On 4 November 2025, the beautiful Buquoy Palace, well-known as Ambassade de France en République Tchèque, hosted the Student and Alumni Meetup France 2025, bringing together more than 100 French and Czech students, alumni, and local Czech and foreign authorities for an inspiring evening of exchange, career insights, and cross-cultural connections.
The evening featured a welcoming speech, followed by a networking session that allowed participants to meet peers and mentors from a variety of fields. Guests enjoyed refreshments while exchanging experiences and discussing opportunities for future collaboration.
His Excellency Stéphane Crouzat spoke about the history of relations between Czechia and France and shared some interesting facts with the participants. For instance, more than 10% of exchange students in Czechia come from France, which shows the strong academic ties between our two nations. He also outlined the possibility of furthering studies through several exchange and mobility programmes. One of them is the Barrande Fellowship Programme, named after the French geologist Joachim Barrande, who worked extensively in Bohemia in the 19th century. This programme supports PhD students undertaking research stays or joint doctoral studies.
Next to speak was the Director of DZS (National Agency for
Internationalization and Research), Michal Uhl, who emphasized in his speech that education is, above all, about people, connections, experiences, and mutual inspiration. That is why, at the DZS, we aim to stay in touch with international students even after their studies. Our Czechia Alumni programme plays a vital role in this mission: it connects graduates from around the world, helps them maintain a living connection with Czechia, and offers a platform for professional and personal exchange.
Following the director's speech, Bára Křenek Sobotková, Head of the Study in Czechia initiative, took the floor and explained to participants how the initiative works. Finally, participants then heard from Elodie Morin-Rager, the Director of Business France Czech Republic, about the V.I.E. international internship programme.
During the evening, we naturally conversed with the event participants as well. Eloïse, the exchange student now studying in Czechia, said about Prague: „I am really glad I chose this place for my exchange, there is a fantastic student community, we have a lot of events, and thanks to that we have so many opportunities to meet people, actually to connect with them.“
Marion, a student at Palacký University Olomouc, mentioned how happy she is that she studies in Olomouc, a small but beautiful and historical city, which shouldn't be overlooked in favor of larger cities. Also, the university and teachers are excellent, and she is a proud Communication Manager at the local ESN section at the university.
We also talked with Mathilde Lagard
e, the Head of the Campus France office in Prague, who mentioned that Czechia and France are, on the one hand, different enough, which is interesting for exploring and experiencing. Still, at the same time, they are pretty close in terms of culture, so for the first experience with the world, it can work well.
The main aim of this meetup was to foster cross-cultural connections, share insights on academic and professional paths, and support the growing alumni community linking the two countries. And we can say that we have achieved this aim and look forward to the future gatherings.
Want to stay informed about our upcoming events? Please register for the Czechia Alumni programme and receive our quarterly newsletter. Or would you like to engage more actively as an alumni ambassador? Contact us at alumni@studyin.cz.
More pictures can be found here: Photos French Embassy