Evaluation of the MUSE I-SITE: the international jury validates the continuation of the project
The Montpellier Université d'Excellence (MUSE) I-SITE was presented to the international jury of the IDEX-ISITE program on November 28.
The University of Montpellier and its partners are thus strengthened in their collective dynamic, with a view to securing the label for the long term in 2021 and building a university internationally recognized for its ability to meet the major challenges of tomorrow.
Meeting to examine the Lyon and Montpellier projects, the international jury, chaired by Jean-Marc Rapp, heard from a delegation led by UM President Philippe Augé and including Antoine Petit, Chairman and CEO of CNRS, Gilles Bloch, Chairman and CEO of Inserm, Michel Eddi, Chairman and CEO of CIRAD and François Pierrot, Executive Director of the MUSE I-SITE.
An unprecedented dynamic on a regional scale
Awarded the "Initiative Science Innovation Territoire Economie"(I-SITE*) label in 2017, the MUSE project had two years to prove its worth. "At the end of the two-year probationary period, the UM, together with research organizations, healthcare establishments, Montpellier SupAgro and the Montpellier School of Chemistry (ENSCM), have demonstrated their ability to set in motion an unprecedented dynamic on a regional scale to create a major university with international visibility," explains UM President Philippe Augé, who is delighted with the international jury's decision.
Maintaining this label was important to ensure the University of Montpellier's visibility on a national and international scale, based on a unique identity focused on three major global challenges: food safety, environmental protection and human health; all the more so as it is the only university in the region to boast this label of excellence. " This result is a tribute to the collective intelligence that has been mobilized throughout the region around the scientific community, with local authorities and businesses alike," analyses Philippe Augé.
UM's growing international presence
The international jury was presented with the collective efforts undertaken by the consortium to enhance the University's visibility and international appeal, the first results of which are rapidly being felt. World leader in ecology according to the Shanghai thematic rankings in 2018 and 2019, moving from the top 400 to the top 200 in two years in the overall Shanghai rankings, UM is also recognized as the most innovative university on a national scale according to the Reuters world rankings published last October. This rise in international rankings is linked to the adoption of a common signature charter for scientific publications by the consortium back in October 2017. "This greater international recognition, which goes hand in hand with validation by the IDEX-ISITE jury, is a fine reward for the collective work undertaken by all the scientists, teacher-researchers, engineers, administrative staff and students in the MUSE consortium," comments François Pierrot.
A new phase to amplify collective action
While the jury was able to take stock of the major transformations already taking place in each of the main areas of academic life, it also committed us to continuing on this trajectory and consolidating our site to better integrate the schools and other partners into the life of the university. In the next few days, new calls for projects will be launched, and milestones will be set to implement the roadmap we have adopted for building our target university by the end of 2021.
* The IDEX/ISITE initiative, launched in 2010 as part of the "Investissements d'Avenir" program, aims to create a limited number of research universities in France, on sites with outstanding scientific potential and the ability to create synergies between universities, schools, research organizations, healthcare establishments and businesses.