Inauguration of the experimental platform at the Banyuls Oceanological Observatory
On December 11, the renovation of the Lacaze-Duthiers building at the Banyuls-sur-Mer Observatory was officially unveiled.
Sorbonne University raised more than 6.5 million euros for this extensive renovation, with two-thirds of the support of the Contrat de Plan Etat-Région (national and regional funding) and one third from the France Relance plan.
The renovations included updating and modernizing the Observatory building, as well as deploying experimentation platforms, and renovating space for teaching and support. This important development of the experimental platform will enrich the participation of Sorbonne University in the French arm of European Marine Biological Resource Center EMBRC. The new platform is designed to increase the competitiveness of the Observatory teams, as well as attracting scientists, companies and future business start-ups.
Sorbonne University contributes actively to the regional higher education and research policies
The Observatory offers courses in oceanography and marine biology, and welcomes students for bachelor's degrees in life sciences and master's degrees in marine sciences, integrative biology and physiology, molecular and cellular biology, and biodiversity-ecology-evolution. It also hosts participants in international internships and programs organized by various French and European universities.
With three oceanological observatories, in Banyuls-sur-Mer, Villefranche-sur-Mer and Roscoff, Sorbonne University is world-class in the field of marine sciences. As part of the EMBRC network, Sorbonne University and their partners maintain a high level of excellence of their equipment and facilities.
In this way, Sorbonne University's real estate policy coupled with its fruitful partnerships serve a key objective: to enable the region, a scientific sector and local research initiatives to shine for the benefit of society as a whole.
A renovation emblematic of a strong and successful partnership with local stakeholders
For this inauguration, the Presidency of Sorbonne University was represented by Stéphanie Bonneau, Vice-President of Education and Student Life, accompanied by Philippe Lebaron, Corporate Relations Advisor, David Michel, Director of Heritage and Logistics (DPL) and Sandrine Corcelle, Head of the DPL Project Management Department. The CNRS was represented by Jérôme Vitré, Occitanie Est regional delegate, as co-managers. The delegation was welcomed by Yves Desdevises, Director of l’Observatoire océanologique de Banyuls-sur-Mer.
The ceremony was attended by the following local partners of Sorbonne University:
- Jean-Marc Bassaget, sub-prefect of Céret
- Gérard Vilarem, deputy regional academic delegate for research and innovation (DRARI - Occitanie)
- Agnès Langevine, vice president of la région Occitanie / Pyrénées-Méditerranée in charge of climate, the Green Pact and sustainable housing
- Martine Rolland, advisor for the département des Pyrénées-Orientales, Delegate for Ecological Transition - Environment – Sea
- Jean-Michel Solé, maire de Banyuls-sur-Mer
- Samira Yacoubi, vice president for research at l’université de Perpignan Via Domitia