Aix-Marseille Université deploys its international strategy with a particular focus on the Europe-Mediterranean-Africa axis. This strategic orientation corresponds to an ambition: to contribute to the strengthening of the Mediterranean higher education and research area, taking into account the scientific and societal challenges specific to the region. To achieve this, AMU relies on bilateral cooperation, networks and structuring actions (European programs).
The Téthys network: AMU's international strategy in the Mediterranean
As part of its Mediterranean strategy, AMU promotes several thematic networks around scientific issues and challenges such as climate (Mediterranean Experts on Climate and Environmental Change), law (Ecole Doctorale des Juristes Méditerranéens) and Mediterranean studies.
Alongside these thematic networks, Téthys, of which AMU is a founding member, is a highly original institutional network.
It was in the context of the Barcelona Conference that the Téthys Consortium of Euro-Mediterranean Universities was created on January 28, 2000, to contribute to the Euro-Mediterranean partnership in higher education and research, with the aim of ensuring peace, stability and prosperity in the region. Téthys, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2020, currently comprises over 70 universities from 19 countries. It brings together the leading universities in the Maghreb, Mashreq and Southern Europe. This partnership makes it possible to undertake large-scale actions, supported by national and European programs, for the benefit of young people on both sides of the Mediterranean. In the Mediterranean, as in the rest of the world, universities must be vectors of development, mobility and innovation.
The network's main missions are to :
- Build a forum for cultural and scientific exchange, making a strong and lasting contribution to the construction of the Euro-Mediterranean Higher Education, Research and Innovation Area;
- Promote cooperation between Euro-Mediterranean countries by sharing knowledge, harmonizing skills and exchanging cultures;
Each year, all the universities in the network come together for a general assembly, held in a different country each time. This event is an opportunity to present initiatives, organize exchanges and invite partner institutions: the European Union and the UPM, academic networks and associations.
To find out more about the network, visit the Téthys website.
European projects
Through the Téthys network, the DRI's Strategic Projects and Networks Pole assists teacher-researchers in submitting their projects.
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The Yabda project - Strengthening Relations between Higher Education and the Socio-Economic World - is a European Erasmus+ capacity-building project. It involves 14 partners, including Aix-Marseille Université. Its duration is 36 months. Its budget is €729,170. The aim of the Yabda project is to respond to the strong need for capacity building in partner universities to promote entrepreneurship, by helping to build a network of future entrepreneurs in the regional and international ecosystem, with a multiplier effect in the Maghreb region. |
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The +Resilient is a European Interreg Med project. It involves 12 partners, including Aix-Marseille Université. Its duration is 48 months. Its budget is €3,578,529. The aim of the project is to respond to the need for social innovation and promote the social competitiveness of SMEs working in the social economy sector, while integrating the use of open data to create and promote new jobs and develop the innovative aspect of the social sector. |
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The SATELIT project - Solutions Académiques pour le Territoire Euro-méditerranéen Leader d'Innovations et Transferts technologiques d'excellence - is an Erasmus+ capacity-building project involving 21 partners (universities, ministries, chambers of commerce, public bodies, etc.) from the Mediterranean basin (Algeria, Spain, France, Italy, Morocco and Tunisia). |
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The EUNIT capacity-buildingproject - European project desigN and management in the South MediTerranean region - is a joint project involving 16 partners from the Téthys network. Coordinated by AMU, it also came to an end in October 2019 at the end of a 3-year funding period. It responded to the priority of Internationalization of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the South-East Mediterranean, particularly in Jordan, Lebanon and Libya. The overall aim of the project was to enable HEIs in partner countries to build sustainable international partnerships and maximize their internationalization efforts. Train-the-trainer programs and practical internships were carried out in 2017; these measures enabled the eight partners to acquire the skills needed to set up and manage project assembly and management units. |
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WE4LEAD - Women's Empowerment for LEADership in higher education and research, which aims to increase women's access to the highest decision-making positions within Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), is the CBHE ERASMUS + project developed within the framework of the Téthys Consortium of Euro-Mediterranean Universities. Coordinated by Aix-Marseille Université (AMU), the project brings together eight partners. Under the leadership of Isabelle Régner, Vice President for Equality between Women and Men and the Fight against Discrimination at AMU, the WE4LEAD project aims to contribute to fully inclusive governance and management of HEIs, notably through the dissemination of a culture of equality between women and men. It was launched in March 2023 for the duration of three years with a total budget of €883,071, of which the European Union funding is €794,764. |
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The AfriConnect+ is a joint project involving 12 partners. Coordinated by AMU, it began in June 2023 and will run until December 2026. Its main objective is to democratize digital education and skills. To achieve this goal, the project team will focus its efforts on 4 areas: transferring IoT (Internet of Things) skills, identifying and developing applications to create startups, supporting entrepreneurship, and strengthening links between universities, high schools and industry. |
Téthys network
Email: tethys@univ-amu.fr
- Mauve Carbonell, President of the Téthys network
- Camille de Garidel-Thoron, Director, Strategic Projects and Networks & Téthys network
- Strategic Projects and Networks Division