Inauguration of the restructuring and expansion of the Nîmes site of the Montpellier-Nîmes Faculty of Medicine

[Press release] - Published on February 6, 2023 in Press Room

Wednesday, February 8, starting at 10:45 a.m. – Campus Santé Nîmes, 186 Chemin du Carreau de Lanes, Nîmes

As part of its^50th anniversary celebrations and to inaugurate the restructuring and expansion of the Nîmes site of the Montpellier-Nîmes Faculty of Medicine, the President of the University of Montpellier, Philippe Augé, and the President of the Occitanie/Pyrénées-Méditerranée Region, Carole Delga, will visit the Nîmes campus on Wednesday, February 8, to tour the new premises and facilities, representing an investment of €9.62 million. Pyrénées-Méditerranée Region, Carole DELGA, will visit the Nîmes campus on Wednesday, February 8, to tour the new premises and facilities, representing an investment of €9.62 million. This visit will also be an opportunity to meet and talk with students from the Montpellier-Nîmes Faculty of Medicine.

Other notable figures in attendance included Isabelle LAFFONT, Dean of the UM Faculty of Medicine; Nicolas BEST, Director General of the Nîmes University Hospital; Franck PROUST, President of Nîmes Métropole; Jean-Paul FOURNIER, Mayor of Nîmes; Sophie BÉJEAN, Rector of the Occitanie academic region and the Montpellier Academy, and Marie-Françoise LECAILLON, Prefect of Gard, representing Pierre-André DURAND, Prefect of the Occitanie region and Prefect of Haute-Garonne.

In order to breathe new life into the Nîmes site of the Faculty of Medicine, the University of Montpellier (project owner) and the Occitanie Region (^main funder), together with theirpartners, supporteda major project to restructure and expand the Nîmes campus, increasing the number of classrooms from 13 to 17 and lecture halls from 2 to 3, the largest of which seats 150. In addition, students now have access to a 200m² student lounge. The project also made it possible to adapt the premises to educational developments, in particular by developing simulation training, giving professionals and students the opportunity to learn about medical situations and procedures before practicing on patients. Ten simulation rooms pre-equipped with high-fidelity equipment and mannequins are now available to students in medical and paramedical training programs (medicine, midwifery, nursing, nurse anesthetists, operating room nurses, etc.).

The provisional program

10:45 a.m.: Press reception 

10:50 a.m.: Tour of the new simulation training center. Presentation by Dr. Laurent MATTATIA, anesthesiologist, and demonstration of the delivery room by students. 

11:10 a.m.: Inaugural ceremony, unveiling of the plaque

11:15 a.m.: Speeches by dignitaries in the amphitheater 

12 noon: Open mic / press Q&A session 

50 years of the Nîmes site 

Created in 1972, the Nîmes site celebrated its^50th anniversary last year. Professor Michel Dauzat, who was still a student at the time of its creation, is considered to be the "builder" of the site. Accompanied by Professors Pierre Costa and Jean-Emmanuel de la Coussaye, he successfully completed the site's renovation, which was finished in the early 2000s. Today, the University of Montpellier is inaugurating the extension of the Nîmes site after several years of work. Professor Lumbroso, along with Barbara Mengual, administrative director, and Stephan Doladille, deputy administrative director, have achieved three objectives: expansion, development, and diversification of the Nîmes site. A new building, lecture hall, classrooms, and living space: everything has been redesigned for the well-being of students and teachers.