My secondment took place at the IRCER laboratory in Limoges, France from 15^th of September 2019 to 15^th of February 2020. In order to deepen our understanding of the fracture mechanism of refractories, the focus of my secondment included performing mini wedge splitting tests and the observation of crack propagation under Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) coupled with DIC to evaluate the stress and strain field.

Thanks to the laboratory staff, my fellow ESRs Diana Vitiello and Farid Asadi and my secondment supervisor, Professor Marc Huger, I was able to complete my secondment despite a rocky start.

During this short 3 months, I discover the French culture through the people, the scenery and the gastronomy from the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. I also had the chance to celebrate my birthday right before the end of my secondment.