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Spread across four sites in north-western France ¨C the channel ports of Boulogne, Calais and Dunkirk, plus inland St Omer ¨C ULCO owes its foundation to various initiatives starting from Lille. Beginning with a college in Calais in 1963, they unified as ULCO in 1991.

As well as uniting different communities, ULCO has, since 2016, formed the A2U alliance with the universities of Artois and Picardie Jules Verne.

It educates around 10,000 students ¨C around 1,000 of them international ¨C across a comprehensive range of disciplines taught at the four sites.

The work-study courses organised by its continuing-education unit have seen significant growth, from 218 students in 2018 to 1,100 in 2023. In 2023, engineering and 3D printing courses were added to its vocational and lifelong learning provision, including a range of short courses for elected officials.

Completion rates consistently run ahead of national averages, and in 2023 49.4 per cent of its STAPs sports science students graduated within three years ¨C more than at any other French university.

The IFSEA marine studies institute was opened in 2023, andthere are plans to expand both electrical technology and engineering. C-DeCIDe, a major industrial decarbonisation training programme, will start in 2025.

Students and staff are encouraged to cycle or to take public transport, with free bus passes and a bike-lending scheme.