Aix-Marseille University’s flagship value, internationalisation, permeates all its activities thanks to its exceptional geographical position at the heart of the Mediterranean basin, but also to the links it has forged in Europe and beyond. Aix-Marseille University has always been committed to contributing to the development of the Mediterranean higher education and research area, through its status as a founding member of the Téthys Consortium of Euro-Mediterranean Universities. Alongside 70 universities from 19 countries bordering the Mediterranean, it is building a place of cultural and scientific exchange for the benefit of young people on both sides of the Mediterranean. These exchanges will continue on a European scale from 2019 with the establishment of the CIVIS European University under the Erasmus + programme. Together, the 10 universities are shaping the university of the future by interconnecting students, administrative, scientific and technical colleagues through mobility opportunities for all. This university of the future is also being built by exchanging and developing projects with society in the Open Labs. Citizen involvement to meet societal challenges in an innovative and inclusive way!

Resolutely European, AMU has been established in Brussels since 2016 with the opening of a permanent representation office at the European Union. This unique position in France facilitates contacts with the institutions and allows the AMU to keep abreast of the latest European research news. This is a real benefit both for AMU’s research units and institutes, which can take part in collaborative programmes such as Horizon Europe and Erasmus +, and for the university itself, which can thus increase its visibility and influence.

Aix-Marseille University implements a policy aimed at supporting research and innovation by accompanying researchers throughout their careers. This support is significant and has produced excellent results: with 117 projects accepted and €71.55 million obtained under the H2020 programme, AMU is the leading French university in the health programme and the second in terms of grants obtained. The excellence of the research carried out in its laboratories is widely recognised: more than 80 researchers and teacher-researchers have been awarded ERC (European Research Council) grants, some more than once! These renewed successes led to the creation of the CERCle (the ERC Club) in May 2017, again with a view to supporting applications, but also to strengthening the attractiveness of the Aix-Marseille site and its position as a major European research centre. It recently inaugurated the territory’s first Chair dedicated to health, for medical research, the training of caregivers and the quality of life of patients in oncology and neurology. In addition to this fruitful field, its open archives (HAL AMU) host the scientific production of its researchers and its University Presses ensure a wide dissemination of its research results. Ideas abound and boldness grows!