Founding members
The institutional context
The Science Together portal is a Sorbonne University Alliance (SUA) initiative to inform the public about researchers’ projects based on a citizen science approach and to encourage the public to contribute to them.
The portal was designed and is now being implemented through projects led by two of SUA’s founding institutions: the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (MNHN) and Sorbonne University. The portal is being set up by a project team under the supervision of a steering committee from the MNHN with representatives from the two founding institutions.
The founding institutions are represented by their vice-presidents of research and by the directors of the six interdisciplinary institutes from the SUA. The portal is funded by Sorbonne University’s initiative of excellence (Idex) SUPER as part of the French government’s support for the Investissements d’Avenir programs. The portal was designed and technically developed in part through an MNHN project called 65 Millions d’Observateurs (65MO), which aims to disseminate scientific culture in society through citizen science.
The SUA brings together 10 partners who signed the founding agreement for a holistic approach to all fields of knowledge.
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Six members covering all the fields in the arts, medicine, sciences and engineering, technology and
management:
Sorbonne University; the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (MNHN); INSEAD; the University of Technology of Compiègne (UTC); the Pôle supérieur d’enseignement artistique Paris Boulogne-Billancourt (PSPBB); the Centre international d’études pédagogiques (CIEP); - Four research organizations involved in the SUPER Idex: CNRS, Inria, Inserm and IRD.
The Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle is a public cultural, scientific and professional institution under the dual supervision of the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation and the Ministry for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition. With 13 sites across France, 11 of which are open to the general public, the MNHN is also committed to scientific research, national and international expertise and higher education. It also houses extremely valuable collections of specimens from the natural world.
The MNHN straddles the divide between earth, life and human sciences, and has been focusing daily – for nearly 400 years – on the study of nature and its interactions with the human species. More relevant than ever, the MNHN is harnessing its rich history to work for the future. The MNHN’s recognized expertise in citizen science has led it to dedicate an entity within itself to coordinating participatory research projects. The entity is called "Vigie-Muséum".
Muséum national d'histoire naturelle website
Sorbonne University was founded on January 1, 2018, through the merger of the Paris-Sorbonne University and the Pierre and Marie Curie University.
One of the French research-intensive universities, Sorbonne University covers the full range of fields within the arts, medicine and sciences. To address the challenges of the 21ST century, Sorbonne University’s research teams are committed to both the core of their disciplines and interdisciplinary approaches. Having close ties with research, the courses taught at Sorbonne University embrace new forms of pedagogy, with a focus on teaching graduate students the skills to learn and keep learning throughout life.
Its broader mission is to disseminate to wider society our essential heritage, as well as the new knowledge the university develops. Based in the heart of Paris, Sorbonne University is developing new forms of collaboration with all stakeholders in its ecosystem, whether in Paris, France, Europe or the world.
Sorbonne University’s interdisciplinary institutes
Sorbonne University has created six interdisciplinary institutes whose purpose is to contribute solutions to contemporary societal challenges through research, education and creating links between science, culture and society:
A Charter of Commitments and Values
The portal participants and stakeholders have all undertaken to comply with common values laid down in a charter, including:
- Promoting scientific culture and open science
- Promoting cooperation and the production of global commons
- Having respect for stakeholder autonomy and expressing mutual recognition
- Knowledge diversity and stakeholder empowerment