What is an Interdisciplinary Thematic Institute?
The University of Strasbourg's Interdisciplinary Thematic Institutes (Instituts thématiques interdisciplinaires – ITI) bring together researchers, PhD students, undergraduate and postgraduate students, and academic staff to tackle major scientific and societal challenges through cross-disciplinary projects.
Accredited in 2021, the ITIs build on the legacy of the Écoles universitaires de recherche and the Laboratoires d’excellence (LabEx), and form a key pillar of the University of Strasbourg’s research strategy. The university's 15 innovative ITIs focus on areas such as the environment, energy, health and wellbeing, digital technology and artificial intelligence, democracy and critical thinking, and interculturality.
The ITIs involve all of the university's doctoral schools, more than two-thirds of its faculties, and around three-quarters of its laboratories.
They work closely with the French National Centre for Scientific Research (Centre national de la recherche scientifique – CNRS) and the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale – Inserm). Together, these partnerships support innovative training programmes closely linked to cutting-edge research.
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What is the objective?
Each Interdisciplinary Thematic Institute combines a research cluster with a training programme ranging from Master's level to PhD level. By closely connecting research and education, the ITIs create a highly international environment where researchers, academic staff and students work and learn together.
Rooted in major interdisciplinary scientific communities, the ITIs bring together researchers from diverse fields around shared challenges. This exchange of perspectives and expertise sparks new ideas, drives innovation and opens up new ways of understanding and addressing complex challenges.
The graduate programmes embedded in the ITIs offer innovative teaching approaches that are closely linked to the latest research developments. Students take part in hands-on projects, discover interdisciplinary research and develop a broad understanding of societal challenges.
By combining research and education around shared goals, the ITIs offer an engaging academic experience and help prepare the next generation to tackle the challenges of tomorrow.
Four key priorities
- Interdisciplinarity: bringing together disciplines and scientific methods to enable breakthrough discoveries
- Research-based education: offering students a new type of learning experience through immersion in research, while supporting their involvement and success
- Internationalisation: strengthening international visibility, attractiveness and network-based cooperation
- Major societal challenges: taking a broad, interdisciplinary approach to the major scientific challenges of the 21st century
The University of Strasbourg's 15 Interdisciplinary Thematic Institutes
See the full list of Interdisciplinary Thematic Institutes
Funding
The Interdisciplinary Thematic Institutes are part of the Initiative of Excellence (IdEx), which brings together the University of Strasbourg, CNRS and Inserm. They are co-funded through IdEx and the France 2030 programme.
