The French government has named the five university campus projects shortlisted for major capital investments in the second round of its “excellence initiative”, or Idex programme.
The Idex scheme is aimed at investing €7.7 billion in developing between five and ten French campuses, to bring them on a par with the most prestigious research institutions in the world. They will largely be joint projects between universities in the same area.
The shortlist includes projects in Aix-Marseille, Lorraine, Paris-Saclay and the Sorbonne in Paris.
They join four projects shortlisted in the first round of the Idex competition. All nine projects must finalise their proposals by 8 December. A final decision on funding will be made in February.
The shortlist was selected by an international panel led by Jean-Marc Rapp, president of the European University Association.