The aim of IDEXLYON: to create a major world-class university

EDITORIAL

“ The Université de Lyon was awarded the IDEX label in February 2017. This award recognizes us as an international academic site of excellence. It enables us to provide additional resources to support innovative projects and new initiatives for our future students and researchers.

This recognition gave us great satisfaction, but it is not an end in itself. We are committed to leading by example and demonstrating our ability to innovate, enhance our international profile and develop a relevant and innovative academic model.

Through the IDEXLYON project, the Université de Lyon aims to strengthen the excellence of the Lyon Saint-Étienne site by developing three large fields that resonate with the socio-economic strengths of our region: Humanities and Urbanity, Science and Engineering and Bio-health and Society.

The aim of the IDEXLYON project is threefold, in symbiosis with the region and its partners:
To create a powerful academic brand by transforming our university into a key institution in many fields of excellence;
To build an integrated university based on quality and relevance and united under one internationally renowned banner;
To promote a development policy focused on performance, outreach and attractiveness by developing attractive training programs, building links with companies and recruiting internationally.

This collective dynamic will enable the Université de Lyon to establish itself as a world-class research university as part of its long-term global vision.”



Khaled Bouabdallah,
President of the Université de Lyon
and Jean François Pinton,
President of ENS de Lyon and Director of the IDEXLYON

The Investments for the Future Program (PIA)

In 2010, the French government launched the Investments for the Future Program (PIA) to promote investments and innovation in key sectors developing growth and creating employment. The French National Research Agency (ANR) was appointed the main State operator for action taken under the Investments for the Future Program in higher education and research. Three PIA components have been launched since 2010 (PIA1, PIA2 and PIA3) with an overall investment of 47 million euros.

The PIA has resulted in nation-wide calls for projects to select excellent and innovative students with a strong potential for growth. Each measure is evaluated by independent experts who bring together their top-level expertise. IDEX is a call for proposals launched by the ANR and the Commissariat-General for Investment (CGI) as part of PIA1. It aims to identify around ten large French universities which are world-class centers of excellence, to improve the attractiveness of France and its scientific standing in the world.

The Université de Lyon coordinates several PIA projects related to higher education and research in the Lyon Saint-Étienne area. The Université de Lyon's Excellence Initiative (IDEXLYON - Initiative d’excellence de l’Université de Lyon) is one of its key projects. 

The Université de Lyon's Excellence Initiative

IDEX is a call for projects launched by the French National Research Agency (ANR) and the Commissariat-General for Investment (CGI) under the Investments for the Future Program. It aims to identify around ten large French universities which are world-class centers of excellence, and to improve the attractiveness of France and its scientific standing in the world.
The first IDEX labelling phase began in February 2012. This was when the French government agreed that the Lyon Saint-Étienne site should be given special support. The Lyon Saint-Étienne Avenir program (PALSE) was then launched. The program has established a range of ambitious policies and enhanced the Université de Lyon's profile and outreach. It has united the institutions under one banner, launched interdisciplinary training initiatives and led to research, international development and a dialog between science and society, etc. Thanks to these achievements, the Université de Lyon, which is now recognized as a key actor in the development of the Lyon Saint-Étienne region, has consolidated the site's strengths into one higher goal embodied by the IDEXLYON project.

Following a selection process by an international jury made up of representatives from prestigious universities, as well as academics and socio-economic representatives, the Université de Lyon was awarded the "Excellence Initiative" label in February 2017. The total funding allocated to the IDEXLYON project amounts to 800 million euros, which is an annual allowance of 25 million euros over an initial period of 10 years.

This project, which is driven by a powerful collective impetus, demonstrates the Université de Lyon's strengths and aims to enhance the site's dynamic of excellence: its research outreach, the attractiveness of its training programs, its academic potential and the quality of its governance.