One of the LabEx flagship measures, is based on a procedure aiming to mentor PhD students with a foreign researcher. The researcher mentor is invited to stay in the IMobS³ community one month per year, during the three years of the thesis, thanks to a grant covering salary, travel and stay.

To date, 78 months of invited researchers have been funded (this result in more than one foreign researcher present continuously at Clermont-Ferrand since the LabEx beginning).

PhD mentors were from a wide range of geographical origins. Main home countries are: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States...