Science and society

The University of Bordeaux is committed to the transmission and dissemination of knowledge. One of its missions is to promote dialogue with society beyond its campus walls, to reach the audiences most alienated from the academic world.

Photo : Transmission of knowledge is a University of Bordeaux core mission: here during Nuit européenne des chercheurs (European Night for Researchers) © Gautier Dufau
Transmission of knowledge is a University of Bordeaux core mission: here during Nuit européenne des chercheurs (European Night for Researchers) © Gautier Dufau

In view of the major societal and environmental challenges, the production, transmission and dissemination of knowledge are crucial for the University of Bordeaux.

Our mission is not only to develop and teach knowledge that will enable us to face the challenges of our time, but also to collectively design and experiment concrete solutions, in direct contact with the region's stakeholders.

"Science with and for society - SAPS" label

The SUNSET project for "Science with and for a society in transition" has just been awarded the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation's label within the framework of the 2022 call for proposals.

The SAPS label aims to support innovative projects that encourage the development of new forms of dialogue between science, research and society and to strengthen local networks.

The project will be coordinated by Philippe Moretto, recently appointed as the Science and society project manager, and will aim to better coordinate the numerous initiatives carried out within the university for both its public territories, by associating the actors of Scientific, Technical and Industrial Culture (CSTI) as well as its partners.

The university's SAPS project has two strategic objectives: 

  1. raise the public's awareness, as widely and as closely as possible, of scientific method and its value in terms of knowledge output, with a focus on inclusion and democratisation, especially targeting the audiences and regions furthest from the academic world,
  2. co-construct the conditions for an ongoing debate on a local scale, leading to informed choices regarding major transition challenges, via the joint experimentation of solutions and sharing of scientific expertise.

Learn more about the SAPS label

A strategy developed jointly with local partners

The University of Bordeaux has developed the SUNSET strategy with its partners, including its academic partners, public scientific and technological institutes (CNRS, Inserm, INRAE, INRIA) and associate institutes (Bordeaux INP, Sciences Po Bordeaux), the Académie de Bordeaux education authority, Cap Sciences as well as the Bordeaux Metropolitan administration and local authorities.

Outreach actions with university involvement

  • Vendanges du savoir

    The Vendanges du savoir (literally, 'Harvests of knowledge') is a cultural event sponsored by the University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux Montaigne University and La Cité du Vin, at the instigation of the Institute of Vine and Wine Science (ISVV).

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  • Fête de la Science

    Every year, the University of Bordeaux takes part in the "Fête de la Science" science festival on its various campuses and in its research laboratories, in particular during the Bordeaux Science Circuit (Circuit scientifique bordelais).

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  • European Researchers' Night

    The European Researchers' Night is held every year at Cap Sciences. A hundred or so Bordeaux researchers spend the evening exchanging with the general public.

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  • Rencards du savoir

    The Rencards du savoir (literally, 'Knowledge meet-ups') invite the general public to take an interest in Bordeaux research, thanks to a yearly programme of debates on current topics, held in local cafés and cinemas.

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  • My thesis in 180 seconds

    Presenting your research topic in three minutes flat with the help of a single slide: that's the challenge set by the national popular science sompetition "MT180s - My thesis in 180 seconds", only open to doctoral students.

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  • The Conversation

    Since 2020, the University of Bordeaux has been a partner of The Conversation, an independent online source of news and current affairs. See here for a list of the different articles written by authors from the Bordeaux campus.

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  • La Maison pour la Science: a centre for science in Aquitaine

    Located at the heart of the University of Bordeaux, La Maison pour la Science, a centre for science in Aquitaine, is a lever of knowledge and education, the scientific and industrial community's commitment to schools and learning institutions as well as a vector for human and cultural progress for all generations.

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  • Scientific collections

    The University of Bordeaux has a substantial number of scientific collections comprising reference specimens or scientific instruments required for research and teaching activities on the various campuses of the university, at the Floirac Observatory or at the Bordeaux Museum of Ethnography.

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