University and community
The University of Geneva is fully committed to its role in spurring the economic, social, and cultural development of the collectivity that finances it. For that reason, UNIGE is strongly invested in dialog with its community.
Picture: N. Righetti
UNIGE makes its knowledge available to businesses. To that end, it seeks to create relay structures between the the world of fundamental and applied research and the local economy. The Geneva Creativity Center, the Laboratoire de technologie avancée* (LTA), and UNITEC, which aim to develop a multidisciplinary network of experts and to support collaborative projects that serve the economy, are examples.
These exchanges with regional actors also occur through the creation of research frameworks dedicated to issues central to the development of our society, and through various observatories that make academic expertise available to the public.
UNIGE encourages strengthened ties with international organizations, making possible unique synergies for instruction and research that are equally beneficial to the international community and the University. Many UNIGE researchers are engaged in programs of action under the auspices of the United Nations. The international organizations welcome dozens of students each year via internship placements.
UNIGE promotes the dissemination of knowledge to the broadest possible public, and participation in the debate on ideas around current topics. Each year, the University organizes several hundred public events (lectures, forums, and exhibitions, in both French and English) and hosts guests that are at the top of their fields. Certain events, like Brain Awareness Week, the Wright Science Colloquia, and the Festival Histoire et Cité draw several hundred participants. UNIGE also offers a large number of educational programs for the public (public lectures, continuing education, MOOCs, Université des Seniors, etc.) and makes the documents in its library and archives* available as well.
Academic knowledge also makes it possible to shed light on societal themes. That is the goal of UNIGE's publications such as the magazine Campus*, and also its little sibling Campus Junior*, which targets the younger public. Indeed, several spaces and events are specifically conceived with kids and schools* in mind.
*In French