University of Rennes : the adoption of the statutes confirms the creation of the new institution on 1 January 2023

Meeting the major societal challenges of a world in transition with and for young people

With the creation of this fully-fledged institution, the six founding institutions of the University of Rennes share the same ambition: to meet, with and for young people, the major societal challenges of a world in transition, particularly in the fields of the environment, global health and digital technology.

The institution is committed to playing a leading role in the ecological transition. It intends to actively contribute to the preservation and restoration of the planet through the implementation of the United Nations' sustainable development objectives:

• implementation of the Jean Jouzel report, training of students in all fields of study in the challenges of sustainable development,
• implementation of a joint action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and resource consumption, energy renovation of campuses,
• preservation of biodiversity,
• SD&CSR (sustainable development and social responsibility) certification of the six institutions, etc.

This commitment will therefore be part of both its strategy and the day-to-day activities of each of them.

The creation of the University of Rennes will make possible the achievment of the following objectives:

1. a unified strategy in education, research and innovation based on the strengths and complementarities of its members
2. a Rennes site that is more attractive and better recognised on a national, European and international scale;
3. Increased resources for the benefit of students and staff;
4. joint responses to major calls for projects (France 2030, Horizon Europe, etc.) to benefit from additional funding;
5. consolidated partnerships with local authorities and socio-economic and cultural stakeholders.

With an enlarged community of students and staff, the University of Rennes will be able to rely on governance bodies that reconcile university democracy and openness, as well as on a common brand that will be deployed from January 2023.

From 1 January 2023, the Université de Rennes 1 will become the University of Rennes.
The training components (UFR, institutes and schools grouped within six collegia) and research components (research units grouped within five research centres), as well as the services of the Université de Rennes 1, become those of the new institution.

The University of Rennes also includes EHESP, ENSCR, ENS Rennes, INSA Rennes and Sciences Po Rennes, which are component institutions. This means that they participate in the development and implementation of the strategy of the University of Rennes, while retaining their own legal personality. They therefore retain their own bodies, remain employers of their staff and adopt their own budgets.

The University of Rennes is partnering with the University of Rennes 2 to pursue and develop projects. In the same vein, it is partnering with two grandes écoles, the École nationale of Statistics and Information Analysis of Rennes (ENSAI) and the Institut Agro Rennes-Angers.

The national research organisations - CNRS, INRAE, Inria, Inserm - and the CHU of Rennes participate as partners in the development and implementation of the scientific strategy of the new EPE.

L'Université de #Rennes sur les rails ! Une excellente nouvelle pour le territoire, une étape importante pour la qualité et le développement de l'enseignement supérieur rennais. @UnivRennes1 @EHESP @ENSCR @ENSRennes @INSA_Rennes @Sc_Po_Rennes https://t.co/vy6bSFuUr4

— Nathalie Appéré (@nathalieappere) October 4, 2022

The creation of the University of Rennes is both the launch of a transformation process and an opportunity to pool the skills and resources of the six institutions, their 38 laboratories and their 4,500 staff spread over nine campuses in Rennes and throughout Brittany.

Regarding research

The aim is to develop projects recognised at the highest international level and innovative in the service of society, in particular by deploying the IRIS-E project, which offer innovative solutions for the environmental transition favouring participative science, interdisciplinary research projects, innovation and the transformation of the training offer; by giving birth to C3, the cybersecurity skills centre supported by the Inria Centre of the University of Rennes; or by creating an interdisciplinary centre on global health to strengthen research, training and innovation in public health.

Regarding training and student life

The aim is to promote the development, success and professional integration of students by personalising courses, creating more bridges between institutions, drawing up a master plan for student life, developing access to new services and setting up a Student Council to organise a wide-ranging consultation of students on subjects related to student life and campus life.

Regarding international relations

The aim is to strengthen the attractiveness and influence of the University of Rennes by developing, for example, strategic partnerships in training-research-innovation with international universities around the three transitions, by exploiting the opportunities offered by the European university EDUC or by obtaining the European label Human Resources Excellence in Research for all component institutions.

The experimentation on the Rennes site may last until 2028. The establishments will have the choice of ending the experiment or continuing it by becoming a "large establishment".