Target university
A new university for the Côte d'Azur
One of the fundamental objectives of the UCAJEDI initiative of excellence project, submitted in 2015 by the Université Côte d'Azur Community of Universities and Institutions (ComUE), was to create and anchor a new university on the Côte d'Azur, aiming to become a world-class university in a short space of time, with a strong international influence while maintaining a strong connection with the region. The institutional objective has been achieved: on 26 July 2019, the decree creating the new experimental university, Université Côte d'Azur, was published in the Official Journal and took effect on 1 January 2020, leading to the dissolution of both the ComUE and the University Nice Sophia Antipolis.
Members of the consortium UCAJEDI IDEX: Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Inria, INRAe, IRD, INSERM, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, CHU Nice, EDHEC, SKEMA, Ecole Nationale des Mines de Paris, EURECOM, Fondation Université Côte d'Azur, Centre National de Création Musicale, Villa Arson, Ecole Supérieure de Réalisation Audiovisuelle, the Sustainable Design School, Ecole supérieure de danse Rosella Hightower, Conservatoire National à Rayonnement Régional de Nice.
A new experimental university
Strengthened by these associations, Université Côte d'Azur has become the essential interlocutor in the region, not only in the fundamental, human and social sciences, but also in the fields of health and the arts. The diagram above represents the new Université Côte d'Azur experimental university at the time of its creation. It will soon be modified with the launch of the Health Cooperation Group (GCS), which brings together Université Côte d'Azur, the Nice University Hospital Center, the Lenval Foundation and the Antoine Lacassagne Center for the Fight against Cancer. This new group will strengthen the ties between Université Côte d'Azur and the main local healthcare institutions and further develop strong clinical research.
Steering committee
Its steering comittee is the main innovation in the structure of Université Côte d'Azur's governing bodies. Its missions are to define, unify and fine-tune, in real time, the University's strategies with national research organization representatives and component and associate institutions.
Graduate schools (EUR) and MSc
Eight graduate schools (EURs) have been created to synergistically connect different components of Université Cote d'Azur, its members, and partners. The graduate schools are reinforcing excellence in interdisciplinary research and are driving graduate education in connection with research.
The IDEX has added a series of transdisciplinary MSc to the existing catalog. These programs are taught in English, orientated toward international students and thus contribute to the international visibility of Université Cote d'Azur. Developed by UCAJEDI, these MScs will be further integrated with UCA's education programs. Hybrid approaches to teaching are a founding principle of these MSc programs which prioritize innovation in teaching and digital transformation.
From IDEX Reference Centers to Institutes for Innovation and Partnerships
Former reference centers have been further reinforced to form Université Côte d'Azur Institutes for Innovation and Partnerships:
Promoting excellence in education in connection with companies from the leading industrial sectors of our region
Anchored in its territory, UCAJEDI has led the creation of an education network for the flavor, fragrance, and cosmetic sectors at all levels of training for the entire Région SUD PACA, together with academic authorities, companies, cooperatives, and the city of Grasse. This initiative has been certified by the French Ministry of Education.