In 2021, the University of Poitiers and its partners won the “ExcellenceS sous toutes ses formes” call for projects issued by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche and the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research for its UP-SQUARED project (University of Poitiers: a Sustainable & QUAlity-based university for Research & Education).

This structuring project aims to transform the University of Poitiers towards a more sustainable university model, from a human, environmental or societal point of view, and in direct contact with the needs of society and its territories. Centered around the UN’s 3 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are at the heart of the establishment’s strategy, UP-SQUARED is becoming a central element in its deployment, in a partnership-based approach:

• Health and well-being, in close association with the CHU de Poitiers, Inserm, CNRS and CREPS;
• Quality education, as part of the Poitiers capitale de l’éducation initiative, in conjunction with the Futuroscope-based national education operators IH2EF,Canopé and CNED, as well as CREPS;
• Sustainable cities and communities, around themes such as transport and energy, with Isae-Ensma and CNRS.

These three SDGs are multi-sectoral, interdisciplinary and interconnected. They place the University of Poitiers at the heart of a European dynamic that offers a pathway to meeting the global challenges of the future.

All disciplines are able to contribute innovative solutions to local, national, European and global challenges. The 3 SDGs encourage the rapid incorporation of the results of research and/or technical and social innovation into education and training, through new study content and a diversification of resources and mechanisms. UP-SQUARED’s main objectives are to:

1 – to structure an international, interdisciplinary scientific approach to the sustainable development issues mentioned above, notably by coordinating internal calls for projects designed to create genuine springboards for research teams

2 – consolidate the link between education and research, in particular by creating interdisciplinary graduate programs to group masters degrees around global sustainable development themes.

Find out more about the UP² project