The University of Rouen

Normandy - France

French higher education: new developments with respect to the

Bologna process and new relations for more effective cooperation with

universitiesby Prof.Dr.Cafer Özkul, President

Speech plan : The French Education SystemRouen UniversityStructures of cooperation between universities and industry

1- The French Education System-

Primary education (that lasts five years, from approximately age 6 to age 11).

Secondary educationHigher education

Primary and Secondary education

institutions that are highly centralized in their administration

A secondary education divided in 2 stages Stage 1 : Junior High School Stage 2 : High School The baccalauréat : entrance exam for higher education

Higher education

A dual system : Composed of Universities and « Grandes Ecoles »

A three cycle system, called LMD system a relatively new effort to harmonize degree qualifications

in France with the rest of Europe A 3-5-8 years of study system

3 years 5 years 8 years

Bachelor (Licence)

L1 L2 L3

Master Doctoraldegree

Bachelor- Master- Doctoral degree

The specific case of medicine and pharmacy studies

First cycle called PCEM in 2 years Second cycle called DCEM in 4 years

(study + hospital internship) This 6 years study leads to the vocational qualification

only in Dentistry and Pharmacy

Third cycle culminating in State diplomas national diploma of practitioner

in medicine (3 years) national diploma in specialized medicine (5 years)

Higher education

In addition, vocational degrees are offered in either universities or high schools

DUT : in 2 years after the bac in IUTs BTS : a 2 year diploma provided by high schools

Schools for engineering degrees, “Grandes Ecoles”

public and private institutions that are selective

generally offer a more specialized three-year course of study

with majors in business, public administration, or engineering

leading to a master’s degree plus an engineering diploma

A broad array of institutions-universities offer thousands of degree programs at all levels

Difficult to compare with the US system A budget for education = 20% of the annual budget

of the french state A close national monitoring of the quality of

instruction/curricular content a long tradition of openness and accessibility Inexpensive tuition fees

2- The University of Rouen

France

Rouen

Paris

2400 lecturers, researchers and other staff24350 students(3000 international students) 900 PhD students,130 defended PhD / year

A seven-campus University

SportsSciences and technologiesHealth Science, Medicine, PharmacySociology, Psychology and Education SciencesLaw, Economics, ManagmentHumanities, letters and arts

Our outstanding academic departments and programs are offered in 6 faculties :

The institute for business managementThe institute for general administrationThe institute for teacher training2 institutes of technology

And 5 institutes :

An elected President3 boards:

The Administrative BoardThe scientific board, only consultative The education and student life board, only consultative

University gouvernance

Teaching quality evaluation cellVocational insertionResearchInternational relations

Long life learning Sandwich coursesDistant learning

In addition to the general adminstrative services , several services dedicated to academic goals :

3- Structures of cooperation between universities, research establishements and industry

Mixed research units Competitive clusters PRES : a hub for higher education and

research GRR : extended research networks

Mixed research units An original feature of the French higher

education and research system:The research units of the national research establishments are installed inside universities and jointly operated.CNRS (26000 permanent employees), INSERM,INRA, INRIA, IRD, INRETS, CEA, ONERA, IFREMER

Competitive clusters In 2002 a new industrial strategy based on the

development of competitive clusters to increase French industrial potential

A strategy based on active partneship between manufacturers, research centers and training bodies

A strategy also conducted at the EU level A « competitive cluster » label granted to selected

projects 2 main types of clusters

Very high-tech clusters with an international profile Clusters based on an industrial base in French areas of

specialization or development

PRES (a hub for higher education and research)

Connects different universities, engineering schools and teaching hospitals, often from the same city or neighbouring region

The main objectives: acquisition of costly equipment to be shared between labs training PhD students promotion and transfer of research International development

19 existing PRES today in France and some others to come

GRR : extended research networks Thematic research networks at a regional scale

supported by local administration with grants : for PhD students for scientific equipment for conference organisation In order to impulse collaboration between labs working in the

same field

6 in the Higher Normandy Region

To summarize : The aim of these collaborative structures is to favor

the innovative research and higher education actions in order to contribute to the local, national and european economic development.

To say the truth, part of these new education and research organisations were originated from the international ranking objective , especially from the highly criticized Shangai ranking .

This motivation also impacts the federative projects supported by european funds.