UNC Hosts Delegation from Consulate General of France to Discuss Research Collaborations
April 12, 2017
UNC Global Affairs
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill welcomed a delegation from the Office for Science and Technology of the Embassy of France in the United States on March 30, 2017. Valérie Trentesaux, attaché for science and technology, and Sandra Jean, deputy attaché for science and technology, met with faculty and staff from UNC schools and offices to explore partnerships between UNC and French institutions.
Trentesaux and Jean began their visit at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, where they met with researchers involved with Gillings’ partnerships with Institut Pasteur and the EHESP School of Public Health and discussed opportunities to expand those partnerships. Afterward, the delegation learned about undergraduate study abroad and exchange programs in France managed by the Study Abroad Office in the College of Arts and Sciences. John Stephens, director of the Center for European Studies, and Sarah Hutchison, associate director of the TransAtlantic Masters (TAM) Program, shared the role of the center in promoting teaching and research related to contemporary Europe and described the involvement of French institutions in the TAM Program.
Trentesaux and Jean spent time with additional UNC faculty members from the College, Gillings and the School of Medicine, each of whom were identified as having collaborators at a French institution through joint citations. The final meeting of the visit, at the Office of the Vice Chancellor of Research, provided an overview of UNC’s research portfolio and support and resources provided by the office to promote research.
“During our visit at UNC, we met numerous excellent scientists from various research areas. It was a pleasure to see how strong are the links between UNC and French research institutions,” said Trentesaux. “Our common goal now is to emphasize this dynamic.”
The mission of the Office for Science and Technology at the Embassy of France in the U.S. is to promote French science and foster scientific and technological partnerships between U.S. and French institutions. Located in Atlanta, Trentesaux and Jean have responsibility for the Southeast United States. UNC has long-standing partnerships involving student exchange and collaborative research with various French universities and institutions that span the College of Arts and Sciences, Kenan-Flagler Business School, the School of Law, the Gillings School of Global Public Health and the School of Medicine.