Visit of Hanoi University of Civil Engineering Delegation to École nationale des ponts et chaussées

As part of the long-standing PFIEV cooperation between Hanoi University of Civil Engineering (HUCE) and French engineering schools, three faculty members from HUCE – Dr. Tống Ngọc Tú (PFIEV – programme de formation d’ingénieurs d’excellence Vietnam- director for HUCE), Dr. Đoàn Tùng, and Dr. Nguyễn Bích Vân – spent the month of October 2025 at École nationale des ponts et chaussées. Their visit was coordinated by Federico Antoniazzi (director of the Urban and Railway Transport Systems executive master – STFU) and Thibaut Skrzypek, acting as the representative of French partner institutions supporting the PFIEV programme.

The objective of the mission was to explore the curriculum of the STFU master’s program, engage with the School faculty working in the fields of transport systems and civil engineering, observe pedagogical practices, and lay the groundwork for future collaboration in research and capacity building. The delegation attended several courses in the STFU program and other ENPC master's programs, including:

• Simulation of Railway Operations (Yann Piriou)
• Railway Infrastructure and Maintenance
• Rail System Design and Project Structuring
• Financing Infrastructure Projects – Railways (Clive Gallery)
• A joint session on the “Transport and Mobility” (TM) and “TRADD – Transport and Sustainable Development” master's programs, led by Emeric Fortin, to better understand the connection between transport engineering, urban planning, and mobility policies.

These sessions provided a valuable opportunity to reflect on curriculum design and teaching methods in an international context.
On 14 October, the delegation took part in the UIC international event on the Alliance of Universities for High-Speed Railway Education, gaining insights into European and global initiatives in high-speed rail education.
Throughout their stay, the HUCE visitors engaged in scientific discussions with several researchers:

• Tien Hoang (Navier lab), on geotechnical modeling for railway platforms and tunnels
• Anh-Minh Tang (Navier lab), who organized a dedicated lab tour on 17 October focusing on research in civil infrastructure for railway systems
• Laurent Bouillaut (Université Gustave Eiffel – GRETTIA lab), on maintenance and operations of rail networks
• Renaud-Pierre Martin, Franziska Schmidt, and Le Hung Tran (Université Gustave Eiffel – EMGCU lab), on topics including rolling stock, train-track interaction, and design of infrastructure in complex geological environments.

The delegation also met with Federico Antoniazzi to exchange on the structure and international positioning of the STFU program. Additionally, a dedicated academic meeting with Prof. Nacima Baron (LVMT lab) allowed comparisons between European and Vietnamese approaches to railway station design, mobility systems, and urban integration. A professional visit was organized at the Société des grands projets, where the delegation was welcomed for a working session with Alexis de Pommerol, focused on major infrastructure projects and public transport strategies in the Paris region. The group also met with Frédéric Bernaudin from Compagnie des Signaux (CdS), a company specialized in railway signaling and telecommunication systems. The visit significantly contributed to HUCE’s efforts to modernize its transport curriculum, offering direct exposure to French academic and professional practices in urban and railway engineering.

For École nationale des ponts et chaussées, the visit deepened its academic cooperation with HUCE, reinforced its role within the PFIEV network, and aligned with its international strategy to support advanced engineering education and research across Southeast Asia.