Linda Lawrance, Assistant professor, is a lecturer in English at the University Bordeaux Montaigne. She was vice chancellor of Bordeaux Montaigne university from 2010 until 2020 and head of the French language department from 2017 until 2023. In these roles she was able to initiate the very first welcome programmes for exiled students and was responsible for coordinating their development and the regional projects which were vital in financing them. She has presented the different initiatives in place both at a local and international level and still works to improve curricula and student engagement through a variety of projects at the university.