Sorbonne University Association (French: Association Sorbonne Université) is a group of 10 academic institutions associated with the Sorbonne University. After the fusion between Paris-Sorbonne University and Pierre and Marie Curie University under the name Sorbonne University (French: Sorbonne Université) in 2018,[1] the group Sorbonne Universités changed its name to Association Sorbonne Université.
The group comprises nearly 60,000 students annually, of which 5,000 are Ph.D. students.
Members of the group have set up many projects to strengthen relations between them and to create new academic courses and research programs in the fields of science, medicine, law, human and social science, engineering, business management, and arts.
Member institutions are associated with nineteen Nobel laureates[4] and seven Field Medalists.,[5] ten billionaires, and three heads of state.
The group has been granted €130 million by the French government.[6] Its budget was €680 million as of 2012.
In the early 2000s, to perform on the international scale, these thirteen universities joined forces with public research and higher-education institutions and grandes écoles. In 2006, a French law compelled every university institution to join a university group. This was aimed at forming big university and research clusters able to compete with the best international universities.
In 2010, Sorbonne University formed its first group. Since then, other university institutions have joined, such as the National Museum of Natural History. Panthéon-Assas University left the group in 2013 because it was not happy with the governance of the group and became an associate member in 2014. As of 2015, Sorbonne University was composed of 11 founding members and 11 other associate members.
The main campus of Sorbonne University is the historic central Sorbonne building in the Latin quarter, which Paris-Sorbonne University (Paris 4) shares with other universities not included in Sorbonne University. Sorbonne University is also located in the Jussieu Campus, near the Latin quarter. The campus is occupied by Pierre and Marie Curie University (Paris 6). After a long period of restoration, the first half of the new campus was inaugurated in September 2014 with new academic buildings, new dormitories, and a gymnasium.
Location of Sorbonne University's international establishments
Thanks to its members, Sorbonne University can benefit from a wide range of international partnerships, both in Europe and worldwide. These partnerships allow academic mobility for students and a broader scientific cooperation for researchers. For example,
Sorbonne University is also established in Asia, with one campus in Singapore, residence of INSEAD, and two campuses in Abu Dhabi, both for INSEAD and the Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi.[13]
Members of the group have worked on several projects in order to strengthen relations and potentially create a new international institution. The most famous projects are the "Sorbonne College" (Collège de la Sorbonne) for bachelor's degree teaching and the "Sorbonne Doctoral College" (Collège doctoral de la Sorbonne) for PhD candidates.
The Sorbonne College
Since 2014, the Sorbonne College for bachelor's degree (« Collège des Licences de la Sorbonne ») has been coordinating academic projects of the members of the group. It also offers cross-institutional academic courses in many fields, allowing students to graduate from both institutions. For example, some cross-institutional bachelor's degrees (« double licences ») are proposed to students between Paris-Sorbonne University, Pierre-et-Marie-Curie University, and Panthéon-Assas University, in:
Science and History (UPMC / Paris-Sorbonne)
Science and Musicology (UPMC / Paris-Sorbonne)
Science and Philosophy (UPMC / Paris-Sorbonne)
Science and Chinese (UPMC / Paris-Sorbonne)
Science and German (UPMC / Paris-Sorbonne)
Law and History (Panthéon-Assas / Paris-Sorbonne)
Law and Art History (Panthéon-Assas / Paris-Sorbonne)
Law and Science (Panthéon-Assas / UPMC)
History and Media (Paris-Sorbonne / Panthéon-Assas)[19]
As is the case in the Anglo-American university systems, Sorbonne University proposes a major-minor program that is currently being deployed at Pierre and Marie Curie University.[20]
Sorbonne University, in partnership with INSEAD, also offers all of its alumni and PhD students a professionalizing course in business management, to complete their curriculum.
Doctoral College
Sorbonne University's graduation ceremony, May 2011
Since 2010, every PhD student is granted an honorary diploma labeled "Sorbonne University". This diploma highlights and gathers the skills of doctors and researchers from the institutions that form Sorbonne University.
The Sorbonne Doctoral College, created in 2013, coordinates the activities of the 26 doctoral schools. Since 2014, it has developed cross-disciplinary PhDs between the different members of the group:
Sorbonne University's doctoral schools
Fields
Doctoral school
Institution
Énergie, matière, univers
Chimie physique & chimie analytique de Paris centre
Since 2011, Sorbonne University has celebrated its graduates in a formal ceremony where every PhD graduate wears a scholar's uniform.[21]
Research
To strengthen the influence of its research infrastructures on the international scale, Sorbonne University has developed several research programs aimed at reinforcing or exploring new fields of study. This innovative cross-disciplinary approach was embodied with the creation of four new academic positions, gathering several establishments of the group:[22]
A Department of Digital Humanities, exploring the use of digital technologies in the social sciences
A Department of Polychromatic Studies of Societies, associating architecture, anthropology, chemical physics, literature, and art history
A Department of Digital Health, exploring biomedical tools
A Department of 3D Craniofacial Reconstruction
Sorbonne University has also formed, with academic institutions such as the China Scholarship Council or the Brazilian foundation FAPERJ, several partnerships enabling bilateral research programs.
Some of Sorbonne University’ members have recently won fame in global and national university rankings.
Global university rankings
The Academic Ranking of World Universities for 2014-2015 ranks PMCU 35th in the world; 1st French university and 6th university in Europe. In the same edition of the ranking, PMCU is the 4th university for mathematics.[25]
QS World University Rankings 2015 (world's top 800 universities) ranks Paris-Sorbonne University 1st in France, 36th in the world for arts and humanities (9th for modern languages, 30th for philosophy).
The main universities and institutions of this group are considered as the first or one of the first universities in their field.
Student life
A COSU performance in Paris, March 2014
Since 2010, Sorbonne University has set a goal of optimizing students' living conditions and pooling associative activities of all the students.
Associations
Sorbonne University offers financial support to associations or student initiatives that help gather the students of each institution that comprises the group. Among the associations that are currently supported, are:
The association Doc’Up, founded in 2006, a students’ union that unites PhD students of every member of the group. The association aims at defending PhD students’ rights within the academic representative assemblies and helping them add value to their curriculum.[31] Since 2007, the association has been organizing a scientific popularization short-film festival called « Les chercheurs font leur cinéma » (« Researchers create cinema »).[32]
In 2014, the music festival Imaginarium was founded by students of the UTC[33]
Sorbonne University also supports students' welcoming initiatives at the beginning of the fall term, such as :
Les Sorbonnales, a cross-institutional student ball that gathers every student of Sorbonne University. The sixth edition of the ball took place in 2014[34]
Since 2012, Sorbonne University has organized an eloquence contest called « Fleurs d’Éloquence », during which every Sorbonne University student can compete. 150 students participated in 2015.[36]
Sorbonne University has its own musical ensemble, called Chœur-Orchestre Sorbonne-Universités (Sorbonne University Choir & Orchestra). COSU gathers 250 students, instrumentalists, and vocalists, who perform throughout the school year in concert halls, such as Sorbonne’s Grand Amphitheater, or in other parts of Europe.[37]
Sports
Each member of Sorbonne University provides its own range of sporting activities. Nevertheless, the members have recently begun to consolidate their sports facilities following the renovation of the Jussieu Campus: the new Jean-Talbot gymnasium was opened in the fall of 2014, and has since then become the venue for indoor sports.[38]
Sorbonne University team at the 2014 Challenge du Monde des Grandes écoles et universités
Sorbonne University also takes part in student sport competitions, where it competes with other establishments. In 2014, Sorbonne University won 3rd place in the World Championships of Grandes Écoles and Universities, a competition jointly organized by the French Athletics Federation and the Journal of Grandes Écoles and Universities, a French magazine for students.[39]
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