Management

Managing the university

UPPA is a young, fully operational university (established in 1970), it is multidisciplinary (excluding health sciences) and multisite (Pau, Bayonne, Anglet, Mont-de-Marsan, Tarbes, covering 3 departments and 2 regions). It is an institution that is firmly rooted in its region and has gained strength through its partnerships …

• with the socio-economic, cultural and scientific environment, the presence of major groups and a strong network of SME-SMI in the fields of chemistry, petroleum, aeronautics, agri-food, all playing an important part in development, especially in times of economic crisis;
• with local and regional government (agreements and concerted actions with Aquitaine Regional Council, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes and Hautes-Pyrénées General Councils, as well as the Urban Communities of Pau, Bayonne-Anglet-Biarritz, Lacq, Mont-de-Marsan, Tarbes and also the Midi-Pyrénées Regional Council).

UPPA is part of a great university hub in South-West France with its two major centres in Bordeaux and Toulouse. UPPA also has the advantage of its cross-border location which facilitates relations with the universities of Aragon (Zaragoza), the Basque Country (Bilbao, Vitoria, San Sebastian) and Navarra (Pamplona). It is part of an ambitious plan to modify the current situation, with many scattered and fairly informal relationships, so that these collaborations become more dynamic, more organised and better structured. These Spanish universities were successful in the recent Campus of Excellence call for projects. The Aragon and Navarra universities have confirmed that it is part of their strategy to develop relations with UPPA and Toulouse and the University of the Basque Country too has confirmed that it will develop relations with UPPA and Bordeaux.

Challenges and main objectives

Improving attractivity

• By meeting the needs of society and of the socio-economic and cultural environment
• By developing specific and recognised centres of excellence in “training-research” (in the form of Institutes) with support from established or emerging research structures in partnership with the CNRS, INRA, INRIA, creating suitably adapted subjects at Masters degree level and consolidating our policy of innovation and promoting research so as to complement work at the Bordeaux and Toulouse centres
• By encouraging a pro-active policy targeting international cooperation and particularly our cross-border relations (Aragon, Basque Country, Navarra).

Adapting the organisation

• By strengthening organisation into major academic fields taking into account the specific features of the sites and the current structure,
• By putting committees in place at each site (academic directors, local authorities, socio-economic partners, etc.),
• By introducing a strategic orientation committee (key figures from outside, socio-economic and scientific partners, partner universities overseas, etc.)
• By continuing the “UPPA/local government” management/liaison committee.