French university associations known as "pôles de recherche et d'enseignement supérieur" (PRES; English: centers for research and higher education) were a form of higher-level organization for universities and other institutions established by French law in effect from 2007 to 2013. The 2013 Law on Higher Education and Research (France) discontinued the PRES; these have been largely replaced by the new Communities of Universities and Institutions (French translation abbreviated COMUE).[1] The list below indicates the status of those institutions designated as PRES or related associations before the 2013 law took effect. See the list of public universities in France for the current status of these institutions.
History
The reforms of French higher education in 1968–1971 broke apart several public universities into numerous autonomous successor universities. For example, the University of Paris was split into thirteen universities, Paris I through Paris XIII. These universities have subsequently formed groupings in order to pool resources and better advance their joint activities. Some of these groupings, which typically take the legal form of a groupement d'interêt public, or GIP, are themselves called universities or university centers. In addition to universities, they may include other institutions of higher education and research as well as municipal and regional governments. The process has accelerated with the law of 18 April 2006 on the reform of research in France. This has permitted the creation of tighter groupings called pôles de recherche et d'enseignement supérieur, or PRES. In addition, there are a number of consortia of engineering schools, such as the Grenoble Institute of Technology, that are so tightly united as to be listed as if they were single universities by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research.
The present University of Bordeaux (Université de Bordeaux)[2] is a PRES, established 21 March 2007, made up of the four successor universities to the former University of Bordeaux as well as a number of other institutions:
The Bordeaux University Center (Pôle universitaire de Bordeaux) is a GIP, made up of the four successor universities to the former University of Bordeaux, along with municipal and regional governments. The four universities are:
The Cergy-Pontoise University as well as all upper education institutions of Cergy-Pontoise are organized in a PRES (Research and Upper Education Pole) including :
The present University of Grenoble is a project of these three universities, together in the Grenoble Universités consortium with the Grenoble Institute of Technology, to place aspects of research, instruction, and support under joint administration. This project was formally established in November 2006, with the aim of starting work in 2007 and having the new University of Grenoble take over the tasks of the Grenoble Universités consortium by January 2009 at the latest.[7]
Grenoble Universités
Grenoble Universités is a GIP, made up of the following four institutions:
The Grenoble Institute of Technology (le groupe INP Grenoble, l'Institut national polytechnique de Grenoble or INPG) is a consortium of six engineering schools:[8]
Ense3 (l'École nationale supérieure de l'énergie, l'eau et l'environnement, formerly ENSHMG and ENSIEG)
Ensimag (l'École nationale supérieure d'informatique et de mathématiques appliquées de Grenoble, formerly ENSIMAG and le Département télécommunications)
Esisar (l'École nationale supérieure en systèmes avancés et réseaux, formerly l'École supérieure d'ingénieurs systèmes avancés Rhône-Alpes)
Pagora (l'École internationale du papier, de la communication imprimée et des biomatériaux, formerly l'École française de papeterie et des industries graphiques or EFPG)
Phelma (l'École de physique, d'électronique et des matériaux, formerly ENSPG, ENSERG and ENSEEG)
It was established in 1971, along with the other two French national polytechnic institutes.
View of "canal du midi", near one of the university campus
The banks of the Garonne close to the Toulouse City Center
The University of Toulouse (Université de Toulouse) is a Research and Higher Education Cluster (PRES) consisting of 14 institutions (universities and "grandes écoles"):[10]
^"Principal establishments of higher education". French Ministry of Higher Education and Research. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
^"Université de Bordeaux". Archived from the original on 2 May 2009.
^ a b"Université Bordeaux 1". Archived from the original on 19 August 2007.
^ a b"Université Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2". Archived from the original on 21 September 2005.
^ a b"Université Michel de Montaigne Bordeaux 3". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
^ a b"Université Montesquieu – Bordeaux IV". Archived from the original on 29 April 2009.
^See the article Un PRES pour Grenoble ? Archived 23 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine (in French, dated 2005-11-21, retrieved 2007-11-10) from the Joseph Fourier University web site and the articles Une nouvelle étape dans la construction de l'Université de Grenoble Archived 21 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine (in French, dated 2006-11-29, retrieved 2007-11-10) and Une vision partagée pour construire l'Université de Grenoble Archived 21 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine (in French, dated 2006-11-29, retrieved 2007-11-10) from "l'inFo-HEBDO N° 38". (le journal hebdomadaire de l'université Joseph-Fourier, edition of 04-09 December 2006), as well as the formal agreement AVANT PROJET DE PROTOCOLE DE CRÉATION DE L'UNIVERSITÉ DE GRENOBLE[permanent dead link] (in French, dated 2006-11-17, retrieved from the Grenoble Universités web site Archived 4 May 2009 at archive.today on 2007-11-10).
^The Grenoble Institute of Technology formerly consisted of nine engineering schools, but it subsequently reorganized (in French, retrieved 2007-11-10) into six schools.
^Although listed as a university by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, the National Polytechnic Institute of Lorraine and the two other instituts nationaux polytechniques are really university systems, as each one groups together a number of autonomous institutes of higher education. Because it consists exclusively of grandes écoles, which have selective admissions policies, the National Polytechnic Institute of Lorraine is qualitatively different from the French public universities.
^"List of Establishments belonging to the "Université de Toulouse" on the official website". Archived from the original on 14 December 2009. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
^Although listed as a university by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, the National Polytechnic Institute of Toulouse and the two other instituts nationaux polytechniques are really university systems, as each one groups together a number of autonomous institutes of higher education. Because it consists exclusively of grandes écoles, which have selective admissions policies, the National Polytechnic Institute of Toulouse is qualitatively different from the French public universities.