Higher education

Action 12

Adapt higher education and researcher training

In France, no higher education program currently fully addresses the challenges of the emerging field of Nature-based Solutions (NbS). Led by the University of Lyon 1 and co-managed by INRAE and the University of Montpellier, this action will fill this gap by supporting the creation of inter- and transdisciplinary courses in collaboration with universities, focused on socio-ecosystem engineering and NbS. The programs will incorporate case studies from the SOLU-BIOD program.

One objective is to establish specialized, thematically focused programs in a few French universities. This effort will be supported by National Education engineers recruited at these university sites.

Another objective will be training through and for research, as many SOLU-BIOD activities – such as research projects, doctoral clusters, living labs, and knowledge hubs – will include master’s, doctoral, and postdoctoral students. National summer schools will also be organized.

Particular attention will be given to involving students and early-career scientists in SOLU-BIOD events. All these activities will contribute to the emergence of a generation of SOLU-BIOD students capable of developing more integrative research on the complex challenges related to NbS in the future.