Science with and for society
Science for society
Université Gustave Eiffel is committed to making the knowledge generated by its laboratories and training courses accessible to society. To this end, it develops and proposes various initiatives of scientific, technical and industrial culture with the aim of :
- Promoting awareness of the professions and research work
- Contributing to the democratisation of knowledge and equal opportunities
- Promoting critical thinking and enabling citizens to become active in society
By joining The Conversation France, France online media, Université Gustave Eiffel is one of the hundred or so French higher education and research establishments that offer articles written by scientists for the general public. The collaboration between scientists and journalists makes it possible to shed light on current events with reliable, research-based expertise.
Discover the articles by our scientists published in The Conversation France
Making science accessible to as many people as possible is the ambition of the Reflexscience web page of Université Gustave Eiffel. This page puts the knowledge of its scientists at your fingertips. It give you the opportunity to read, see and listen to a wide variety of multimedia resources and to participate in the science and society events offered by the university.
Meet and discuss with scientists
Scientists from Université Gustave Eiffel meet citizens on the campuses in different areas. This provides the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas on science and society and to discover scientific work, the various research professions and the scientific equipment in their laboratories.
Les portes de l’auditorium de la bibliothèque Georges Pérec de Champs-sur-Marne s’ouvrent, le samedi après-midi, pour accueillir les adultes ayant soif de cultures et d’échanges. Tout le long de l’année universitaire, une quinzaine de conférences est proposée par l’Université à tout âge.
Access the University programme at any age (Reflexscience)
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Université Gustave Eiffel has joined forces with the Paris-Vallée de la Marne agglomeration to jointly develop a programme of conferences, debates and workshops, entitled La Fabrique des Savoirs. This initiative combines science and society, and is supported by several municipalities in the agglomeration and the local community network. It encourages the inhabitants of eastern Paris and scientists from the university to come together.
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Université Gustave Eiffel is present at the annual Science Festival on its various campuses. This is an opportunity for the university's scientists to share their enthusiasm for science, technology and innovation with people of all ages.
More about the science festival at Université Gustave Eiffel (Reflexscience)
Giving all young people equal opportunities to access knowledge
Young people are the citizens of tomorrow. They should therefore be considered as important actors in our society and be informed from an early age about the current challenges facing society. The university is committed, through a series of actions aimed at young people, to :
- Acting for equal opportunities
- Raising young people's awareness of scientific processes and careers in science
- Developing their critical eye and their power to act
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To support this, Université Gustave Eiffel provides secondary school students, their teachers and their parents with various multimedia educational resources. This is an opportunity to discover a scientific theme with the PETIT CAMPUS collection, to discover research careers with our PORTRAITS de SCIENTIFIQUES series, to watch an animated film from the ELEA Expérimente collection, to take part with their class in a “1 class - 1 scientist - 1 hour” workshop or to come and do their middle-school work experience at the university.
See all of our collections and our #Youth activities on reflexsience.fr
Science with society
Faced with the complexity of current societal challenges (energy, ecological, digital, economic and social transitions), the research world, questioned by society, is aiming for greater sharing of scientific results, greater transparency of scientific processes and the emergence of new forms of knowledge development. Université Gustave Eiffel is committed to opening up to society, particularly through the promotion and support of participatory research and expertise.
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In order to address public concerns about health and environmental risks, Université Gustave Eiffel joined forces with Anses, BRGM, Ifremer, Ineris, INRAE, IRSN and Santé publique France to sign a charter in November 2020 to open up to society. By adopting this charter, the eight establishments renewed their commitment to sharing their values in order to provide a better understanding of risks and the means of preventing and reducing them.
The signatories of the charter agree to enrich their research work and expertise through increased dialogue with society and to build on openness to society in their institutions.
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Contribution to the recognition and collaborations with third-sector research
Université Gustave Eiffel, through the Laboratory on Instrumentation, Scientific Informatics and Simulation (LISIS) and the Techniques, Territories and Societies Laboratory (LATTS), together with ALLISS,the French Science-Society Alliance, is committed to the recognition and opening up of the French research and innovation system to third-sector research, i.e. to society and to the various stakeholders.
Find out more about the actions carried out by the French Science-Society Alliance
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Encouraging participatory research
To encourage participatory research within the university, combining academic knowledge and citizen knowledge, I-SITE-FUTURE opened a call for Citizen Researcher projects. Ten projects were set up involving eight university laboratories and third-sector research partners, such as non-profit organisations and a local authority.
See the winners of the 2021 call for Citizen Researcher projects
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The “Révèle ta Science” (Discover your Science) participatory workshops are a good example of this. These workshops were designed according to the principles of collective intelligence and design thinking, and aim to highlight the knowledge of citizens and encourage the co-construction of solutions adapted to the issue in question. They can be carried out with different audiences, in different locations and for different areas of research.
Find out about the possibility of setting up a participatory workshop (Reflexscience)