?The Idea Is To Open Up?
13 Jun, 2007 06:02 pm
Val?rie P?cresse, the French minister of Higher Education and Research in the government of the newly elected center right president Nicolas Sarkozy, answers Scitizen?s questions on upcoming reforms at the third European Research and Innovation Exhibition in Paris.
You would like to tighten the links between the research community and companies. How will you proceed?The president of the Republic has asked us to think about the implementation of university “zones franches” (limited geographic areas that benefit from tax incentives for investment) so that students can create their own companies even though they are still students, materialize the ideas that they already had during their research, done at the university with their teachers. That is, we want to develop the ability to take charge, to innovate, in conjunction with research in the youthful and university mindset.
And regarding innovation and research?
Regarding innovation and research we want to establish much more direct partnerships with companies and basic research. There are already tools available within the research agreement. We visited the Carnot institutes that allow partnership measures between companies and basic research. There are also advanced thematic research networks that are new tools that will allow us to put together the means for many different research centers and universities. The idea is to open up. And truly the entirety of my ministry will be at the same time a dual, maybe triple policy: open up, finance and give the means to finance, and at the same time provoke young people to enter the scientific field to reinvigorate the masters, reinvigorate the careers of young researchers and young MA holders. This is also a project we will launch.
Will this be in the framework of the law being prepared for July?
No, it’s an idea for the long term that is part of a larger project of reforms of higher study and research that we are a part of that has been ongoing for several years.
The July law is the basis of a larger reform of higher studies. It is in relation to the universities. It will not take into account research, except to the extent that the university invests in research. The organization of universities will be the focus of this law, the way they will be run, how recruiting teachers will take place, how the budgets will be managed, and how assets will be managed. What’s the idea behind this law? It’s to give French universities a way of working that is inspired by other reputable European universities, ones that are more reactive in the battle for intellectual capital that we’re fighting. And what is this reform aiming at? Clearly in the end it’s aiming at improving quality and creating better diplomas for our students, as well as a better professional insertion.
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