The city of Béthune is located in northen France, in the region called Nord_Pas_de_Calais, 220 kms from Paris (1h20 with TGV or 2h30 by motorway), 40 mins from the big city of Lille, 1 h from the coast. Bethune is an old city with 30 000 inhabitants.

Bethune IUT (Institut Universitaire de Technologie) was created in 1967, with currently 1300 students. Bethune IUT is a part of the multipolar University of Artois, created in 1992, with 16 000 students. Bethune IUT proposes Bachelor (DUT, licence pro.) on Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Industrial Information Technology, Quality Logistics and Industrial Organization, Mechanical Engineering, Telecommunications and Network.