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Towards a new generation of human-inspired linguistic models: a groundbreaking scientific study conducted by UNamur and VUB

Can a computer learn a language like a child? A recent study published in the leading journal Computational Linguistics by Professors Katrien Beuls (Université de Namur) and Paul Van Eecke (AI-lab, Vrije Universiteit Brussel) sheds new light on this question. The researchers argue for a fundamental revision of the way artificial intelligence acquires and processes language.
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The archives of the Middle Ages under the microscope of Jean-François Nieus

Jean-François Nieus, F.R.S-FNRS research fellow at UNamur for nearly 20 years, readily describes himself as a "document hunter." Fascinated by the mysteries of the Middle Ages, he explores a period still marked by gray areas and clichés. His main field of study? The documentary practices of the aristocracy of northern France and the former southern Netherlands, which shed light on the political, social, and cultural mechanisms at work between the 11th and 13th centuries.
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Event

International Conference - Memory(ies) and Political Competition in the Roman World (3rd century BC - 4th century AD)

The study of memory phenomena in ancient societies has been a growing field of research since the 1990s, and has been particularly dynamic over the last decade. Awareness of the impact of memory, due to its plasticity, on social and political actors in the ancient world opens up new perspectives for analyzing attested phenomena and events. The conference proposes to study the use of memory and its specific dynamics in the context of political competition, in various spheres and covering a broad chronological framework, from the 3rd century BC to the 4th century AD, with the aim of encouraging dialogue between respective specialists.Organizers: Simon Lambert (F.R.S.-FNRS Research Fellow), Pierre Assenmaker (Professor, UNamur), and Françoise Van Haeperen (Full Professor, UCLouvain)Information and registration: simon.lambert@unamur.be
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Study Day - Tourism in the face of climate change: between risks and opportunities

The morning will be devoted to presenting the detailed results of the study and putting them into perspective in the broader context of current economic, social, and environmental issues.The afternoon will give the floor to stakeholders in the field through testimonials and round tables, illustrating how the tourism sector is adapting to the challenges posed by climate change. Registration and detailed program here: Walloon tourism in the face of climate change: between risks and opportunities (January 26, 2026): Home · UNamur Event (Indico) 
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Delamination of sheepskin parchment: an interdisciplinary discovery published in Heritage Science

At UNamur, parchments are much more than objects of curiosity: they are at the heart of an interdisciplinary scientific adventure. Starting with historical sciences and conservation, the research has gradually incorporated the disciplines of physics, biology, chemistry, and archaeology.  This convergence has given rise to research in heritage sciences, driving innovative projects such as Marine Appart's doctoral work, supervised by Professor Olivier Deparis. This research has now been recognized with a publication in the prestigious journal Heritage Science (Nature Publishing Group).
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Annual meeting of the archaeology and archaeometry module of the HISTAR doctoral school - History, Art and Archaeology - EDT 56

Program 10:00am: Welcome10:15am: Ian Johnson (University of Sydney), "Heurist, a solution to the data management needs of projects and researchers in the Humanities"10:55am: Break11:25am: Lola Tydgadt & Ronè Oberholzer (Uliège), "Stone Tools and Databases: A New Method to Put Function on The Map"11h55: Matthieu Delmeulle (UCLouvain), "Pondera :An Online Database of Ancient and Byzantine Weights"12h25: Lunch13h25: Elise Delaunois (AWaP), "La base de données des fouilles de Grognon (Namur, Belgique)"14h05: Tobias Heal (Uliege), "The Acies Ferri project and the Chips database"14h35 : Mostafa Alskaf (ULB), "Digital Archiving of Archaic Greek Plastic Vases: Opportunities and Obstacles"15:05: Break15:35: Fanny Martin (UNamur), "Celts, Germans and GIS: methods and questions for approaching Iron Age populations in northern Gaul"16:15: Final discussion.17:00: Closing Download the Modus Operandi doctoral seminar program
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Food or foe? Preparation, consumption, and sacralization of fish in Graeco-Roman and Byzantine Egypt

The results of research obtained using archaeobotanical, archaeozoological, nutritional biochemical and microbiological methods are supplemented by information drawn from papyrological evidence and hieroglyphic sources. The project brings together researchers from the Vrije Universiteit Brussels, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, the University of Liège, the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, the University of Michigan and the University of Namur. The latter is home to the Egyptological part of the project, conducted as a postdoctoral research by Arnaud Delhove and Alexa Rickert under the direction of René Preys. One of the questions to be addressed is to what extent the food offering to the gods in the temple is related to the diet of the priests, since scholarship traditionally assumes the distribution of the offerings to the clergy after the ritual. The investigation on what kinds of food were present in the temple and how they were prepared also raises the question why certain dishes, including fish, are largely absent from the offering scenes and descriptions. Discussions on the avoidance of fish in the temple gave rise to the idea of organising this workshop. Program 23/04/202414.15-14.45 Arrival of the participants, coffee 14.45-15.00 Welcome, introduction to the workshopPart one: Fish in profane contextsSession one, chair: Gert Baetens15.00-15.30 Daan Smets, Lisa Vanoppré (KU Leuven): Salty Business - Consuming and processing fish in Ptolemaic Egypt15.30-16.00 Sandra Gubler (University of Basel), Johanna Sigl (Commission for Archaeology of non-Euro- pean Cultures KAAK): Ancient Aswan's fisheries16.00-16.30 Coffee breakSession two, chair: Daan Smets16.30-17.00 Nicolas Morand (National Museum of Natural history, AASPE - MNHN): Fish consumption in Alexandria and its hinterland during the Graeco- Roman and Byzantine periods: first archaeo- zoological insights and perspectives17.00-17.30 Mauro Rizzetto (Ca' Foscari University of Venice): Fish exploitation at Ptolemaic and Roman Al-Qārah al-Ḥamrā, Egypt17.30-18.00 Korshi Dosoo (University of Würzburg): Fish in Graeco-Egyptian and Christian Magic18.00-18.30 Katelijn Vandorpe (KU Leuven): Response and discussion part one19.00 Speakers' dinner (L'Huile sur le Feu, Rue de Marchovelette 19) 24/04/2024Part two: Fish in religious contextsSession one, chair: Alexa Rickert09.30-09.40 Welcome address by Carine Michiels (University of Namur, vice-rector in charge of research and libraries)09.40-10.10 Arnaud Delhove (University of Namur/ULB): Thou shalt not eat fish, for it is an abomination! On the bw.t on fish consumption in Graeco- Roman Egypt10.10-10.40 Wim Van Neer (Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences): A Late Period votive deposit of fish at Oxyrhynchus (Al Bahnasa, Egypt)10.40-11.10 Daniel von Recklinghausen (University of Tübingen): Why was Esna called "The City of the Nile perches" (Lato(n)polis) in Greek?11.10-11.40 Françoise Labrique (University of Cologne/ ULB): Kom Ombo : graphies et théologie12.00-13.30 Lunch (Brasserie François, Place Saint-Aubain 3)14.00-15.30 Informal part of the event: guided tour of NamurSession two, chair: Arnaud Delhove16.00-16.30 Alexa Rickert (University of Namur): The catcher in the dark: fish in the economic processions of the Graeco-Roman temples of Egypt16.30-17.00 Christian Cannuyer (Lille Catholic University/ S.R.B.É.O.): The fish as a symbol of Christ: its possible Egyptian origin and its treatment in Coptic iconography17.00-18.00 René Preys (University of Namur): Response and discussion part two, general discussion, closing of the event Download the book of abstract
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UNamur joins ERCIS, Europe's leading information systems network

The University of Namur takes another step forward in its commitment to supporting digital transformation. It is joining the prestigious European Research Center for Information Systems (ERCIS) network as a Partner Institution, via the MINDIT research center (Management de l'Information et Transformation Numérique).
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35 years between two accelerators - Serge Mathot's journey, or the art of welding history to physics

One foot in the past, the other in the future. From Etruscan granulation to PIXE analysis, Serge Mathot has built a unique career, between scientific heritage and particle accelerators. Portrait of a passionate alumnus at the crossroads of disciplines.
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Forgotten manuscripts tell the story of Christianization in the Middle Ages

Matthieu Pignot, researcher in the History Department and member of the PraME research center, has just been awarded the title of FNRS Qualified Researcher for his work on the transmission of religious knowledge between Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The originality of his research lies in the study of writings little or unknown to historians in the context of the Christianization of Europe.
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IBAF Conference 2026

The IBAF Meetings have been organized since 2003, every two years since 2008, by the Ion Beams Division of the French Vacuum Society (SFV), the oldest national vacuum society in the world, which celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2025.As in previous editions, IBAF 2026 will offer a rich and varied program with guest lectures, oral and poster presentations, and technical sessions. All this will be complemented by an industrial presence to promote exchanges between research and innovation. The conference will cover a wide range of topics, from ion beam instruments and techniques to the physics of ion-matter interactions, including the analysis and modification of materials, applications in the life sciences, earth and environmental sciences, and heritage sciences. More information on the IBAF2026 website
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Offline, out of the game? Let's fight the digital divide.

Program: 5:00 p.m.: Welcome & presentation of the film5:15 p.m.: Screening of the film I, Daniel Blake6:45 p.m.: Discussion: "Offline, out of the game? Let's fight the digital divide"7:15 p.m.: EndFollowing the screening, three experts from the Namur Digital Institute (NADI), Simon Dechamps (MINDIT Research Center), Alix Gobert (CRIDS Research Center), and Floriane Goose (CeRCLe Research Center) will discuss the following questions: What is the digital divide? How does it conflict with the digitization of government agencies? How can we take users into account? Is digital inclusion a solution?  Register
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