EPE: "A shared strategy for the UM and its partners".

With 26 votes in favor, 4 against and 5 abstentions, the Board of Directors of the University of Montpellier has adopted the statutes of the experimental public institution that will take over from the current UM in January 2022. UM President Philippe Augé discusses the challenges and changes ahead, including the continued existence of the MUSE I-Site, the integration ofENSCM, the agreement with theInstitut d'Agro, collegiums, research clusters and the strategic and structuring investment committee.

On June 14, the Board of Governors of the University of Montpellier voted to adopt the statutes of the experimental public establishment (EPE). What is the national framework for this change in status?
This statutory change is made possible by the ordinance of December 12, 2018 relating to the experimentation of new forms of rapprochement, grouping or merger of higher education and research establishments. For the past 2 years, together with all our partners in the MUSE I-Site project, we have been working on a project enabling the creation of an integrated University as permitted by the ordinance. A roadmap, providing for an evolution towards EPE status, had been adopted by the Board of Directors on July 11, 2019, and the recent vote confirms this evolution.

In a few months' time, an international jury will be visiting Montpellier to evaluate the MUSE I-Site. How can the evolution of our statutes be an asset for its long-term survival?
Obtaining the I-Site label was one of the founding elements of this evolution. For five years, it has enabled us to implement numerous projects in various fields (research, training, innovation, student life, international) for our entire community, with a budget of 84 million euros. We hope to secure its future by responding, with this experimental public establishment (EPE) project, to the expectations of the international jury charged with evaluating it at the end of the year. These include the ambition to move from a project designed around the UM and 15 partners, to a university integrating these 15 partners into its strategy and governance.

Why is the term "experimental" used to describe the new institution?
It's a status provided for in the December 2018 ordinance, which proposes organizational arrangements that will enable schools, organizations and healthcare establishments to join forces within a university, before their desire to join forces is definitively confirmed, by 2028 at the latest.

Will the University of Montpellier keep the same name?
Yes, absolutely. It's under this banner that the project was set up. Today, the University of Montpellier is well known. The University's identity exists and we need to capitalize on this "brand", which is listed as such in all international rankings.

Let's go into a little more detail. In particular, this change of status means that the École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Montpellier has been integrated as a component institution. What does this mean in concrete terms?
On June 10, the ENSCM Board of Directors voted to integrate the school into the future EPE. In concrete terms, this integration opens up new opportunities, both in terms of training and science. It will retain its legal personality and its deliberative and consultative bodies. The director of the component institution will be a permanent guest on the University's various boards and committees. Similarly, the President of the UM will take part in the School's Board of Directors, and will give his opinion on the appointment of the Director, management dialogue and the contract of objectives and commitments. This integration bears witness to the mutual trust that has been built up over the last few years. It will therefore be a new component of the University, but with a special status since, as I said, it will retain its legal personality. It should be added that, while it will retain its own means of action (staff, budget, etc.), it will build its strategy in the wake of the UM and demonstrate strong commitments to integration, such as the signature of diplomas.

An agreement has also been signed with the Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro). What is the content of this agreement?
An initial agreement with Montpellier SupAgro had already been signed in 2019, incorporating the elements requested by the I-Site jury, particularly with regard to the signing of publications and the diplomas of students enrolled at Montpellier SupAgro. Montpellier SupAgro is no longer a public institution, as was the case when the Montpellier I-Site project was submitted. It has become an internal school of the Institut Agro, and can therefore no longer be part of the UM as a component institution.

With regard to the governance of the University, does this change in the statutes alter the method of election and the role of the head of establishment?
The conditions under which the University's head of establishment is elected remain unchanged. His or her powers have been broadened to reflect the new structure, particularly in terms of relations with the component institution.

Three new statutory vice-presidencies have been created. What are they and what will their role be?
Three new statutory vice-presidencies have been created: International; Partnerships and Innovation; Social Responsibility and Campus Life. The aim here is to raise the profile of these areas, which are strategic priorities for most international universities.

Is the composition of the Board of Directors changing?
In order to better integrate our partners, the composition of the Board of Directors will be modified.

Members of our community will be in the majority (24 members instead of 28), while ex-officio members and outside personalities will number 12 instead of 8, including four company representatives, as well as the Region and City of Montpellier and partners such as CIRAD,INSERM,IRD andINRAE, in addition to CNRS and CHU de Montpellier, which were previously represented.

A new International Advisory Board has been set up. What is its purpose?
This international advisory committee will be set up to analyze the UM's transformation and development process, and to formulate opinions on international issues. It will be made up of scientific executives representing UM's main international partners and representatives of the socio-economic world already present in the MUSE foundation. This type of committee already exists in many foreign universities.

As far as research is concerned, the nine scientific departments have been replaced by 5 research clusters, right?
Yes, from now on, each research structure will be attached to a main pole and, if necessary, to another pole on a secondary basis. These five clusters will have different missions: increasing our international visibility; coordinating responses to calls for projects; strengthening the link between training and research... Each cluster will be organized around a cluster council and a strategic orientation committee.

A strategic and structuring investment committee (Comiss) has been created. For what purpose?
The Comiss is made up of representatives of the various partners currently grouped together within the university foundation. Its mission will be to define and coordinate the common objectives linked to the deployment of the measures resulting from the future investment programs (PIA). It will also be a forum for making collective choices with our partners in terms of scientific and real estate investments, and recruitment policy on the site.

As far as training is concerned, eight collegiums have been created, as well as a graduate school. What will their roles be?
The collegiums in no way call into question the prerogatives of the UFRs, Écoles and Instituts, since these components are well known and have made our reputation. They will bring together the directors of the UFRs, Écoles and Instituts, the establishment-component and Montpellier SupAgro. They will be tasked with facilitating synergies between these structures, and enhancing the visibility and legibility of the overall training offer of the UM and its partners. They will also have to initiate the deployment of training initiatives within the establishment, as a discipline can be approached from different angles within each of the entities: take the environment, for example, which covers biological, economic, technical and regulatory aspects, and an exchange between all the players involved in this field could prove fruitful.
As for the graduate school, it will help structure the link between the Master's and PhD levels, particularly with a view to reinforcing our strengths by working on interdisciplinarity, especially for research courses.

Will UFRs, Schools and Institutes be affected by these changes?
The new structures have been designed to create a forum for exchange with all our partners, without creating a huge amount of decision-making red tape, adding value across the board and contributing to the cohesion of the establishment.
As I mentioned earlier, these changes in no way affect the prerogatives of the UFRs, Schools and Institutes, which remain the foundations of the University.

What changes are in store for UM staff and students? Will tuition fees be increased?
In line with our principles and values, which include public service, inclusion and equity, this change in status will not disrupt the lives of our staff. Similarly, students will not be affected in terms of their choice of study, enrolment in a component, tuition fees or obtaining national diplomas, but they will of course be offered the new opportunities devised as part of the PIA programs.

Understandably, the stakes for the University are high. Was this change in status essential for the UM's future?
Behind what may appear to some as an institutional mechanic, the stakes are indeed high, and are not limited to securing the MUSE I-Site. It's a question of ensuring that the UM and its partners are part of a shared strategy, at site level, and behind a common banner, in order to obtain the resources needed to support our ambitions: to make the UM one of the best national universities, and to consolidate its attractiveness and reputation in international rankings. The EPE is also a means of grouping us together to amplify our societal usefulness, from the local level to the international sphere. We believe in this ambition, and we want it to ensure that the inexhaustible intelligence and formidable creativity of all our communities, staff and students alike, can be fully deployed.