Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines

University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (French: Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines; UVSQ) is a French public university created in 1991, located in the department of Yvelines and, since 2002, in Hauts-de-Seine. It is a constituent university of the federal Paris-Saclay University.

Consisting of eight separate campuses, it is mainly located in the cities of Versailles, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Mantes-en-Yvelines, Vélizy-Villacoublay and Rambouillet. It is one of the five universities of the Academy of Versailles.

It is one of the four universités nouvelles (new universities) inaugurated in the Île-de-France region after the 2000 University project (French: plan université 2000). It has a population of 19,000 students, a staff of 752 people, and 1,389 teachers and researchers, as well as an additional 285 external teachers.

The university teaches courses in the fields of natural science, social science, political science, engineering, technology, and medicine. It also provides interdisciplinary courses covering the relationships across economics, ethics, natural environment and sustainable development.

History

Origin

A branch of the Pierre and Marie Curie University was created in Versailles in 1987 to increase the university's capacity for enrollment. It focused on the study of science, and merged with the law annex of Paris West University Nanterre La Défense established two years earlier at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. In the 1990s, the Ministry of Higher Education and Research developed the French higher education modernization plan called Université 2000, and created eight unaffiliated universities, known as new universities. The Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University was officially created on 22 July 1991 from the relocation of the two centres of Pierre and Marie Curie University and Paris West University Nanterre La Défense.

A new status

In 1996, the status of the university was changed by law. The law, legislated in 1984, required that the university have elected officials. Michel Garnier was its first president, and created committees that included a board of directors, a scientific council, and a student life council. Dominique Gentile was the second president, and created new annexes such as the Ph.D. School, the University Institute of Technology, and Professionalized University Institute of art, science, culture, and multimedia. During this period, the College of Medicine of Paris-Descartes University was relocated to Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and renamed "Paris-Île-de-France-Ouest" (PIFO). It is part of the UVSQ today. Increasing tertiary enrollment in France from 1997 to 2002 increased enrollment at UVSQ.

2002 to present

In 2002, Sylvie Faucheux became the president of the university. The university applied the réforme LMD to its courses in 2004.

The CFA d'Alembert was created at Guyancourt in 2006. In 2007, Unité de formation et de recherche médicale Paris Île-de-France Ouest (PIFO) moved to Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, and UniverSud Paris was established, with Paris-Sud 11 University, École Normale Supérieure de Cachan, and UVSQ as members, among others. In 2010, the humanities and social sciences college of UVSQ was split into four: the institut des études culturelles (cultural studies institute), institut supérieur de management (management institute), institut de langues et études internationales (languages and international studies institute), and social sciences research institute. The university expanded to develop the plateau de Saclay (in English European Silicon Valley), an area with world-class universities and research centers. As a founding member of UniverSud Paris, UVSQ supported scientific cooperation and the Paris-Saclay research-intensive cluster. A partnership with Cergy-Pontoise University was considered in 2011, and Université du grand ouest parisien was created in February 2012. An Institut d'études politiques commons for both universities is being studied.

Buildings and sites

Campus

The university is primarily located on four campuses in Versailles, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Mantes-en-Yvelines and Vélizy-Villacoublay / Rambouillet, but has eight campuses in total, throughout two departments and seven communes; together these cover 160,000 m2. At the Versailles campus, there is the sciences college and ISTY, the computer science college. At the campus of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, there are the disciplines of law and political sciences, social sciences, medical research and the sciences of the universe observatory. Another campus of the sciences college is located at Le Chesnay. Vélizy-Villacoublay, which includes the IUT of Vélizy and Rambouillet, is one of its annexes. The campus of Mantes-la-Jolie houses the IUT of Mantes-en-Yvelines. Mantes-la-ville includes the mechatronics college of ISTY.

Other graduate school and institutes

The Unité de formation et de recherche médicale Paris Île-de-France Ouest (in English Paris Île-de-France West Medical Research and Training Departement; also called PIFO or Paris Ouest) is a faculty department of UVSQ. PIFO left Paris Descartes University to join UVSQ between 2001 and 2002, and is located in Guyancourt. Associated hospitals include the Raymond Poincaré University Hospital, Ambroise-Paré Hospital, Foch Hospital, André Mignot Hospital, Poissy St-Germain Hospital, Sainte-Périne Hospital and René Huguenin Hospital. Two schools of midwifery are located in the PIFO department.

Observatory

The observatory, also called OVSQ, supports sustainable development, an important goal for UVSQ. It is located on Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines campus, and emphasizes observing, teaching, and supporting the environment. OVSQ researches environmental changes, including its sanitary and socioeconomic impacts, and is involved in spatial programs supported by the CNES (French National Center of Spatial Studies) and the ESA (European Spatial Agency). OVSQ supports international projects that monitor the atmosphere, and develops instruments to observe and analyze natural and social phenomena. To prepare future generations in the field of sustainable development, the OVSQ provides an interdisciplinary culture to the students comprising economics, humanities, and environmental studies. In France, OVSQ partners with Fondaterra (European foundation for sustainable territories) and the international industrial professorship, Econoving, to develop sustainable environments and eco-innovations. The OVSQ partners with the Pierre-Simon Laplace Institute, located in Guyancourt. The observatory contributes to climate study, and supports the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The OVSQ allows the university to be an important part of the Climate-Environment-Energy center of the Paris-Saclay Campus. The observatory also contributes to the European community of Knowledge and Innovation dedicated to the Climate (KIC).

Administration and organization

Governance

Like all the établissement public à caractère scientifique, culturel et professionnel, the university is managed by a president elected by a board of directors, who is a member of the three councils of the university. Staff representatives (including academics) and external representatives on the boards of the university have a term of four years, and student members are elected for two years.

The board of directors, which has 30 members, determines the policy of the institution, and is responsible for its budget, jobs repartition, and the approval of agreements and conventions.

The academic and university life council, which has 40 members, is responsible for initial training and continuing education, and helps the board of directors by asking for the accreditation of new courses.

The scientific council, which has 40 members, is responsible for research activities and development, and gives its opinion on changing Ph.D. courses.

Presidents

Since its foundation in 1991, there have been six presidents at Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University.

Michel Garnier was the first President of UVSQ from 1991 to 1997. He is an alumnus of the Ecole Normale Supérieure, professor of geophysics, electronics and signal processing. As President of Pierre and Marie Curie University, he created at first an office in Versailles in 1987 called the Faculty of Science. He was then president of UVSQ from 1991 to 1997.

Dominique Gentile served as President of UVSQ from 1997 to 2002. University professor and qualified teacher of physical sciences, he began his career by working successively in the laboratory of fluid mechanics, then in the laboratory of physical mechanics. First professor and then vice-president, he became president of UVSQ in 1997. In 2003 he was director of L’Institut National des Sciences et Techniques Nucléaires. In 2008, he was director of l’Institut des sciences et techniques des Yvelines (Isty), a public engineering school at UVSQ.

Sylvie Faucheux is a French professor who served as the third president of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University, from 2002 until 2012. She is an academic, a French politician, and a specialist in environmental economics and sustainable development. In December 2002, she was elected President of UVSQ. She was reelected in 2008 for a four-year term until April 12, 2012. She was director of the Academy of Dijon from October 2012 to February 2014.

Jean-Luc Vayssière, Professor of Biology, was the fourth president of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University, from 2012 until April 2016. Before being elected president, he was chief of staff at UVSQ between 2004 and 2008. From 2008, he was vice-president of the board of directors.

Academic profile

Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University is divided into ten components. There are six faculties, two University Institutes of Technology, one School of Engineering and one Observatory.

Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University is also managing three schools in partnership with other institutions.

Courses

In 2012, Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University offers 50 Bachelor's degree, 53 diplôme universitaire (university degree), 10 E-learning courses, 95 Master's degree, 13 diplôme universitaire de technologie (university diploma in Technology), 2 Diplôme d'Ingénieur, 1 Doctor of Medicine degree, 1 Midwifery degree and 2 diplôme d'accès aux études universitaires (access to university degree).

In 2012, the Bachelor's degree is issued in four areas: arts-humanities-languages, law-economy-management, humanities and social sciences, and science-technology-health. In 2012, the Master's degree is issued in five areas: arts-humanities-languages, law-economy-management, humanities and social sciences, environmental science-territory and economics, and science-technology-health.

Research

Research activities at the university are done in 35 laboratories. Twelve of them are affiliated with the French National Centre for Scientific Research. It has six departments and a total of nearly 950 researchers and 715 PhD students.

The Chemistry, Physics, Materials, Renewable Energy Department, center for the study of materials and solids hosted in 2013 the Institut de la fiabilité des matériaux pour la mécatronique et les systèmes complexes (Institute of materials reliability for complex systems and mechatronics).

The Environment and Sustainable Development department covers the sciences, humanities, economics, and medicine.

The Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering Sciences department examines two themes: mathematics and computer and systems engineering.

The Biology and Health department includes about 300 researchers and 1,200 medical students. Research includes biology, medicine, epidemiology and population health. It is attached to several hospitals, including Ambroise-Paré, Raymond Poincaré, Sainte-Périne, and Foch.

The Cultures, Humanities and Sciences department has three main areas of research and training: languages and civilizations, culture and business, and social sciences.

The Institutions and Organizations department focuses on management science, law and political science.

The Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace (Pierre-Simon Laplace Institut), a research institute in global environmental sciences, located at Guyancourt, has six laboratories, three of which are under partial guardianship of UVSQ: terrestrial and planetary study center, aeronomy department, and laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (Climate science and environment laboratory).

Student life

Direction de la Vie Étudiante

It advises and supports new foreign students, helps students find housing, and hosts students' initiatives, like culture service, sports service, and associations service. The DVE is also responsible for managing spaces where students eat lunch, take breaks, and work. These spaces are located on the first floor of Buffon building at Versailles campus and at Vauban building on the Saint Quentin en Yvelines campus. The DVE provides students discounts for cultural events. There is a cultural program in the Yvelines each semester and cinemas, theatres, and concerts. In Guyancourt, Versailles and Vélizy campuses, students have access to 20 sports activities.

CROUS

The CROUS (Centres Régionaux des Oeuvres Universitaires et Scolaires) is a service to improve student life. Every student can access its services. CROUS can help students find accommodation closer to their universities. In 2011, more than 8,500 students were housed in 25 residences managed by the CROUS. The CROUS awards scholarships to students, and has caseworkers who help students. On campus, there are restaurants managed by the CROUS, where students have meals at reduced prices. The CROUS provides free job or internship advertisements for students.

Financial help

Students can apply between 15 January and 30 April to receive financial aid for the next school year. Criteria include household income, number of dependent children, and distance from campus. There is aid for most qualifying applicants in preparing to take competitive exam to work on public services. Students can apply for bank loans guaranteed by the French state, and do not need guarantees.

Student associations

Approximately 30 associations offer students activities in science, social sciences and humanities, law, medicine, humanitarian-social-environment, handicap, international, communication, reflexion, student involvement and mechatronics. It is easy to join in or to create an association. Being in an association gives the students the opportunity to imagine and develop specific unprofitable projects. Associations can present these projects and receive a grant from the FSDIE commission (Solidarity and Development Fundings for Student Initiatives). This funding partly is from the registration fees from the students each year. This commission gathers three to four times a year (September, November, March and June) and votes to award grants to projects. Other financial partners of the university can contribute to help the associations finance projects. In order to give the students a place to gather and elaborate projects or to entertain, a student house opened in 2013 on the Versailles campus. It was designed by architect Fabienne Bulle, and has an area of 1,730 m2. This building accommodates local trade and cultural activities, a multipurpose room, an art room, service areas, cafeteria, and associations offices.

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