Circle U. Hubs and Platforms

To tackle modern societal challenges, the Circle U. European university has structured itself around ‘Knowledge Hubs’ and ‘Platforms’ which aim to propose collective and structural responses to transform Higher Education and Research in Europe. These ‘hubs’ were conceived as spaces bringing together students, teacher-researchers and external partners around interdisciplinary themes. They form the structure of Circle U. and drive the creation of numerous programmes and activities within the Alliance.

Three key focus areas

Circle U. is focusing on three key themes, also called ‘knowledge hubs’. These hubs are led by academic chairs appointed by each of the Circle U. members for their respective universities :

• Climate: to respond to the challenges brought about by climate change, the consequences of which we can observe day by day.
  UPCité Chair: Xiaofeng Guo
• Democracy: to strengthen civic engagement and anchor the values of democracy that recent conflicts have called into question at the very borders of Europe.
  UPCité Chair: Sophie Coeuré
• Global Health: to develop strategies aimed at providing the best healthcare for all in a context of alarming global and local inequalities in this field.
  Academic Director : Jean-Philippe Empana
  UPCité Chair: Pauline Chauvin

Four cross-cutting themes

In addition, Circle U. has developed “platforms” that can be described as cross-cutting creative spaces within the framework of Circle U. knowledge Hubs. In particular, they enable the joint development of a variety of initiatives around the following themes:

• Multilingualism and Interculturality: In an increasingly globalised world, universities need to train both their students and their staff to face our society challenges. Circle U.’s aim is to deploy a common catalog of linguistic and cultural courses and activities that will enable its entire community to develop intercultural skills and understanding.
  UPCité Chair: Karine Paris
• Pedagogical innovation: University activities must now be designed in response to the major challenges facing our society. Circle U. encourages its community to work together to create innovative courses on the major interdisciplinary themes it has identified.
  UPCité Chair: Mariam Haspekian
• Entrepreneurship/Incubator: In addition to training, it is crucial to equip students with the confidence they need to be a driving force as they develop new projects. Circle U. aims to foster this by creating an inCUbator that will enable them to build up their projects in conjuction with its associated partners
  UPCité Chair: Nicolas Loménie
• Support for young researchers: To encourage networking and boost the careers of its young researchers, Circle U. intends to develop programmes and a space for networking, exchange and co-creation especially for them.

For more information, visit the Circle U. website.