Students at Innovative Research Universities are eligible for internships at French universities, being launched today at Flinders U. The Nicholas Baudin scheme is named for a French explorer, who cooperated with Matthew Flinders RN, for whom the university is named, in mapping Australian coast.

“This agreement is testament to how Australian universities and France are stepping up to make the most of the opportunities for upskilling a new generation, advancing research and commercialising innovative technology,” Flinders VC and IRU chair Colin Stirling says.

There seems to have been no thought of naming the programme for the French governor of Mauritius, Charles Decaen, who locked Flinders up during the Napoleonic Wars.