24 Dysfunctions of excitable cells and thier adaptation________________________________________ 5; 24
E Economics and management________________________________________________________ 5; 30 Energy_ ____________________________________________________________________ 5; 14; 16 Engineering Sciences _____________________________________________________________ 5; 14 Evaluation______________________________________________________________________ 5; 41 Excel__________________________________________________________________________ 5; 24
H Holothuries_______________________________________________________________________ 12
I Information technologies_ _______________________________________________________ 5; 14; 19 Institute of human and social sciences _________________________________________________ 5; 36
L Literary Translation_ ___________________________________________________________ 5; 48; 49
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M Macbeth_________________________________________________________________________ 33 Maison de l'Urbanisme____________________________________________________________ 27; 28 Management support tools____________________________________________________________ 34 Market analysis__________________________________________________________________ 5; 32 Materia Nova_______________________________________________________________ 3; 8; 12; 17 Materials______________________________________________________________5; 6; 8; 12; 14; 17 Matter________________________________________________________________________ 5; 6; 8 Medicine and Pharmacy____________________________________________________________ 5; 22 Modeling complex system_ __________________________________________________________ 5; 9 Multitel_____________________________________________________________________ 3; 19; 20
N Numediart__________________________________________________________________ 19; 20; 21 Numerical and Molecular ecology_________________________________________________ 5; 6; 9; 10
O Opti2Mat______________________________________________________________________ 12; 17 Organisational analysis_ ___________________________________________________________ 5; 31
P Physics of fundamental interactions and Geometry_ _____________________________________ 5; 6; 11 Power, Socialization and Conflict______________________________________________________ 5; 37 Psychology ans Educational Sciences__________________________________________________ 5; 40
R ReSEau__________________________________________________________________________ 27 Risks_______________________________________________________________________ 5; 14; 18 Russian Cultural Center______________________________________________________________ 51
S Sciences____________________________________________________________________ 3; 4; 5; 6 Spaces quality and Sustainable Cities__________________________________________________ 5; 27 SISMa________________________________________________________________________ 5; 6; 7
T Terminology_____________________________________________________________________ Translation studies________________________________________________________________ Translation and Interpretation________________________________________________________ Transmission of practices , thoughts and social images_____________________________________
5; 47 5; 48 5; 46 5; 38
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NOTES _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________
NOTES _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________
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