From Spreadsheet Struggles to Seamless Workflows: IMT Mines Albi

Managing international student mobility is no small feat. For IMT Mines Albi, a leading French engineering school with a strong international focus, the process was becoming increasingly challenging. Their team in International Affairs had to coordinate a complex mix of student exchanges, faculty mobilities, and partnership management — all tracked in Excel spreadsheets.

Isabella Dufour-Baumgartner, Deputy Director of International Affairs at IMT Mines Albi, explains how Solemove transformed their approach — helping them move from disconnected spreadsheets to an integrated, real-time platform.

The challenge: managing international mobility with spreadsheets

For years, the IMT Mines Albi team relied on Excel to track student exchanges, faculty mobilities, and partnerships. While spreadsheets are familiar, they quickly became a source of frustration:

• Version control issues — Multiple users editing separate versions led to outdated and inconsistent information.
• Limited collaboration — Coordinating across teams was difficult without shared, real-time data.
• Lack of strategic insight — The team could not get a holistic view of student experiences or analyse historical data effectively.

The inefficiencies were not just administrative. They made it harder to develop international strategies and improve the exchange experience for students and staff.

The solution: a user-friendly platform built for mobility management

After receiving recommendations from partner institutions, Isabella and her team explored Solemove. From the very first demo, they were impressed.

No extra training required. The platform's intuitive interface meant the team could start using it immediately without a steep learning curve.

Easy integration. IMT Mines Albi incorporated Solemove into their existing technology setup without complications.

Localisation. IMT Mines Albi became the first French university to integrate Solemove, and they even translated the platform into French to enhance adoption across their team.

The impact: transparency, efficiency, and strategic insight

Since implementing Solemove, the IMT Mines Albi team has seen significant improvements across three areas:

Real-time data access — Everyone in the team works from the same live information, eliminating the version control problems that plagued their spreadsheet-based approach.

Enhanced collaboration — Coordinating across departments and teams is now straightforward, with all mobility data in a single, shared system.

Strategic decision-making — With a complete view of all mobility activity, the team can now develop international strategies based on actual data rather than fragmented records.

"Solemove enables us to have a complete global vision and enhance our ability to create international strategies. We can oversee the entire exchange process, from application to returning students, while students also gain easier access to relevant information."

— Isabella Dufour-Baumgartner, Deputy Director of International Affairs, IMT Mines Albi

Looking ahead

IMT Mines Albi's journey with Solemove is just the beginning. Across higher education institutions worldwide, the shift toward digital transformation in international mobility management is accelerating.

If your institution wants to reduce administrative workload, improve transparency, gain strategic insight into mobility programmes, and enhance the exchange experience for students, it is time to explore what Solemove can do.

Book a demo to see how Solemove can improve your exchange processes.