SMI2015 will be held at Télécom Lille
The conference will be held at Telecom Lille, which is ideally located in Villeneuve d’Ascq, and is easily accessible by metro, bus, and taxi. To get to Télécom Lille, please read further and/or read the page « How to get to Télécom Lille ».
Traveling to Lille
The easiest way to come to Lille is definitively to fly to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). CDG is connected to almost all countries worldwide. Once in CDG, you will catch the fast train (TGV) at the train station located in Terminal 2 of CDG. 50 minutes later, you will arrive in one of the two train stations of Lille (Lille Europe or Lille Flandres).
You may also fly to London, UK, and connect to Saint Pancras train station, board on the Eurostar (fast train between the UK and France), travel under the Channel, and arrive in Lille train station.
Then the metro will take you to Télécom Lille, cité scientifique, Villeneuve d’Ascq. See « How to get to Télécom Lille ».
You may also fly to Lille Lesquin International Airport. It is 15 minutes from Lille City Center by car (11km). The airport mostly connects other French and European cities (some with low cost companies).
For more information please visit Lille Office of Tourism website.
Visa information
Information regarding visas to come to France is available on the France Diplomatie website. Please check this website first and early enough!
In order to request a visa invitation letter, in the registration process, please check Visa the box visa that you would like one visa letter. Letters will be generated for participants who have registered, and requested them.
Accommodations in Lille or in Villeneuve d’Ascq
Special prices: International Residence Hall Reeflex, 5-minute walk from Télécom Lille
The International Residence Hall Reeflex on the campus of University Lille1, 5-minute walk from SMI conference place, proposes:
- 23m² apartment with kitchenette and shower room for a rent of 57.75 € per night + 0.22 € per night fee.
- 35m² apartment with kitchenette and shower room for a rent of 78.40 € per night + 0.22 € per night fee.
Special price for students:
- 16m² apartment with kitchenette and shower room for a rent of 25.30 € .
More information on the Reeflex website.
You can book by email at reeflex@univ-lille.fr. Please indicate that you will attend to the SMI conference at Télécom Lille.
Hotels in Villeneuve d’Ascq:
- Ascotel is at 5-minute walking distance. It is 20 minutes from Lille City Center by metro.
- Olivarius Apart’Hotel is at 25-minute walking distance from Télécom Lille. 15-minute walking plus 20-minute metro from Lille City Center.
Hotels in Lille city-center (recommended for visiting Lille City, 20 minutes from Télécom Lille by metro)
- Brueghel Hotel
- Ibis Hotels (Ibis Lille Centre Grand Place, or Ibis Lille Centre Gares, or Ibis Lille Centre Grand Palais)
- Citadines City Center Lille
For more hotels, please visit the Lille Office of Tourism website.
Miscellaneous information
Lille City
Lille has had a stormy history (it has been besieged no fewer than 11 times). The town, whose name is derived from the French « l’île » (the island), named because it was situated on an island in the Deûle River, started life as a small village founded by the Flemish around 1030.
The capital of Flanders during the Middle Ages, Lille was given to France in 1312. Subsequently, it fell into various hands (including Austrian and Spanish ones), before being reclaimed, in 1667, by Louis XIV, who made it a showcase of French power and glory. Lille was later both damaged and occupied by the Germans in both World Wars.
Lille itself is easily explored on foot with the city center only a few minutes’ walk from Eurostar’s arrival station, Lille Europe. Especially picturesque is the Old Town of Lille with its narrow cobblestone streets, contrasting architecture, charming cafés, bars, boutiques and small galleries. Lille is also home to the Palais des Beaux Arts a France’s second national art collection after the Louvre in Paris.
In 2004, Lille was a European Capital of Culture. Since thus many cultural events are regularly organized in Lille City (see Lille3000 website).
With over 110 000 students, the metropolitan area of Lille is one France’s top education student cities. The European Doctoral College Lille Nord-Pas de Calais is headquartered in Lille metropole and includes 3,000 PhD Doctorate students supported by university research laboratories.
Lille has a convenient location in the European high-speed rail network. It lies on the Eurostar line to London (1:20 hour journey). The French TGV network also puts it only 1 hour from Paris, 35 mn from Brussels, and a short trips to other major centres in France such as Marseille, Lyon, and Toulouse.
Lille Lesquin International Airport is 15 minutes from the city center by car (11km). The airport mostly connects other French and European cities (some with low cost companies).
Télécom Lille
Télécom Lille will host the SMI 2015 event in the Pascal Conference Room equipped with high quality audio video systems. All the participants will be offered a free WiFi access as well as a free parking access.
Founded in 1990 by the University of Lille1, France Télécom and the National Institute for Telecommunications (Institut Mines-Télécom), Télécom Lille has become one of the best known public engineering schools in France.
Backed by a leading university and several topranked engineering schools, Télécom Lille training programs closely associate state-of-the art coursework and laboratory practicals with extended periods devoted to technology project management carried out within professional placements. Each of Télécom Lille’s students spends half of his time working in renowned firms, involved in real-life technology projects, with a very hands-on approach. Over the years Télécom Lille Master’s degree has become particularly appreciated by both services and technology companies, thus offering our graduates wide career opportunities.