Assessments of the jury will be made public

This is a crucial week in a world in full effervescence. Launched in September last the great loan, which is the beautiful part to higher education and research, their booking EUR 21.9 billion on the 35 "investment for the future", the first wave of the call for projects on the initiatives of excellence will be closed this Friday. The challenge is to size since this is draw 5-10 campus in global vocation, can compete with the biggest international names in the sector. The capital endowment provided is: EUR 7.7 billion.

If, in a landscape in full mutation (autonomy, operation of real estate renovation Campus...), the great loan raises many concerns - including - it "mobilizes" also strongly the scientific community, reported it to the Ministry of higher education and research as the Commissioner-General investment (CGI). Evidenced, according to them, 680 applications received for the first five calls to already closed projects (equipment of excellence, cohort, national infrastructure in biotechnology, case institutes and laboratories of excellence), of which 339 for equipment of excellence (Equipex) and 230 for laboratories (Labex). The winners of the first wave for the equipment of excellence will be known later this month. They will be in March for the laboratories of excellence, which will be a second wave in 2012.

For initiatives of excellence, some sixteen promoters are manifested and could therefore testify Friday 16 records. In first line, the poles of research and higher education (PRES) of regional cities such as Lyon (see below), Bordeaux, Nancy, Marseille, Grenoble, Montpellier, Dijon and Besançon (PRES Bourgogne-Franche-County), Toulouse, Lille or even Strasbourg. In the Paris region, to announce nominations of Saclay, of the PRES Paris-Cité (Paris-III, V, VII, XIII, Sciences-Po), Sorbonne University (Paris-II, IV and VI...), Hesam (Paris-I, CNAM, EHESS...), Paris-Est and Paris Sciences and letters (ENS, College of France...) associated with the University Dauphine.

Screening in March

In the heart of the selection criteria, "the academic excellence of the research and training, a mode of integration quite important among the different actors (universities, schools...), and a strong opening to the socio-economic world", explains to the CGI, where it says that governance and the allocation of resources will be decisive. As well as "development potential" provided by the different projects. The jury, which will comprise some 20 members (foreign and French speaking abroad), will conduct a screening in March, and then a final choice, validated by the Government in July. Assessments of the jury will be made public. A second wave will be launched end of 2011 - early 2012. "It is important that the Government has chosen the"filter"of the international jury, an outside look at our system French, very valuable to correct our weaknesses," observes Bruno Sire, President of the University of Toulouse-I Capitol, the PRES, who has already replied to Equipex 15 and 12 Labex, is candidate for an initiative of excellence. Against those who fear a stranglehold of the policy on the final choice, Bruno Sire believes that, with regard to public funds, it is normal that the policy has the right look and that despite the pressure, "which will be strong, cannot go against the judgment in upstream of world-renowned scientists".

At Besançon, Claude Condé, President of the University candidate in PRES Bourgogne-Franche-County, which has already answered 8 Equipex and 3 Labex, wants to believe that excellence initiatives will not only reward the very large poles, building on "a great ability to innovate with lighter structures, in which the socio-economic world will hold a large place". First answers in July.