Carole Delga and Philippe Augé meet with social science students at the University of Montpellier
On Monday, May 22, 2023, Philippe Augé, President of the University of Montpellier, Agnès Fichard-Carroll, Vice President in charge of education and university life, and Amel Qobaa, Student Vice President, welcomed Carole Delga, President of the Occitanie/Pyrenees-Mediterranean Region and President of Régions de France, to the Aimé Shoenig Student Center. After a tour of the Richter campus university library, a roundtable discussion on issues related to the Richter campus library was held at the Aimé Shoenig Student Center. Pyrénées-Méditerranée and President of Régions de France, at the Aimé Shoenig Student Union. After a tour of the Richter campus university library, a roundtable discussion on education and student life was held between President Carole Delga and social science students (law, economics, management) from the University of Montpellier.
"This meeting is an opportunity to discuss, exchange ideas, and participate with all UM students on a range of topics such as education, research, and student life. It is important to participate in this round table in order to better understand their expectations and ensure their well-being," said Philippe Augé, President of the University of Montpellier.
"Listening to the questions and aspirations of our young people and finding concrete solutions is what motivates my political action. Choosing a course of study, training, and, in the future, a job is something we all think about. That is why I wanted to come to Montpellier yesterday to meet with UM students, who gathered in large numbers for an open and constructive dialogue. Alongside UM President Philippe Augé, I assured them of the support of the Region, which is committed to democratizing access to quality higher education, wherever they live and whatever their background; investments in buildings, decentralized campuses, student residences, etc. As we did during the Covid crisis by providing laptops and 4G keys to combat the digital divide, the Region is particularly committed to meeting their needs, whether in terms of mobility, training tools, food, or mental health. In the same vein, I will soon be meeting with other student communities in Occitanie to continue these discussions," said Carole Delga, President of the Occitanie/Pyrénées-MéditerranéeRegion.
Commitment, mobility, and training
This round table discussion was an opportunity for Philippe Augé and Carole Delga to talk with social science students from the University of Montpellier and answer their questions about education, student life, regional policy in Occitanie, regional networks, mobility, career guidance, integration, student engagement, and ecology.
The main ideas concern student life, in which many students seek to become actively involved. This is what the University of Montpellier offers with tutoring and the promotion of associations. Mobility was also the subject of many questions; however, the University of Montpellier and the Region are working to facilitate access to education through transportation (cars, buses, bicycles, trains).
Education was, of course, the subject of much discussion. Although Occitanie already offers a wide range of educational opportunities, Carole Delga and Philippe Augé wish to continue contributing to the region's educational network.
Student poverty and ecology
Student poverty was addressed, as the University of Montpellier, with financial support from the Region, is implementing solutions. Agnès Fichard-Carroll highlighted the actions taken by the UM, including the solidarity and student initiative development fund (FSDIE). Financed by the CVEC, this fund helps to finance student projects in various fields (culture, humanitarian aid, sports, solidarity, the environment, civic engagement, etc.) but also supports, in conjunction with CROUS social workers, students in great difficulty or in precarious situations. The fight against period poverty was also discussed, as well as the student life master plan, which includes 73 concrete actions to combat student poverty.
Ecology, and in particular issues relating to water resources and energy transition, were at the heart of the debate. UM, ranked among the world's top universities in ecology in the Shanghai thematic ranking, is deeply committed to environmental issues. As a reminder, it is working to build or renovate many of its facilities in order to comply as closely as possible with energy transition regulations (STAPS building work), and has been named the "water capital" following all the initiatives it has implemented over several years (creation of the UNESCO-ICIREWARD center, creation of Hydropolis, hosting of the Water4Future edition, hosting of AISH delegations, and organization of the annual water week, etc.).
The Occitanie Region is committed to improving the living conditions and success of its students.
A leader in higher education, the Occitanie region is fully committed to providing high-quality training throughout the region and meeting the aspirations of Occitanie's 270,000 students.
At the end of the year, the Region adopted a new regional strategy to make higher education and research one of the drivers of Occitanie's development and attractiveness policy. In order to enable all young people to choose and succeed in their studies, the Region supports higher education throughout the region, both in the metropolitan areas and in the 18 University Cities of Occitanie.
In total, since 2016, the Region has mobilized more than €150 million for the University of Montpellier and its students, enabling the financing of, for example:
- almost the entire cost of the new University of Medicine (inaugurated in 2017) (€45.5 million);
- the renovation of university housing and the construction of new housing, in partnership with CROUS (since 2016: renovation of 3,095 university housing units and construction of 1,849 new housing units);
- the development of psychological support offered by the UM through the University Health Center (€170,000 since 2020) and the funding of a Student Health Insurance Pass for scholarship students (€100 per year);
- the development of mobility, notably with the "+=0" scheme for 18-26 year olds, which offers free travel on liO trains from the 11th journey onwards and will be extended to regular bus routes on the liO regional transport network at the start of the next academic year (40,000 young beneficiaries and more than 500,000 tickets sold in 2022);
- The Youth Ecological Income program, which offers support for training courses (nearly 190 existing courses) or business creation/takeover projects, and guarantees an income of up to €1,000 per month. Launched in 2022, it already has more than 500 beneficiaries.