Investments for the Future
The "Investissements d’Avenir" program amounts to 35 billion euros, of which 22 billion euros are earmarked for higher education and research to strengthen France’s competitiveness on the global stage. Of these 22 billion euros, nearly 18 billion are allocated through competitive calls for proposals. The University of Montpellier is heavily involved in this program through numerous projects in which it serves as the lead institution or a partner.
EquipEx
The University of Montpellier is involved in seven EquipEx projects, one of which (EXTRA) is led by the university.
Center of Excellence on Antimonides (EXTRA)
Budget: 4.2 million euros
Objective: To establish a leading research center in infrared photonics, which is considered a key technology for future applications in the fields of communications (multimedia), energy (solar cells), imaging (for healthcare, security, defense, etc.), and sensors.
Contributions of the project: EXTRA will enable the development of new optoelectronic components (light emitters and detectors) operating in the infrared spectrum for these applications.
UM partners: IES, CTM
GEOSUD
Budget: 11.5 million euros
Objective: The GEOSUD project focuses on acquiring and making available satellite imagery covering the entire French territory, with a particular emphasis on urban areas. The project also aims to provide scientific computing resources to process this data.
Project Outcomes: The project will provide high-resolution images of France and analysis software that can be used for land management, environmental monitoring, and natural hazard prevention (floods, fires), among other applications.
UM partners: LIRMM, MESO@LR, OSU-OREME,
ROBOTEX
Budget: 10.5 million euros
Objective: The ROBOTEX project proposes the creation of a national network comprising 15 leading robotics laboratories.
The project's contributions: Three major areas of robotics have tangible impacts:
- humanoid robotics, which will provide support to people with limited mobility;
- medical robotics;
- micro- and nanorobotics, which will lead to significant advances in the field of healthcare
UM Partners: LIRMM
French Seismological and Geodetic Network (RESIF-CORE)
Budget: 9.3 million euros
Objective: RESIF-CORE is equipping France with a new instrumentation system for monitoring slow ground deformation through the deployment of a sensor network.
Contributions of the project: RESIF-CORE will provide a better understanding of seismic hazard and, consequently, of the associated risks to people and property in mainland France.
UM partners: Géosciences Montpellier, OREME
Gravitational antenna based on atomic interferometry (MIGA)
Budget: 9 million euros
Objective: MIGA is an interferometer designed to observe the Earth’s gravitational field. It involves the construction of a new facility for studying distortions in spacetime and gravity.
Contributions of the project: The research findings will be applied to environmental monitoring, improving predictions of seismic hazards, anticipating their consequences, and determining the measures needed to save lives and protect critical infrastructure.
UM Partners: Montpellier Geosciences
Multiscale imaging and reconstruction of morphogenesis (MORPHOSCOPE 2)
Budget: 9 million euros
Objective: MORPHOSCOPE is an infrastructure project that integrates technological advancements in microscopic imaging, data storage, and algorithmic data analysis to advance our understanding of biological processes and improve our ability to predict their behavior based on genetic or environmental variations.
The project’s contributions: The project will lay the groundwork for personalized medicine and the development of smart therapies, leading to more reliable early diagnoses and the development of more effective treatment protocols, which will have a major impact on public health.
UM Partners: CRBM
[accordion title | National Park of Innovative Tools for the Spatial and Temporal Study of the Critical Zone in Watersheds (CRITEX)]
Budget: 7 million euros
Objective: The CRITEX project aims to describe the hydrological, hydrogeological, and geochemical processes in selected watersheds that represent a variety of conditions (rocks, soils, vegetation, climate, human activities, etc.) in order to better understand the effects of climate change on the future of the planet.
Contributions of the project: CRITEX will provide a better understanding of how human activities and climate change affect the quality of surface and groundwater. It will therefore contribute to improved water resource management in a variety of contexts. The data collected will be made available to the public.
UM partners: Hydrosciences Montpellier, Géosciences Montpellier
Labex
The Languedoc-Roussillon region ranked among the top regions with 21 LabEx projects, 5 of which are led by the University of Montpellier.
Mediterranean Center for the Environment and Biodiversity (CeMEB)
Objective: To propose solutions to environmental problems caused by biodiversity loss and global changes affecting ecological systems and human societies.
Host institution: University of Montpellier
Partners: Paul-Valéry University of Montpellier, Sup’Agro, EPHE, CNRS, CIRAD, IRD, INRA
Project Coordinator: Philippe Jarne, Center for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology (CEFE)
Chemistry of Molecular and Interfacial Systems (CheMISyst)
Objective: To understand and utilize long-term chemical interactions that give rise to self-organization and interfacial reactivity, in order to control the morphology and functionality of molecular systems, complex fluids, and materials across multiple scales.
Host institution: University of Montpellier
Partners: CNRS, CEA, ENSCM, Ecole des Mines d’Alès, COMUE
Project Coordinator: Stéphane Pellet-Rostaing, Director of the Marcoule Institute of Separative Chemistry (ICSM)
Facility responsible for management: Balard Chemistry Hub
To undertake
Objective: to generate knowledge about entrepreneurship at the intersection of law, economics, and management; to improve the long-term viability of new businesses; and to develop support tools that integrate legal, economic, and managerial aspects.
Host institution: University of Montpellier
Partners: Paul-Valéry University of Montpellier, Sup’Agro
Project Coordinator: Karim Messeghem, Director of the Department of Economic and Social Administration (AES)
EpiGenMed
Objective: From genetics and epigenetics to molecular medicine, to develop new therapeutic strategies and thereby become a world-class center of excellence in biomedical sciences.
Host institution: University of Montpellier
Partners: INSERM, CNRS, IRD
Project Coordinator: Marcel Méchali
Digital, Hardware, and Modeling Solutions for the Environment and Living Systems (NuMEV)
Objective: To foster synergy between the hard sciences and the life and environmental sciences; to establish an interdisciplinary hub with international visibility; and to strengthen the research-education-transfer dynamic.
Host institution: University of Montpellier
Partners: CNRS, INRIA, INRA, Sup’Agro
Director of LabEx NUMEV: Andrea Parmeggiani, Professor at the Charles Coulomb Laboratory (L2C). He is assisted by two other directors: Emmanuel Le Clézio, Professor at the Institute of Electronics and Systems (IES), and Nabil Zemiti, Associate Professor at the Montpellier Laboratory of Computer Science, Robotics, and Microelectronics (LIRMM).
MAbImprove
Objective: Optimizing the development of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies: “better antibodies, developed more effectively and used more effectively”
Lead institution: PRES (Regional Higher Education Cluster) Centre-Val de Loire University
Partners: François Rabelais University in Tours, University of Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, INRA, Tours University Hospital, Montpellier Cancer Institute (ICM)
Project Coordinator: Professor Hervé Watier, University of Tours
Associate Coordinator: Dr. André Pèlegrin, Montpellier Research Institute
National infrastructure in biology and health
ECELLFRANCE
ECELLFRANCE is a national platform dedicated to cell therapy based on the use of adult stem cells for the treatment of degenerative diseases.
ECELLFRANCE aims to standardize and optimize the various steps involved in the development of “therapeutic stem cells” and regenerative medicine.
ECELLFRANCE offers academic and industrial teams that utilize its infrastructure the opportunity to optimize their clinical trial development programs in the field of cell therapies by supporting them through the various phases of their projects: project validation, conducting preclinical studies, preparing regulatory submissions, producing CSMs for clinical use, and conducting Phase I and II clinical trials with patient follow-up.
Host institution: University of Montpellier
Partners: University of Montpellier, CNRS, Inserm, Paul Sabatier University of Toulouse III, Grenoble University Hospital, EFS, CTSA
Project Coordinator: Christian Jorgensen
e-ReColNat
The e-ReColNat project aims to create a tool to showcase France’s natural history collections, which comprise nearly 100 million specimens accumulated over the past 350 years. Underutilized due to a lack of digitization, this heritage holds exceptional scientific potential for studying the origin and evolution of living organisms and ecosystems, as well as for modeling their response to global changes.
To address the scientific and technological challenge posed by the digitization of this data, e-ReColNat employs innovative methods and techniques:
- industrial digitization, making it possible to create an image database of millions of specimens within a few years;
- development of a collaborative portal and "citizen science" projects in which volunteers help populate databases by reviewing digitized images.
In addition to this scientific objective, the e-ReColNat platform will also promote the educational and cultural value of this heritage through the creation of a “virtual museum” that is freely accessible to the general public.
Host institution: National Museum of Natural History
Partners: University of Montpellier, Clermont University, University of Burgundy, IRD, INRA, CNAM, GBIF France, Tela Botanica, Agoralogie, CIRAD, CNRS
Project Coordinator: Marc Pignal
Carnot Institute for Chemistry, Balard Cirimat
The Carnot Chimie Balard Cirimat Institute brings together 20 research teams focused on five key areas: sustainable chemistry and processes, energy, health, high-performance materials, and materials for transportation. This network of expertise is designed to effectively address economic and societal challenges through partnerships with companies.
The core focus of the research teams’ work is the controlled synthesis, characterization, and study of the behavior of high-performance molecules and materials for energy, “green chemistry,” resource conservation and recovery, environmental protection, transportation, and health.
The Carnot Chimie Balard Cirimat Institute is deeply committed to collaborative research with French and international companies. Each year, it carries out more than 130 collaborative research contracts and more than 110 government-funded research contracts in response to the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large corporations.
Sponsors: CNRS, ENSCM, INP Toulouse, Paul Sabatier University, and the University of Montpellier
Network: The Carnot Chimie Balard Cirimat Institute is part of the national network of 38 Carnot Institutes. Established in 2006, their primary objective is to promote collaborative research.
Strategic Industrial Sector: Kyomed
Born out of the CR2i project, Kyomed brings together teams of healthcare and ICT specialists to make the medicine of tomorrow personalized, predictive, preventive, and participatory. These objectives are realized through three synergistic areas of activity: biomarkers, e-health, and data processing.
- Through its biomarker platform, Kyomed identifies and develops genomic, protein, and lipid markers that can be used to predict, diagnose, and monitor various diseases.
- Kyomed supports and accelerates the development of innovative healthcare solutions. Through its Living Lab, the company evaluates how these solutions are used by citizens, patients, and healthcare professionals, and contributes complementary expertise (ICT, biotechnology, design, and regulatory affairs) as part of a collaborative design process.
- Finally, the IT platform enables the optimization of interoperability and the analysis of data—whether molecular, biological, biochemical, or from connected devices
Lead institution: Private company SAS Kyomed
Partners: University of Montpellier, Montpellier Cancer Institute (ICM), Altera Group, SAS Bioguild (Acobiom, Amylgen, ASA, CEISO, Histalim, I2A, Phylogen), CR2i Association in the Languedoc-Roussillon region (Sanofi, Montpellier University Hospital, Nîmes University Hospital, EFS, Alès School of Mines, Institut Mines Télécom, Eurobiomed Competitiveness Cluster)
Project Coordinator: Daniel Laune
