The Impact and Attractiveness of Research-Based Education - REAL@SU Project
Sorbonne University, together with its partners in the Sorbonne University Alliance, aims to systematically strengthen the integration of its educational programs with its research strengths, for the benefit of all. This is the focus of the REAL@SU project (Research-based education).
The REAL@SU project
These research strengths are widely found across the university's UFRs, departments, and faculties, and are currently structured around major disciplinary areas. They nourish educational programs through dedicated transversal structures: a College of Bachelor's and Master's programs with its majors and minors; internationa and multidisciplinary institutes and initiatives established based on the experience of the Labex; and a Doctoral College that has been structuring doctoral training within the Sorbonne University Alliance for several years already.
The aim is not only to give greater visibility to multidisciplinary initiatives and their stakes in close connection with disciplinary departments, but also to organize Master's and Doctoral levels into colleges that support the transversal initiatives.
As part of some major axes of Sorbonne University’s strategic plan, the project aims to help us fully leverage the key asset represented by the integration of our programs with research, in order to meet the needs of today’s world:
- The demand for a critical approach to research practices themselves,
- The necessity of an increasingly open and international approach,
- The requirements of openness and flexibility in training programs.
To address these challenges, the actions will develop our research-based education along four main axes:
- Embed research-based education at the heart of disciplinary fields: promote creative teaching and study practices based on the strengths of UFRs and departments; intensify relationships with research organizations to deepen and increase the already significant involvement of researchers in education;
- Develop programs based on research conducted at the interfaces of disciplinary approaches to tackle societal challenges: translate into education the exploration of disciplinary interfaces through research, relying on the institutes and initiatives of the Sorbonne University Alliance;
- Expand research-based education for the acquisition of transversal skills: support students, regardless of their discipline, in acquiring transversal skills, particularly data culture, research ethics and scientific integrity, entrepreneurial and innovation capacities;
- Open research-based education to the global context: while research has always been international, it is now more so than ever. Educating through and for research means opening students up to the world.
Support
The project is supported by the French National Research Agency (ANR), as part of the government investment plan France 2030, deployed by the General Secretariat for Investment (SGPI).
Winners of the 2025 Call for Projects
Le Rendez-vous Biomédical de l’UTC is an annual day of conferences and workshops dedicated to the latest advances in health and biomedical technologies. The event fosters dialogue between researchers, students, alumni, and socio-economic stakeholders to stimulate innovation and reflect on its societal impacts. Open to professionals, it stands as a key opportunity for continuing education and for sharing perspectives on the biomedical challenges of tomorrow.
Project leader: Jean-Matthieu Prot (UTC)
The CEDRe project proposes an innovative summer school (2025-2026) that is central to the Franco-Greek archaeological mission in Dreros (https://www.efa.gr/mission-de-terrain-de-lefa-dreros-2024/). Designed as a training excavation, it prepares master's students ta assume crucial tasks in fieldwork, digital tools, and contemporary issues for archaeological research. Unique in its diachronic approach and international outlook, it combines excavation, architectural study, environmental study, restoration, and mediation. CEDRe makes Dreros a laboratory of excellence and a model for students' training in 21st-century archaeology.
Project leader : Hélène Brun Kyriakidis (SU FL)
Understanding major economic and ecological transition challenges with REAL@SU and the EPOG Erasmus Mundus Joint Master!
Over the past four years, leading French and international researchers, along with prominent non-academic actors, have delivered 119 seminars addressing key current economic issues, as well as nearly 60 lectures introducing the challenges of the ecological transition from a multidisciplinary perspective. All sessions (in English) are available on the master’s YouTube channel (https://videos.epog.eu). Upcoming sessions (live and replay) can be found here: https://ev.epog.eu
Project leader : David Flacher (UTC)
An A1-level Arabic hybrid course designed in alignment with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). This two-semester course provides a progressive introduction to the foundations of daily Arabic, primarily in Modern Standard Arabic. Emphasis is on conversation, everyday vocabulary, and basic grammatical structures. The course is open to undergraduate and Master’s students.
Project leader : Omayyah Al-Shabab ( SU FL)
A new hybrid Italian course at B1 level (CEFR), focused on developing argumentation skills, an essential competence in university education. This course, designed for Bachelor’s and Master’s students, builds on the highly demanded SIAL A1 and A2 courses and offers flexibility through a blend of in-person sessions and online activities, adapted to complex schedules and international mobility. It also provides personalized support, enhanced by digital tools and artificial intelligence, to foster autonomous and interactive learning.
Project leader : Isabella Montersino (SU FL)
The FORMAT project, training through materials and for materials, led by the ASU Materials Science Institute (iMAT), aims to strengthen links between research and training and to increase iMAT's international influence. To this end, the institute is leading the creation of a multi-year international summer school in partnership with three universities from the 4EU+ Alliance (Heidelberg, Milan, Prague) and is organizing “Materials Chairs” lasting four weeks for doctoral training, supervising the arrival of international visiting professors at SU. Ultimately, iMAT aims to play a central role in the creation of a materials science network at the 4EU+ level.
Project leader : Xavier Carrier (SU FSI)
ECOWIND is a pilot training program from Sorbonne University dedicated to the environmental impacts of offshore wind power. Multidisciplinary (ecology, oceanography, chemistry, engineering and social sciences), it gives students the keys to understand the effects of offshore wind farms on biodiversity and ecosystems, targeting these effects using monitoring and ecotoxicology tools, and designing impact reduction solutions (anti-corrosion materials and paints, developments, monitoring protocols). Led by the Banyuls marine station and the Sorbonne Ocean Institute, ECOWIND relies on a large network of academic and industrial experts and real case studies. The objective is to train professionals capable of supporting the responsible deployment of offshore wind power in France and the Mediterranean while preserving marine environments.
Project leader : Raphaël Lami (SU FSI)
The Master's degree in Science and Musicology, created as part of an SFRI project, aims to fill the gap in interdisciplinary graduate education at Sorbonne University between the dual bachelor's degree in “Science and Musicology” and the doctorate in “Music and Science.” Building on existing master's programs, it will feature a flexible organization based on a major/minor system, allowing students to specialize in acoustics or musicology while developing skills in the other field. In their second year, students can pursue two recognized paths: the ATIAM master's degree or the research master's degree in musicology supplemented by a minor in acoustics. In the latter case, after obtaining their master's degree in musicology, they will have the opportunity to directly enroll in the ATIAM M2 program and thus complete two master's degrees in three years.
Project leader : Jean-Loïc Le Carrou (SU FSI)
ROB-TREE aims to democratize robotics, both mobile and industrial, by making it accessible to a wide range of students through an active pedagogy that combines teaching, research, and innovation. Drawing on cutting-edge research platforms from the Heudiasyc laboratory and UTC's structuring projects, it will offer software developments facilitating their integration into numerous teaching units and educational projects. ROB-TREE will strengthen the visibility and attractiveness of UTC's robotics training, both in France and internationally. As a true catalyst for innovation, this project aims to train a new generation of engineers capable of tackling important technological and societal challenges of tomorrow.
Project leader : Lounis Adouane (UTC)
Odyssée @ED3C – explorer, structurer, réussir” strengthens the doctoral journey at Sorbonne University with two new milestones: a Winter School for first-year PhD students and a Spring School for the whole ED3C community. These events foster peer networking, transdisciplinary dialogue, and collaborative learning, while offering guidance on research methods and ethics. Together, they will create a vibrant and cohesive doctoral network that enhances ED3C’s unique interdisciplinary identity.
Project leader : Christelle Rochefort ( SU FSI)
The aim of the program is to study the conditions (material, political, cultural, social, ideological, scientific, etc.), the actors (scholars, physicians, technicians, soldiers, merchants, etc.) and the instruments (books, treatises, lexica and other written documents; iconographic representations; measuring instruments, etc.) involved in the transmission of knowledge and scholarly practices from Antiquity to the Renaissance, across the Mediterranean and its peripheral areas.
Project leader : Didier Marcotte (SU FL)
The QICS promotes and coordinates the work in quantum information within the Alliance Sorbonne Université. This innovative approach to information processing, at the interface of physics and computer science, offers major advantages in computation, data processing, and cybersecurity, and now also encompasses economic and societal dimensions. In the field of education, and building on the success of creating a master’s program bringing together physicists and computer scientists, QICS affirms its international vocation by supporting student mobility and fostering exchanges of internships and doctoral research with its strategic partners, such as the JFLI in Tokyo and the MajuLab in Singapore.
Project leader : Frédéric Grosshans (SU FSI)
The Pepite Entrepreneurship Toolkit offers 10 ready-to-use educational resources to raise awareness of the entrepreneurial mindset among students and doctoral candidates. It supports faculty in helping students develop transversal skills valuable for any academic path, discover and experiment with an entrepreneurial approach, while fostering the emergence of projects. The ambition is to reach a wide student community and establish Pépite as a reference resource hub for both faculty and students.
Project leader : Émilie Ruffelaere (SU FSI)
Winners of the 2024 Call for Projects
The LEEGO project, led by the University of Technology of Compiègne (UTC), focuses on the creation of summer schools dedicated to structured nanomaterials. The program brings together prestigious institutions such as the University of California, Berkeley, and several Japanese universities. Within this international framework, students in physics, biology, and engineering collaborate across disciplinary and cultural boundaries, benefiting from a high-level academic experience. This immersive and collaborative approach enables participants to gain both theoretical knowledge and practical skills, fostering interdisciplinary cooperation and innovation, and preparing students to tackle global scientific challenges.
The program combines food science, nutrition, and French gastronomy. Its goal is to teach participants to understand and master food composition and formulation. The Winter School took place at the UTC Innovation Center, at the heart of the “Science for Food” technology platform. This platform is linked to applied research in nutritional biochemistry, food science, and nutritional optimization. The integration of fundamental research, industry, student projects, and their practical application lies at the core of this internationally open program.