European University of Brittany


The European University of Brittany, located in Rennes, France, was a center for higher education, academic research and doctoral studies located over multiple campuses in the Academie de Rennes. It includes a doctoral college that federates university institutes, engineering schools and research centres.
Its activities primarily focused on research through the establishment of thematic research networks, project teams, and the recruitment of international researchers. The valorisation of research was operationally handled by its component "Bretagne Valorisation". Research training, or doctoral training, was coordinated by the UEB's international doctoral college, which brought together the region's eight doctoral schools.
The European University of Brittany merged with the Université Nantes Angers Le Mans to form Université Bretagne Loire in January 2016.
WWW ueb.eu

History

Previous structures

Several cooperation structures were created before the establishment of the European University of Brittany. Some of their activities were taken over by the UEB upon its creation or served as a basis for its setup.
Several institutions located in Rennes had been grouped since October 31, 2001 within the public interest grouping "Europôle". This structure was shared by the city's two universities, INSA Rennes, and ENSAR, and other schools such as IEP Rennes, ESC Rennes, and the ENS Ker Lann were permanently associated with its work. Europôle focused its activities on international exchanges. It was replaced by the Rennes International Mobility Center, one of the UEB's components, starting January 2009.
At the regional level, with local authorities, and following a proposal made in 1999 as part of preparing the state-region plan contract 2000–2006, the universities set up the "University of Brittany" association at the end of 2001. It brought together the presidents of the region's four universities, the director of the Brittany IUFM, and the president of the conference of directors of Brittany's grandes écoles. It handled training issues, the digital campus, and international relations networks. It was dissolved on August 27, 2009, with most of the association's missions transferred to the UEB. This association was complemented by another at a broader scale with the "Network of Universities of the Atlantic West", which grouped universities from the Brittany, Pays de la Loire, and Poitou-Charentes regions, established in early 2001.
Institutions also grouped around specific projects, such as Génopole Ouest, which associates research organizations, the five western universities, university hospitals, and grandes écoles, the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme in Brittany, which associates the four Breton universities and several associate members, or the Jean Monnet Center of Excellence, which associates for research in law, economics, geography, planning, and history on European issues the universities of Rennes 1 and Rennes 2.

Formation of the UEB

Following the general states of research in 2004, the establishment of structures to organize research was proposed in the form of pôle de recherche et d'enseignement supérieur. Initially, a PRES project centered around the city of Rennes was planned in 2005. However, the agglomeration's schools, keen to preserve their identities, and the universities of Brittany South and Brittany West, keen not to lose international visibility, expanded the project to the Brittany regional framework. The future founding members of the European University of Brittany, continuing the multiple collaborations already undertaken among them, set up a working group in 2006. The project began to take shape following a circular from the Ministry of Higher Education and Research dated, inviting higher education institution leaders and research organizations to submit PRES project dossiers to the ministry. After several months of work, the nine founding members determined the scope of action for the new entity.
The constitutive grouping of the PRES was created on, then on, it voted for the creation of a public scientific cooperation establishment. The research programming law promulgated on set the initial guidelines, and in the government announced the first nine pôles de recherche et d’enseignement supérieur, including the UEB. Its creation became effective by a decree on. The UEB then began to structure itself with the election on of its first president, Bertrand Fortin, then president of University of Rennes 1, unanimously by the board of directors. On, the UEB board installed its administrators, elected its vice-presidents, and voted its first budget. On, the grouping adopted a logo.

Development

Campus plan

The university applied in early 2008 for funding from the Campus plan, aimed at renovating French university real estate. The project was not selected in late May 2008 among the 12 winners for "excellence campus" endowments, but applied for funding under "promising campus" for its digital campus project. Funding was granted by the state at 30 million euros, supplemented in May 2009 by equivalent funding from local authorities, then in July 2009 an additional euros under the economic stimulus plan.

Grand Emprunt

Project maturation
A response to the Grand Emprunt calls for proposals was built with the PRES University of Nantes Angers Le Mans starting in 2009. In October of that year, during a colloquium between leaders from Nantes and Rennes, higher education was designated as one of five cooperation areas between the cities. On, the presidents of the seven universities and two grandes écoles conferences from the two regions set up a coordination committee for Grand Emprunt calls. Tensions emerged, however, with grandes écoles and research organizations tempted to work through their own networks, balance between regions problematic, and the Nantes–Rennes axis temporarily favored over Pays de la Loire–Brittany.
The group represented the second group by annual PhDs awarded, the seventh one by members of the Institut Universitaire de France, the eighth one by researchers in "A" or "A+" labs by AERES, and fourteenth one by European Research Council funding and CNRS Gold Medal holders, overall the ninth one using these criteria.
Project results
The Initiative d'excellence project was supported in Paris on by western elected officials but not retained in the first pre-selection of 7 projects. Project leaders reworked it for the second wave. Several regional higher education actors considered merging the two PRES, and the project was marginal to models promoted, networking favored over mergers/concentrations. Ultimately not retained, but leaders affirmed continuing western France research networking.
A technology transfer acceleration company project was carried by both PRES based on UEB's "Bretagne valorisation", leader in the field. Funding obtained in. This 70 million euro endowment added to "Bretagne Valorisation"'s annual 2 million euro budget, becoming a simplified joint-stock company.
The results of the Equipex and Labex applications have yielded 34 projects for the region, with total funding of €423 million, including €120.05 million for projects involving only institutions in the region. The winning projects are concentrated in the fields of marine science and technology and information and communication science and technology, but also in the field of biotechnology and bioresources. Applications to establish a technological research institute were finalized in January 2012, with the government releasing €250 million over ten years for the IRT “B.com” focused on imaging and networks as well as e-medicine.

Expansion

The group expanded on January 1, 2013, with the addition of ECAM Rennes, the European School of Art in Brittany, the School of Environmental Professions, and ESC Rennes as associate members.

List of presidents

Three presidents succeeded at the UEB's head. The current PRES president is Pascal Olivard, who after a one-year mandate completing predecessor Guy Cathelineau's resigned term, was reelected for a full term in.

Operation

Budget

The European University of Brittany and University of Bordeaux are the two PRES with budgets over euros, 2010 budget euros.
Fundingamount in euros
Ministry subsidies
Regional subsidies
Ille-et-Vilaine department subsidy
Rennes Métropole agglomeration subsidy
European subsidies
Member institution payments
VMP sales

Objectives and achievements

Doctoral training

The university acts in doctoral training at several levels. It coordinates the eight Breton doctoral schools and created the "International Doctoral College of the European University of Brittany" federating them. Doctorates from member institutions bear the PRES and supervising institution seal. It monitors PhD insertion and some doctoral trainings.
It handles international mobility for French/foreign PhDs. Publishes "PhD Guide in Brittany" in French/English, manages incoming/outgoing mobility grants. Between the creation of the UEB and 2010, 103 grants were awarded, including 78 outgoing and 25 incoming.

Research activities

UEB members have over researchers and nearly PhDs in six thematic fields. The humanities and social sciences research cluster accounts for 33% of the research workforce, followed by mathematics and information and communication sciences and technologies with 24%, materials science and engineering with 13%, and bio-health with 12%. Finally, the marine cluster accounts for 8% of the research workforce. Scientific articles published by member institution laboratories are published under the dual seal of the member institution and the UEB.
UEB supports research platforms, mapping, structuring tools. Exclusive valorization via "Bretagne valorisation". International researcher chairs; five recruited in 2010, up to 50 over next four years.

Infrastructure

The creation of a digital campus, shared by the various members, began in 2009, with the installation of the first four teleconferencing facilities delivered in mid-2010. Others followed, two in Brest and two in Rennes.
The university's real estate development began in the fall of 2009 with the announcement of the construction of a headquarters for the institution in downtown Rennes.

Media

Through its members' activities, the UEB has created some 2,000 hours of online teaching content and 112 study points across Great Britain, and has ensured that the institutions' digital resources are indexed. Some are available via iTunes from.
The institution also has its own media. A wiki radio station was launched on November 29, 2010, allowing member institutions to take turns broadcasting their content. A magazine was launched in June 2011, “U Mag,” shared by the Nantes Angers Le Mans University PRES.

Members