Evaluation of I-SITE MUSE: international jury approves continuation of project
After a hearing on November 28 covering its first two years of existence, the Montpellier University of Excellence (MUSE) I-SITE proved its worth and won over the international jury of the IDEX-ISITE Program.
The University of Montpellier and its partners are therefore encouraged in their collective efforts, with their sights set on securing permanent accreditation in 2021 and building a university that is internationally recognized for its ability to meet the major challenges of tomorrow.
The international jury, chaired by Jean-Marc Rapp, met to examine the projects submitted by Lyon and Montpellier and heard a delegation led by Philippe Augé, President of the UM, and comprising Antoine Petit, President and CEO of the CNRS, Gilles Bloch, President and CEO of Inserm, Michel Eddi, President and CEO of CIRAD, and François Pierrot, Executive Director of I-SITE MUSE.
An unprecedented dynamic across the region
Awarded the "Initiative Science Innovation Territoire Economie" (I-SITE*) label in 2017, the MUSE project had two years to prove itself. " At the end of this two-year probationary period, UM, together with research organizations, healthcare institutions, Montpellier SupAgro, and the Montpellier School of Chemistry (ENSCM) demonstrated their ability to create unprecedented momentum across the region to establish a major university with international visibility, " explains Philippe Augé, president of UM, who welcomes the decision made by the international jury.
Maintaining this label was indeed important in order to establish the visibility of the University of Montpellier on a national and international scale around a unique identity focused on three major global challenges: food security, environmental protection, and human health; especially since it is the only university in the region to boast this label of excellence. " This result is a testament to the collective intelligence that has been mobilized across the region around the scientific community, with local authorities and businesses alike," says Philippe Augé.
The rise of the UM internationally
The international jury was presented with the collective efforts undertaken by the consortium to enhance the University's visibility and international appeal, the initial results of which were quickly felt. Ranked as the world leader in ecology according to the Shanghai thematic rankings in 2018 and 2019, rising from the top 400 to the top 200 in two years in the Shanghai overall rankings, UM is also recognized as the most innovative university nationally according to the Reuters world rankings published last October. This rise in international rankings is linked to the adoption of a joint signature charter for scientific publications by the consortium in October 2017. "This greater international recognition, which goes hand in hand with the validation by the IDEX-ISITE jury, is a great reward for the collective work undertaken by all the scientists, Professors, engineers, administrative staff, and students of the MUSE consortium," comments François Pierrot.
A new phase to amplify collective action
While the jury recognized the significant transformations already achieved in each of the major areas of academic life, it also encouraged us to continue along this path and consolidate our site to better integrate schools and other partners into university life. In the coming days, new calls for projects will be launched and milestones will be set to implement the roadmap adopted for the construction of the target university by the end of 2021.
* The IDEX/ISITE initiative, conceived in 2010 as part of the Investments for the Future Program, aims to establish a limited number of research universities in France at sites with remarkable scientific potential and capable of creating synergies between universities, schools, research organizations, healthcare institutions, and businesses.