IDIL Graduate Program: Training Through and for Research at theUM , with 9 New Tracks Now Available
With its brand-new graduate program, called the Interdisciplinary & In-lab Graduate Program, the University of Montpellier is preparing to welcome French and international students starting in the 2022 academic year through eight new master’s programs and one engineering program, all taught in English. The goal is to increase the University of Montpellier’s international reach and strengthen education driven by and focused on research. A true academic innovation.
What does the IDIL Graduated Program offer?
IDIL is an innovative graduate program that quickly immerses students in laboratory research. It is part of the“Structuring Education Through Research (SFRI)” program under the Investments for the Future initiative, a call for proposals won by theUM in 2020, which will also be supplemented by funding from I-Site MUSE.
The program has several objectives, the main one being to train students through and for research in laboratories affiliated with the University of Montpellier. To this end, two paid 6-month internships are included in the curriculum, not only to introduce students to the research environment starting in their first year of the master’s program (M1), but also to allow them to acquire some of the concepts typically covered in class through direct interaction with researchers. “In Lab” course units, conducted within the research teams at the University of Montpellier, complement the internships with the goal of teaching a specific technique, method, or concept through full immersion.
The introduction to interdisciplinarity offered by the IDIL program is designed to expose students to new cross-disciplinary skills that they can apply in their professional lives to adapt to new societal challenges. The IDIL graduate program is structured around our institution’s three signature themes—“nourishing, caring, and protecting”—by encouraging students to break down the barriers between disciplines and explore other fields: for example, a student in the Global Change: Earth and Water Sciences track can take introductory courses in Comparative Politics and Public Policy, enabling them to better understand how political decisions are made and to be able to inform those decisions.
Finally, the early integration of students into research laboratories helps, in particular, to strengthen the links between the master’s program and the transition to a Ph.D. program. Indeed, the personalized support provided by mentors and academic advisors—tailored to each student’s individual project—helps students integrate into their future professional environment, thereby facilitating the transition to a Ph.D. program.
“The creation of the IDIL program perfectly illustrates the University’s educational ambitions: grounded in the ‘ Research ’—international, innovative, responsive to societal needs, and more personalized for students, whose success and career readiness remain central to the initiative,” said Philippe Augé, President of the University of Montpellier.
A wide variety of subjects and resources
The IDIL graduate program consists of eight master’s tracks and one engineering track. These master’s programs span several disciplinary fields: ecology and evolution, biology and health, agricultural sciences, chemistry, political science, management, modeling, and geology and hydrology. The engineering track, meanwhile, operates under the same laboratory immersion model as the master’s programs but is specifically designed for students enrolled at the École nationale supérieure de chimie, the Institut Agro Montpellier, and Polytech Montpellier.
In this initial phase, the IDIL program is being rolled out across 9 tracks, distributed among 6 components of the “UM ” and in collaboration with approximately 60 laboratories. Ultimately, the goal of the graduate program is to launch approximately 30 tracks, involving all 73 research units of the “UM,” in order to create a true network connecting the various components of the University.
“These master’s programs are just the first in a long list. IDIL promotes learning through and for research in a rich and diverse environment. This is reflected in the many program tracks offered, as well as the resources available within each one. IDIL is designed for curious and independent students who want to take an active role in their education. However, they are ‘supported’ throughout the program by tutors and mentors. We also hope that the assurance of receiving an internship stipend will encourage students facing financial difficulties to be less hesitant about pursuing a master’s degree,” explained Mathieu Sicard and Agnès Fichard-Caroll,the co-leaders of the IDIL project.
Practical Information:
Registration and additional information are available by clicking here.