France - People

France is the 9th largest source of students at Oxford and the numbers are ever increasing, up 35% from 2006. There are over 200 French students studying at Oxford, two thirds of whom are postgraduates and almost a third of whom are full-time undergraduates. The majority of undergraduates are studying humanities subjects, whereas French postgraduates are mainly concentrated in the Social Sciences and Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences divisions.

Students of French nationality are eligible for a variety of scholarships available to students from EU member countries, including UK Research Council awards, the Jenkins Memorial Fund and the Scatcherd European scholarships.

Founded in 2003, Oxford University French Society (La Société Française de l’Université d’Oxford) is Oxford’s student-led cultural, political and social centre for promoting francophone culture. They offer a wide range of events regularly offering film nights, guest speakers, debates, concerts, and drinks and conversation evenings to members and non-members of the society alike. Their primary aim is to act as a vibrant forum where like-minded students can meet outside of academic work.

France is Oxford’s 6th largest source of international academics. Oxford is currently home to nearly 120 French academic and research staff working in fields as varied as law; business; atmospheric, oceanic and planetary physics; mathematics; and philosophy.

Dr François Nosten
François Nosten is the Director of the Shoklo Malaria Research Unit (SMRU), part of the Wellcome Trust funded Mahidol-Oxford-University Research Unit in Thailand. With Prof. N.J. White he established the SMRU on the Thai-Myanmar border in 1986. During these 26 years Nosten and his team have studied the epidemiology, treatment and prevention of malaria with a particular focus on pregnant women and children.

In 2008, Professor Nosten won the Christophe & Rodolphe Merieux Foundation Prize for his groundbreaking research into treating malaria infections in pregnant women. By organising antenatal consultations for all pregnant women to screen their blood every week during the pregnancy, François and his team were able to detect malaria parasites quickly and treat them before they developed into severe infection. This effectively reduced the malaria related maternal mortality from 1,000 per 100 000 births to zero.

Dr Nosten graduated as a physician from the University of Rouen in 1985, and followed this with a PhD in 1994 from the University Paris VI. He also obtained the degree of Research Director (Directeur de Recherche) in 2004 in Paris.

Dr Suzanne Aigrain
Dr Suzanne Aigrain is lecturer in astrophysics and a fellow of All Souls College. She specializes in the detection and characterisation of extrasolar planets (planets outside of our solar system) and the study of stellar variability. To do so, she uses data from space telescopes such as CoRoT, Kepler and Hubble, which she analyses using state-of-the-art statistical methods.

Dr Aigrain grew up in Toulouse and moved to London after finishing her  baccalaureate to study for her MSci in Physics at Imperial College. She obtained her PhD in Astrophysics at Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge.

With 2,188 alumni, France is home to the 5th largest concentration of Oxford alumni outside the UK. Our distinguished alumni, past and present, include Hilaire Belloc (poet), Lindsay Owen-Jones (Former chairman of L’Oreal), and Mark Inch (President of the Société de la Tour Eiffel).

There are 3 regional alumni branches/groups in France: OUS Paris; Oxford, Cambridge & Trinity Society of Provence; and OUS Southwest France. These societies are highly active and arrange events ranging from business breakfasts, and formal dinners with speakers, to vineyard tours.