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Created in memory of the founder of the Department of Biology, the Fonds Adrien Bauchau has been promoting excellence in life sciences research since 1989. As it prepares to blow out its 35th birthday candle, the Fund is rolling out new initiatives to promote the development of biology at UNamur.

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has just published a study in the prestigious journal Nature, listing and assessing the different values we place on nature. Nicolas Dendoncker, professor in the Department of Geography and member of the ILEE Institute at UNamur, is one of the co-authors.

Namur, a capital city at the confluence of the Sambre and Meuse rivers, in the heart of Wallonia. Its history, geography and architecture make it an attractive city and an ideal place for secondary school students to discover the city.

In the course of 2021, 42% of Belgian companies suffered a cyber attack. Those targeting citizens are no less numerous: more than 4.5 million suspicious messages have been sent to Safeonweb, the government body responsible for informing Belgian citizens about computer security. More than ever, at a time when the geopolitical context reinforces the threat of a cyberwar, how can we cope? Jean-Noël Colin, cybersecurity expert, professor at the Faculty of Computer Science of UNamur and member of the NaDI Institute, gives us an explanation.

Carried out in collaboration with the NADI research institute of the University of Namur, the Pôle Académique de Namur, the Université Libre de Bruxelles, and the Royal Association of Engineers of Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech ULg and 200 associations internationally (117 countries), the sixth edition of the Gender Scan survey measures the evolution of feminisation in the technology and digital sector. The survey was conducted for the first time in Belgium among female students (higher education) to measure the level of satisfaction of female students in these fields.

From 11 to 13 May 2022, a hundred or so scientists and actors from the economic and cultural world gathered at UNamur to discuss the issue of water pollution. The aim? To share and enrich knowledge, but also to alert and inform about its long-term effects on fauna, flora and human beings. Scientific sessions, workshops and a conference for the public were on the programme for these three days.

Increasingly sophisticated technologies are invading our spheres of activity without our prior consultation as citizens. Shouldn't the new digital tools, artificial intelligence or technologies resulting from progress in neuroscience, which are transforming our identity and social relationships, be the subject of broad and sufficiently informed democratic debates? This question is at the heart of the international "research-action" project "A new humanism in the age of neuroscience and artificial intelligence" in which UNamur is participating.

This is a technical and scientific feat that has just been patented at the UNamur. Researchers from the Laboratory of Analysis by Nuclear Reactions (LARN), the Department of Physics of UNamur (NISM Institute) and the spin-off Innovative Coating Solutions (ICS) have succeeded in developing a carbon-based coating with innovative properties that can be used in a wide range of fields, including fuel cells, decoration, and mechanical parts for automobiles.

From 17 to 19 February 2023, the CSLabs, a student association based at the Faculty of Computer Science at UNamur, organised its annual hackathon. What was on the agenda? A real computer marathon during which several teams met to think about an innovative project on a particular theme. This year, it was about disability.

As part of the English course of the Bachelor in Science and Medicine, students are introduced to the oral popularisation of scientific concepts. This year, these future biologists, chemists, geologists/geographers or pharmacists expressed themselves in the form of videos inspired by the famous French science popularisation programme, "C'est pas sorcier". A competition to choose the best video has been launched as part of the Printemps des sciences.

A frightening figure in traditional tales, the wolf is the object of a myth carried by the popular memory of our elders. Long gone from our landscapes, this large predator is making a comeback in Wallonia and is posing us with major challenges. Does it still have a place? A historian and a veterinarian talk about this fascinating natural phenomenon.

The wolf, a majestic animal that has had many tumultuous adventures with man. Respected in ancient Rome, then demonised from the Middle Ages onwards, the wolf is now gaining ground in Belgium after having disappeared from our lands since the end of the 19th century. This subject was at the heart of the conference "Return of the wolf in the Walloon Region", organised by UNamur on 9 March 2023. This was an opportunity to decipher the past and present presence of the wolf in our countryside and forests, with Julie Duchêne, FRESH-FNRS doctoral student in History, and Benoit Muylkens, Head of the Department of veterinary medicine.