IDEX Project : Université Grenoble Alpes - The world-class innovation university

The ambition shared by the partners of the project – the universities Joseph Fourier, Pierre Mendès France and Stendhal ; the grandes écoles Grenoble INP, Sciences Po Grenoble and ENSAG ; the national research organisms CNRS, CEA, Inserm, Inria, Irstea ; and the university hospital CHU Grenoble – is focused on creating a single world-class university : the future new University Grenoble Alpes. This new model of university will reinforce our capacity to attract leading scholars and students, develop ground-breaking research and competitive curricula. UGA will be a fully integrated institution.

The project has the full support of social, economic and cultural institutions as well as that of the local authorities. Most important of all, the project is backed by the academic and support staff, the students and alumni.

The project will build on existing widely recongnized strengths of the the site :

  • Grenoble-Alpes was the most successful site after Paris during the recent Investissements d’Avenir calls, with 77 selected projects, including 1 IRT, 1 SATT and 21 Labex, of which 14 are managed by UGA. We have 9 “highly cited” researchers and 57 IUF members (2014), have won 48 ERCs (2007-20014) and our share of French scientific production is over 10% in 14 Web of Science categories.
  • Grenoble is ranked in the top 5 of the world’s innovation centres, with exceptionally rates of patents per inhabitant and a unique endogen innovation ecosystem.
  • Université Grenoble Alpes is at the forefront of pedagogical innovations, with inverted classrooms since 2006, MOOCs and shared interdisciplinary modules in critical thinking.
  • Student Life is rated as the best in France, with a beautiful campus adjoining the city, excellent services and ski slopes half an hour away.

A clear path to an ambitious future

The ComUE “Université Grenoble Alpes”, created in December 2014, has been conceived as the instrument of transformation of the institutional landscape. The national research organisms are fully involved in the overall approach.

The partners of the ComUE have merged their doctoral schools in a single Collège Doctoral, all their research activities have been regrouped in 6 research departments and they have adopted a common affiliation for all their scientific publications.

In 2016, the merger of the universities Joseph Fourier, Pierre-Mendès-France and Stendhal will regroup the large majority of the staff and students of the target structure. This will simplify the institutional landscape.

The final academic components of the target structure will be defined progressively in the close future. The target structure is represented in the following figure :

Boosting excellence

The IDEX actions will enable to boost the quality and visibility of UGA.

FocusStrategic lines of action
Structuring, integration and governance Implement the target structure of UGA
Adopt a common branding and communication policy
Support the internationalization of UGA
Increase competitive funding
Research and knowledge transfer Reinforce research departments as the key place for research coordination
Stimulate research projects along a series of strategic lines
Facilitate the interface between research and private partners
Support key points of the technology transfer chain
Higher education and lifelong learning Restructure the academic components
Increase international visibility and ambition
Promote innovative teaching approaches
Boost student employability
Student Life Develop student services, accounting for local contexts, student diversity, evolving needs and international attractiveness
Social and cultural outreach Structure and coordinate initiatives
Support initiatives

These actions are structured by two transversal focuses. First, empower and improve our research capacities in humanities and social sciences. Second, foster multidisciplinary research to tackle four key socio-economic challenges, chosen in line with the European, national, regional and metropolitan priorities and based on our strengths : sustainable planet and society ; health, well-being and technology ; understanding and fostering innovation ; digital world. All actions will be co-funded by the IDEX and the partners.

Pour en savoir plus :
Sur l’appel à projet national “Initiatives d’excellence” (IDEX)
Sur la candidature grenobloise : info.projet.idex univ-grenoble-alpes.fr