The “Moment-UM” project, led by the University of Montpellier, has received over €3.6 million in funding over 10 years
As part of the fourth France 2030 investment plan for the future, the National Research Agency Research ANR) has launched the call for projects “Accelerating Development Strategies for Higher Education and Research Institutions ” (ASDESR) with the aim of helping higher education and research institutions increase their own resources to implement innovative projects led by their staff and teams using the additional funds thus obtained. Institutions could apply in various areas (lifelong learning, corporate sponsorship, European funding, or heritage promotion). The University of Montpellier, one of the 44 winning institutions with its Moment-UM project, will receive €3.6 million in funding over 10 years.
Another success for UM as part of its “Investment for the Future” program. This project is part of the collective momentum at the Montpellier campus, which has been strengthened since receiving I-SITE accreditation, with successes in calls for proposals such as “Structuring Education through Research (SFRI), “Interdisciplinary In Lab” (IDIL), “Integration and Development of IdEx and ISITE ” (Idées), “Excellence in All Its Forms” with the ExposUM project, and, more recently, by becoming a University Innovation Hub.
This funding will enable the launch of two initiatives , as the Moment-UM project—focused on the “Europe” and “Lifelong Learning” (LLL) components — will enhance the visibility of UM’s laboratories within the European Research Area and strengthen the region’s lifelong learning offerings. Government funding is focused on human resources to enable the recruitment of staff with specific skills. In total, 14 new staff members will be hired at UM, 8 for the “Europe” component and 6 for the “LLP” component.
A Strategy for Europe: Submitting More European Projects
The main objectives of this initiative are to increase European funding for research projects, boost their participation, and encourage French universities and their scientific communities—through site-level partnerships—to raise new funds to expand their activities and enhance their influence on the national, European, and international academic stages. Furthermore, the European component of Moment-UM will be closely coordinated between UM and three national research organizations based in Montpellier: the CNRS, INSERM, and IRD. With enhanced support for researchers, both before and after projects, and greater sharing of best practices, Moment-UM will create a new dynamic, thereby increasing the number of projects submitted to Europe and improving the success rate. The 10-year goal is to raise the success rate for European projects from 15% to 25%.
A Strategy for "Lifelong Learning": Meeting New Needs
Lifelong learning is the second key strategy highlighted in this call for proposals to promote a sustainable policy for generating internal revenue. Through Moment-UM, the development of customized training programs tailored to the specific needs of businesses will be strengthened by recruiting a team of experts to identify motivated instructors, with the aim of rapidly developing and implementing these programs. This change in approach should enable the continuing education department to better position itself in the competitive vocational training market and, as such, generate additional self-generated revenue for the University of Montpellier. This component of Moment-UM, aimed at “More Continuing Education,” will be managed entirely by UM.
Learn more about ASDESR