Joëlle Perreau (born 10 June 1974) is a Seychellois linguist who has served as the 5th Vice-Chancellor of the

University of Seychelles The University of Seychelles, informally also called UniSey, is the primary institution of higher education in Seychelles. History The university was established on 17 September 2009. There are three campuses: the main campus at Anse Royale, ...

since 1 January 2021.

Career

After finishing secondary school, Perreau completed her two years of

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

on Ste. Anne Island and in Port Launay (

Mahé Island Mahe, Mahé, Mähe, or MAHE may refer to: Places China * Mahe Township (, lit. "Horse Creek Village") in Li County in Gansu Estonia * Mähe, a subdistrict of Tallinn, Estonia India * Mahe, India, a municipality in Mahe distri ...

). She then studied for her O-Levels and

A-Levels The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

at the

Seychelles Polytechnic Seychelles Polytechnic is a government-owned tertiary institution located in Anse Royale, Mahé. The institution currently offer three programme areas in Business & Secretarial Studies, Visual Arts and the Manchester Twinning Programme, a firs ...

Anse Royale Anse Royale () is an administrative district of Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) ...

. As a student, Perreau originally wanted to become a

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...

, but later decided to study French teaching and

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

. After completing her A-Levels in December 1994, she entered a 16-month teacher training program between Seychelles (7 months) and France (9 months). Perreau then became a secondary school teacher. She alternately taught in Seychelles for 6 months, and studied in France for 6 months. She earned a

Diplôme d'études approfondies A Master of Advanced Studies (MASt or MAS), or Master of Advanced Study, is a postgraduate degree awarded in various countries. Master of Advanced Studies programs may be non-consecutive programs tailored for "specific groups of working professio ...

in Linguistics, Didactics and Semiotics from the

University of Franche-Comté The Marie and Louis Pasteur University (UMLP), formerly known as University of Franche-Comté, is a pluridisciplinary public French university located in Besançon, Franche-Comté, with decentralized campuses in Belfort, Montbéliard, Vesoul and ...

in 2004. She then began a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

at the

University of Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris 3 The Sorbonne Nouvelle University (, also known as Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3, Paris 3, Sorbonne Nouvelle and the Sorbonne) is a public liberal arts and humanities university in Paris, France. It is one of the inheritors of the hi ...

. Perreau joined the

at its inauguration in 2010. Initially working as a faculty member in linguistics, she joined the university administration in 2015, later becoming Dean of the Faculty. She became the Vice-Chancellor of the university on 1 January 2021, succeeding Justin Valentin.

Family

Perreau was born on 10 June 1974. She is the daughter of Jocelyn and Michol Perreau. Her father Jocelyn was a singer from

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

who first came to the Seychelles on a band tour in 1972, where he met Michol. Perreau was raised in

Anse aux Pins Anse aux Pins () is an administrative Districts of Seychelles, district of Seychelles located on the island of Mahé, Seychelles, Mahé. Soleil Island is part of the district. Geography Anse aux Pins is situated in the East Region of Mahe, and is ...

, and completed her primary and secondary schooling there as well. Her family remains close with relatives in Mauritius. She has one younger brother. Her father died in 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perreau, Joëlle 1974 births Living people People from Anse-aux-Pins University of Seychelles Women heads of universities and colleges Women linguists University of Franche-Comté alumni Sorbonne Nouvelle University Paris 3 alumni