UTC-Compiegne: committed to research and innovation

A specific vision of research and innovation that promotes positive impacts

The envi­ron­men­tal and socie­tal chal­lenges we face today are com­plex and call for a trans­dis­ci­pli­na­ry, sys­te­mic approach, some­times even a shift in para­digm, in order to be tack­led effectively.

Since its esta­blish­ment, UTC-Com­piegne has deve­lo­ped a research pro­gramme orien­ted towards tech­no­lo­gy and the culture of inno­va­tion, the spe­ci­fi­ci­ties of which com­bine to pro­vide inno­va­tive and impact­ful solu­tions to the cli­mate emer­gen­cy and socie­tal changes.

Research at UTC focuses on the deve­lop­ment of concrete and appli­cable solu­tions to meet the chal­lenges of eco­lo­gi­cal transition.

We encou­rage trans­dis­ci­pli­na­ry and sys­te­mic approaches to research. UTC research scien­tists are able to approach envi­ron­men­tal pro­blems from dif­ferent angles, inte­gra­ting scien­ti­fic, tech­no­lo­gi­cal, social and eco­no­mic pers­pec­tives. The contri­bu­tion of the exper­tise of UTC’s Cos­tech labo­ra­to­ry, spe­cia­li­sing in the stu­dy of inter­ac­tions bet­ween Socie­ty, tech­no­lo­gy and the envi­ron­ment, com­ple­men­ta­ry to the research pro­jects of other labo­ra­to­ries, is a real strength of UTC. Thus we do not limit our­selves to the desi­gn of clean tech­no­lo­gies and ful­ly inte­grate the ana­ly­sis of the social and cultu­ral issues lin­ked to their adop­tion and accep­tance, through to the desi­gn of effec­tive public poli­cies to pro­mote envi­ron­men­tal sustainability.

Our scien­ti­fic approaches are par­ti­ci­pa­tive and coope­ra­tive, roo­ted in our local areas while also having an impact on a natio­nal and inter­na­tio­nal scale. By wor­king clo­se­ly with exter­nal part­ners such as busi­nesses, local autho­ri­ties and asso­cia­tions, our research scien­tists ensure that their solu­tions for the eco­lo­gi­cal tran­si­tion meet the real needs of Socie­ty today. This approach speeds up the trans­fer of know­ledge and tech­no­lo­gies to the mar­ket-place. Fur­ther­more, our inter­na­tio­nal col­la­bo­ra­tions enable us to bene­fit from a diver­si­ty of expert inputs and glo­bal “best prac­tice”, enri­ching our research pers­pec­tives, sti­mu­la­ting inno­va­tion and pro­mo­ting the adop­tion of sus­tai­nable solu­tions on a glo­bal scale.

Our dual sta­tus, as a Uni­ver­si­ty and a French engi­nee­ring school (“grande école”) means that we are able to stron­gly inte­grate trai­ning and research. By invol­ving stu­dents in research pro­jects, we help to deve­lop their ana­ly­ti­cal and cri­ti­cal skills, as well as their abi­li­ty to explore inno­va­tive solu­tions and push back the boun­da­ries of know­ledge in their res­pec­tive fields. In so doing, we are trai­ning the next gene­ra­tion to desi­gn and imple­ment new and sus­tai­nable solutions.

Thanks to its ori­gi­nal fea­tures, UTC's research has a great deal to offer in terms of mee­ting the chal­lenges of an eco­lo­gi­cal tran­si­tion and, in essence, shows a strong com­mit­ment to resol­ving socie­tal issues. We work in all areas of research to deve­lop those pro­jects that are desi­gned to have a posi­tive impact. UTC is proud to be able to contri­bute to this shift in para­digm by taking a holis­tic approach to the chal­lenges and cata­ly­sing change towards a more sus­tai­nable future. This ori­gi­nal posi­tio­ning is that of a uni­ver­si­ty of tech­no­lo­gy. It is a new way for UTC, as its mot­to says, “to lend mea­ning to innovation".

A commitment in all areas of research and innovation at UTC

UTC is wide­ly reco­gni­sed for its scien­ti­fic excel­lence and its inno­va­tions. It has always been able to ins­til ori­gi­nal, cross-dis­ci­pli­na­ry approaches and a sys­te­mic unders­tan­ding of pro­blems in order to make trans­for­ming and impact­ful advances in the face of changes in the world and Socie­ty. We have deve­lo­ped proac­tive research acti­vi­ties to build a more pros­pe­rous and equi­table future for eve­ryone. In addi­tion, we mobi­lise the full range of research for­mats to achieve this goal, with natio­nal and inter­na­tio­nal research pro­jects, crea­tion of tea­ching and research chairs, plus joint labo­ra­to­ries with indus­try and also demons­tra­tors on our cam­pus at Compiegne.

Below are a few fields of research and examples of pro­jects which illus­trate, in a non-exhaus­tive way, how UTC contri­butes to this objective:

Eco-innovative technologies and eco-design

UTC-Com­piegne focuses on the deve­lop­ment of envi­ron­men­tal­ly friend­ly tech­no­lo­gies and the inte­gra­tion of eco-friend­ly prin­ciples into the desi­gn of pro­ducts and sys­tems. This includes using sus­tai­nable mate­rials, impro­ving indus­trial pro­cesses to reduce car­bon emis­sions and mini­mi­sing waste.

Renewable Energies (RE)

UTC conducts research in the fields of clean ener­gies, such as solar, wind and hydrau­lic ener­gy. This work is des­di­gned to deve­lop inno­va­tive solu­tions to reduce depen­dence on fos­sil fuels and pro­mote ener­gy sustainability.

Sustainable mobility

UTC-Com­piegne is wor­king on research pro­jects to improve trans­port sys­tems by deve­lo­ping elec­tric vehicles, traf­fic mana­ge­ment tech­no­lo­gies and intel­li­gent trans­port infra­struc­tures. These efforts help to reduce car­bon emis­sions and pro­mote more envi­ron­men­tal­ly friend­ly modes of travel.

Managing natural resources

UTC research scien­tists are stu­dying inno­va­tive methods for mana­ging natu­ral resources and redu­cing their consump­tion, such as water and recy­clable mate­rials. By deve­lo­ping sus­tai­nable tech­no­lo­gies and prac­tices, they help to pre­serve eco­sys­tems and human health, as well as mini­mi­sing envi­ron­men­tal impacts.

Preserving health and improving quality of life

UTC's research teams explore a wide range of fields, ran­ging from public health to medi­cal bio­lo­gy and bio­me­di­cal engi­nee­ring. In col­la­bo­ra­tion with natio­nal and inter­na­tio­nal part­ners, the research teams are constant­ly pushing back the fron­tiers of science to deve­lop inno­va­tive solu­tions aimed at pre­ven­ting and detec­ting diseases as ear­ly as pos­sible, impro­ving medi­cal treat­ments and pro­mo­ting gene­ral well-being.

Whe­ther it be in desi­gning new medi­cal tech­no­lo­gies, deve­lo­ping cut­ting-edge diag­nos­tic tools or explo­ring the pos­si­bi­li­ties of rege­ne­ra­tive medi­cine, UTC's research focus is gui­ded by a com­mon goal: to improve the health and com­fort of indi­vi­duals, while contri­bu­ting to a heal­thier and more sus­tai­nable future for all.

Reducing pollution in all its forms

Solu­tions aimed at miti­ga­ting the harm­ful effects of all types of pol­lu­tion, from che­mi­cal to noise, are being deve­lo­ped at the UTC. Through mul­ti­dis­ci­pli­na­ry approaches and a focus on inno­va­tion and socie­tal impact, the research car­ried out at the UTC aims to deve­lop effec­tive and sus­tai­nable methods for pre­ser­ving the qua­li­ty of our envi­ron­ment and limi­ting the impact on our phy­si­cal and men­tal health.

Social innovation and inclusiveness

The UTC is also invol­ved in ini­tia­tives to pro­mote inclu­sion. This may include research pro­jects on access to edu­ca­tion, public health, or the deve­lop­ment of tech­no­lo­gies acces­sible to all.

By com­bi­ning these dif­ferent fields of research and inno­va­tion, the UTC acti­ve­ly contri­butes to the eco­lo­gi­cal tran­si­tion and to socie­tal com­mit­ment by deve­lo­ping concrete and sus­tai­nable solu­tions to contem­po­ra­ry challenges.

Laboratories committed to assessing and controlling their environmental impact

The changes in research that are neces­sa­ry in the face of the cli­mate emer­gen­cy also involve asses­sing the green­house gas (GHG) emis­sions of the UTC's labo­ra­to­ries. To date, five of the UTC's 8 labo­ra­to­ries – Bio­me­cha­nics and Bioen­gi­nee­ring (BMBI), Inte­gra­ted Trans­for­ma­tion of Rene­wable Mate­rials (TIMR), Rober­val, Ave­nues and Heu­dia­syc – have car­ried out their GHG emis­sions assess­ments over seve­ral years. This is a new mana­ge­ment tool that will enable them to take concrete action to reduce their impact. The work is conti­nuing for the other labo­ra­to­ries and at school level.