Madam President, Dear colleagues, Dear students,
Ecole d’Assas is greatly honoured to host the 23rd ENPHE Conference in Paris.
France is back in the ENPHE Network after an absence of several years, driven by Ecole d’Assas, as we strongly believe in the importance of international exchange, in sharing clinical and teaching experiences at the international level. It was in 2015, during the Ghent Conference, that Ecole d’Assas became actively involved in ENPHE working groups, and applied to organise the 23rd Conference in Paris.
Today, our dream has become a reality, we are very proud to welcome you as well as five other physiotherapy schools from Paris APHP, Dijon, Bègles, La Musse and EFOM.
Ecole d’Assas has become a major historical player in the physiotherapy training. Ever since its creation in 1936, Assas has contributed to the emergence of the Physiotherapist profession in France, with more than 10.000 alumni and highly qualified teachers who greatly contribute to Assas reputation in France.
Assas has been growing for the last 7 years, with two campuses in physiotherapy, a Podiatry school and this year the opening of an OT school. Today Ecole d’Assas represents more than 700 students and 200 teachers and members of staff.
In 2014, Ecole d’Assas successfully applied to the Erasmus+ chart and thanks to ENPHE we have now 27 partners in Europe with whom we promote staff and students mobilities. Some ENPHE members are now part of the Assas teaching staff contributing to the internationalization of the training and the teaching body.
Finally, once again, I would like to thank you all most warmly for coming and for what you bring to Ecole d’Assas.
I declare open the 23rd Enphe Conference
Michel PILLU, Senior Lecturer Ecole d’Assas
Madam President, Dear colleagues, Dear students.
Along with the International Department of Ecole d’Assas, I am very proud and very honored to welcome you to the twenty third Enphe Conference. Thank you to all participants for attending so largely the conference.
Michel introduced very well Assas‘s position in France and its will to develop international opportunities for students and staff.
Thanks to the commitment of the Assas International Department members, Assas has developed significantly its European and international actions. Many other projects are under way, and I would like to thank Nicole, Laurence and Michel for their excellent job.
Assas is a school opened onto the world. The work done so far by the International Department has allowed us to welcome teachers and students from all over the world and to discuss teaching practices or the reality of the Physiotherapy profession in Europe with foreign colleagues.
Our students have had the opportunity to do internships abroad (Europe, China, United States, Japan, Madagascar, Vietnam) and have come back with and extraordinary experience and new skills.
With the support of Assas academic coordinators, we have decided to set up a annual International week. During one week, students meet many different speakers and experience a wide variety of teachings. In 2018 we welcomed 21 international teachers who provided more than one hundred and fifty teaching hours.
Some teachers from Assas have had the opportunity to teach in European universities in English and they have discovered new student’s profiles. The administrative staff is mobile as well. Some members have had the possibility to better know our partners, establish bilateral agreements and observe different ways of running a higher education institution. But this is just the beginning, of course!
After a mobility period, Students and staff would give very positive feedback, highlighting each time the exceptional human and professional experience.
This enthusiasm and this spirit of sharing are just what brought us together today.
Thanks to all of you for coming and in particular to Patricia Almeida to whom I now give the floor. I wish you all a successful and productive conference.
Jean-Jacques DEBIEMME, Assas Physiotherapy School Director
