Creation of the Inria Centre at the University of Bordeaux

The emergence of world-class research universities is at the heart of public policy on higher education, research and innovation. Inria, almost all of whose research centers are partners of universities selected as Idex or I-Site, is resolutely committed to this dynamic, with the ambition of accelerating the construction of a scientific, technological and industrial leadership for France in and through digital technology, while at the same time being part of a European dynamic. This ambition is based on coherence and synergies between its national and regional policies. It is reflected in the Institute's commitment to the development of world-class research universities, at the heart of entrepreneurial and industrial ecosystems energized by digital technology.

Definitively accredited as an Initiative of Excellence in 2016, the University of Bordeaux is one of the key players in the national landscape of higher education, research and innovation in France, which has undergone profound change in recent years. Anchored in its region and connected to the best universities in Europe and the rest of the world, the University of Bordeaux is a place where complex, usable knowledge is produced and transmitted, enabling us to tackle the major socio-environmental and economic transitions of our time.

The agreement signed between the University of Bordeaux and Inria on July 20 opens a new chapter in the partnerships between the university and the research organization for the benefit of education, research and innovation in the digital sector.
The Université dof Bordeaux and Inria, through their Bordeaux - Sud-Ouest research center, have been collaborating for many years on research and innovation through their joint project teams in numerous fields (modeling, simulation, high-performance computing, cryptography, data science, neuroscience, digital public health, etc.) and several major structuring projects such as the IHU Liryc, world leader in cardiac rhythmology. The Bordeaux - Sud- Ouest research center has thus become the "Inria Center of the University of Bordeaux" to accelerate this momentum, while Inria continues to support the dynamics of the University of Pau Pays d'Adour through its antenna on the site.

The University of Bordeaux and Inria also collaborate on training through research, notably as part of the college of doctoral schools and graduate programs (EUR), and as part of national plans for future investments (PIA), as in the case of the e-FRAN Perseverons project aimed at the digital education of young people. Inria is also involved in a number of development projects at the University of Bordeaux, including IDéES (Augmented Campus for Transitions) and ExcellencES (InnovationS).

Convinced of the complementary nature of their models, the Université de Bordeaux and Inria wish to embark on a new stage of development based on two shared motivations:

• Acting together for the digital age, with a view to contributing, through their knowledge production and dissemination missions, to national and European objectives in terms of competitiveness, sovereignty and digital attractiveness;
• Agir ensemble par le numérique, with a view to mobilizing the digital lever to the benefit of science and its sharing, innovation, training and socio-environmental transitions.

The agreement, signed by Manuel Tunon de Lara, President of the University of Bordeaux, and Bruno Sportisse, CEO of Inria, will provide the institutions with a joint operational roadmap comprising a dozen concrete objectives, including the development of a Bordeaux University community in data science and artificial intelligence, the emergence of new multi-disciplinary projects, notably in digital health and the environment, the assertion of a "digital" identity for the campus, including a strengthened real estate offering, experimentation in Green-Tech within living labs, and the dissemination of scientific and technical culture.

All of this is designed to contribute to national and European ambitions in the digital sector, in particular through the creation of deep-tech start-ups, which will be facilitated and accelerated by an enhanced range of support services and improved operational efficiency.