STRUCTURING PROJECTS

University of Montpellier is accredited as a University Innovation Cluster (PUI, Pôle Universitaire d’Innovation) that helps stimulate the creation of startups, promote innovation within companies, and enhance the overall appeal of the Montpellier metropolitan area to outside companies. The university launched INITIUM, its academic incubator that assists students, PhD candidates, and researchers with innovative projects within the scope of the I-SITE Excellence Program (formerly MUSE) relating to three pillars: Feed – Care – Protect.

The MIRANDA Institute places the Montpellier Métropole area on the international scene for the arts, culture, and heritage by breaking down barriers between disciplines, approaches and players through a research and creation process. This program is led by Paul Valery University Montpellier 3, winner of the Excellence In All Its Forms (Excellences sous toutes ses forms) call for projects as part of the France 2030 development plan, in collaboration with the Montpellier National School of Architecture and in partnership with the Montpellier Higher School of Fine Arts, the Montpellier National Higher School of Dramatic Art, and the Montpellier National Choreographic Center (ICI-CCN).

The ExposUM Institute is a University of Montpellier initiative whose aim is to study, provide training, and promote interaction between science and society on the environmental determinants of human health. Winner of the ExcellenceS call for projects, ExposUM is dedicated to investigating environmental risks and their effects on health in order to generate and apply knowledge in global mitigation strategies, as well as to pass on this knowledge to others.

Established in 2011, LabEx Entreprendre – of which Montpellier Métropole is a partner – comprises approximately 200 researchers from six research teams in Law, Economics, and Management. This excellence laboratory focuses on entrepreneurship and innovation in relation to sustainable development issues. LabEx Entreprendre offers research programs and chairs, and contributes to research training and knowledge transfer. The lab plays an active role in the local and national entrepreneurial ecosystem, contributing to innovation and the creation of academic spin-offs.

#DigitAG, the Digital Agriculture Convergence Institute, is one of France’s ten Convergence Institutes, funded as part of the nationwide Investments for the Future program. The only Convergence Institute dedicated to agriculture, #DigitAG is also the only Convergence Institute in the Occitanie region, and the first Montpellier site. Spearheaded by INRAE, this program fosters interdisciplinary research involving agricultural sciences, engineering sciences, and social and management sciences (economics, sociology, and management), with the ultimate goal of producing the scientific and educational foundations required to ensure the smooth deployment of digital agriculture in France, Europe, and the southern hemisphere.

These projects illustrate Montpellier Métropole's commitment to research, innovation, and the creation of cutting-edge expertise, helping to forge a promising future in higher education and research.