If the activities last week Thursday at Univen are anything to go by, academic ties between the University of Venda and France are poised to be strengthened.

The Art Gallery at Univen was a hive of activity, with students and academics taking turns at participating in the French Day on campus. It formed part of the French Days and the France-South Africa Seasons 2012 and 2013 that are currently taking place at most South African universities.

This comes as a result of the collaboration between the French Embassy and the University of Venda.

Many activities, such as poetry and cultural exchanges, took place during the day-long programme and many papers were presented by experts in different fields.

The programme ended on a high note when a cocktail function was held and the screening of the French movie, La Princesse de Montpensier by famous French director, Bertrand Tavernier, took place.

According to one of the organisers, Mr Pierre Lemonde, Attaché for Science and Technology at the French Embassy in South Africa, ''the events will highlight Franco-South African scientific collaborations, promote future cooperation and student exchanges''. He said the event took place in the context of an ever-increasing number of scientific articles co-published by French and South African scientists, which numbered in excess of 200 over the last five years.

Lemonde also indicated that South Africa is the fifth biggest scientific partner with France, with collaborations in different disciplines. He said the event was held on a rotational basis - it was held in South Africa this year and will be held in France next year.

According to Lemonde, eight South African universities are going to take part and Univen has been selected to host the first of a series of these festivities. "We are raising awareness among students and academics about what France has to offer. We also want students and academics to know and understand each other," he said.

Univen's Cornelius Hagenmeier said they were honoured to have been chosen as the first among the South African universities to host the festivities. "This shows that we are developing as a university and we are happy that our students will also have an opportunity to find out about opportunities to study abroad and about funding and scholarships abroad," he said.

Oritonda Tshamano, a Bachelor of Environmental Sciences student, who participated in the festivities, said it had been an eye-opener for her. "There are so many opportunities which are open for us as students which we did not know of. We learnt a lot and we now have a better understanding of what France has to offer. Those who did not have the chance to attend, missed a lot," she said.