Jean Monnet University affirms its European ambitions
With its official integration into the Transform4Europe (T4EU) European University on Monday 3rd July 2023, its recent Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R) certification, its participation in the ANR E@SELY SKILLS project to create a shared skills centre for European projects, and the signing of the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) charter, Jean Monnet University is clearly affirming its European ambitions. The University is involved in constructing a European education and research area, for the direct benefit of its students and its teaching and research staff.
Official integration into the T4EU European University following a four-year funding renewal
On Monday 3rd July 2023, Jean Monnet University officially became part of the Transform4Europe European University, whose funding from the European Commission has just been extended for a new four-year period, with the award of 14.4 million euros in funding.
Photo by Transform4Europe
With its partners – Saarland University (Germany), the University of Alicante (Spain), the Estonian Academy of Arts (Estonia), the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (Portugal), the University of Primorska (Slovenia), the University of Silesia in Katowice (Poland), Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” (Bulgaria), the University of Trieste (Italy) and Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas (Lithuania) – it is working to create a large multilingual shared campus to prepare the future of our regions, our countries and Europe.
The T4EU European University aims to train a new generation of young Europeans who will work together, in different disciplines, to acquire digital, intercultural and entrepreneurial skills. It will enable the development of a green and inclusive European campus life. Over the next four years, many of the projects tested in the pilot phase (from 2020) will be extended to the largest possible number of students, researchers and staff from member universities, who will be able to take advantage of the mobility and cooperation offered by the European University.
Within the T4EU, Jean Monnet University’s role is to coordinate or be a major contributor to actions designed to develop joint programmes and degrees and to promote doctoral mobility, joint doctoral degrees, and relationships and partnerships in training and research with art schools and cultural and artistic institutions in the alliance members’ regions, in conjunction with rolling-out the ARTS Institute internally.
In addition to its participation in the European University and recent successes (six ERASMUS+ or Horizon-Europe projects obtained in 2021 and 2022 combining, to varying degrees, education and research), Jean Monnet University is involved in the European research and innovation strategy (Horizon Europe) and aims to increase the number of projects submitted. It has also been involved in European programmes for many years (10 Erasmus Mundus Masters between 2008 and 2020, involving 16 other partner institutions).
A human resources strategy for research staff
Jean Monnet University received the Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R) certification from the European Commission on 12th June 2023 for a period of five years. This approach confirms the University’s commitment to transparency when recruiting researchers; to the quality of their support in terms of training, mobility and careers; to improving their working and employment conditions; and to professional ethics and freedom of research.
HSR4R enables the University to participate in the construction of the European Research Area, alongside higher education establishments with the same certification. Aligning itself with European HR quality standards will also make the University more attractive to teaching and research staff and enable it to position itself for ambitious calls for projects.
Strengthening the University’s positioning to respond to European calls for research projects: focus on E@SELY SKILLS
On 13th April 2023, Jean Monnet Saint-Étienne University and its partners in the consortium that submitted the E@SELY SKILLS project – the Collège d’Ingénierie Lyon Saint-Étienne (engineering college that groups together Centrale Lyon, ENTPE, INSA Lyon and Mines Saint-Étienne), the CNRS, INSAVALOR and Centrale Innovation – won the “Accelerating the development strategies of higher education and research establishments” (ASDESR, led by the ANR) call for projects. The project will receive more than 5 million euros in funding over 10 years.
The E@SELY SKILLS project aims to make transition engineering visible at site level.
This success will enable the partner institutions to work closely together to build a shared skills centre with dedicated resources, in order to increase access to European funding and to create a new range of continuing education courses. Jean Monnet University is a partner in the European phase of the project.
Operational units have been set up as part of this framework, including a “Europe” unit. An engineer has been specifically recruited to work on calls for projects on the Saint-Étienne site.
An open science policy based on European and international standards
On 9th May 2023, Jean Monnet University’s Board of Governors signed the DORA charter (San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment), as part of the institution's “Open Science” roadmap.
DORA is a manifesto that testifies to the commitment to respect certain criteria in the evaluation of research. The University thus undertakes not to use bibliometric indicators as a substitute for measuring the individual quality of scientific output.
At a European level, Science Europe has proposed an evolution of the DORA manifesto, by issuing an “Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment”, around which the CoARA coalition is being structured. It brings together funding agencies, research establishments and universities at a European level in order to pool research evaluation practices and build a common approach to tackling these issues.
Following its signature of the DORA charter, the University is considering the possibility of joining CoARA in the medium term.
05.07.23 // UJM selected "Erasmus Without Paper Champion" for its quality of student mobility management
On Wednesday 5th July 2023, Jean Monnet University won the title of Erasmus Without Paper (EWP) Champion for the management of Erasmus+ student mobility during the difficult transition period after the global pandemic. Recognized for its high level of experience and expertise, UJM will play a role in communications and outreach activities by sharing examples of practices, challenges, experiences and achieved benefits.
The University will also work with the European Union to identify ways to improve and expand the functionalities of the EWP, building on its knowledge of operational processes at European higher education institutions.
