Inauguration of the renovation and expansion of the Nîmes campus of the Montpellier-Nîmes School of Medicine

[Press Release] - Published on February 6, 2023 in the 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 mark the completion of the renovation and expansion of the Nîmes campus of the Montpellier-Nîmes Faculty of Medicine, Philippe AUGÉ, President of the University of Montpellier, and Carole DELGA, President of the Occitanie / Pyrénées-Méditerranée, Carole DELGA, will visit the Nîmes campus on Wednesday, February 8, to tour the new facilities and equipment, representing an investment of €9.62 million. This visit will also provide an opportunity to meet and interact with students from the Montpellier-Nîmes Faculty of Medicine.

Other dignitaries in attendance included: Isabelle LAFFONT, Dean of theUM School of Medicine; Nicolas BEST, Executive Director 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.

To revitalize the Faculty of Medicine’s Nîmes campus, the University of Montpellier (project owner) and the Occitanie Region (^primary funder), together with theirpartners, have supporteda major project to restructure and expand the Nîmes campus, increasing the number of classrooms from 13 and lecture halls from 2 to 17 classrooms and 3 lecture halls, the largest of which seats 150. In addition, students now have access to a 200-square-meter student lounge. The project also made it possible to adapt the facilities to evolving educational needs, notably by expanding simulation-based training, giving professionals and students the opportunity to learn medical procedures and scenarios before practicing on patients. Ten simulation rooms, pre-equipped with high-fidelity equipment and manikins, are now available to students in medical and paramedical programs (medicine, midwifery, nursing, nurse anesthetists, operating room nurses, etc.).

The tentative schedule

10:45 a.m.: Press reception 

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

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

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

12:00 p.m.: Media Q&A session 

The 50th anniversary of the Nîmes site 

Established in 1972, the Nîmes site celebrated its^50th anniversary last year. Professor Michel Dauzat, who was still a student when the site was founded, is considered its “architect.” Alongside Professors Pierre Costa and Jean-Emmanuel de la Coussaye, he successfully oversaw the site’s renovation, which was completed in the early 2000s. Today, the University of Montpellier is inaugurating the expansion of the Nîmes campus following several years of construction. Prof. Lumbroso, along with Barbara Mengual, Administrative Director, and Stephan Doladille, Deputy Administrative Director, have achieved three objectives: the expansion, development, and diversification of the Nîmes campus. A new building, a lecture hall, classrooms, and common areas: everything has been redesigned for the well-being of students and faculty alike.