amU's training and research platforms: science as a learning ground

Training students for and through research

"These platforms are intended to promote the extension of new forms of pedagogy to help students learn and develop their know-how and interpersonal skills," explains Christophe Bordi, political sponsor of the TRIPs project.

This is the spirit behind TRIPs, the interdisciplinary training platforms supported by the France 2030 TIGER project.

Launched following a call for projects, the system will comprise 14 platforms, spread across university campuses and attached to one or more Instituts d'Établissements, enabling them to be physically located on the premises of amU and its partners (such as CNRS, Inserm and Centrale Méditerranée).

Aimed at all students (Bachelor's - Master's - Doctorate), they enable them to benefit from state-of-the-art equipment and develop their research skills through interdisciplinary training.

When disciplines meet

Each training and research platform is a laboratory of ideas and practices, where researchers, teachers and students come together to work on concrete projects. From particle physics to the environmental transition, these platforms are reinventing scientific education through research.

Learning differently

TRIPs are not extra classes: they are spaces for experimentation and co-creation, where teachers, researchers and students work together. They encourage the cross-fertilization of knowledge, training through research and scientific initiative. Students become players in their own learning, designing, testing, manipulating and sharing.

14 platforms and a wide range of scientific disciplines represented

• Drug@bilities - A drug science platform that combines the design, characterization and evaluation of new therapeutic strategies through collaborative workshops.
• EPICE - Allows students to experiment with state-of-the-art equipment on AMUtech-labeled platforms, for an introduction to research in materials science and nanotechnology.
• ISMED (Images et Sociétés en Méditerranée) - A fablab dedicated to image, sound and video capture, for research in the humanities and social sciences.
• MULTIVERSE - A platform for exploring the universe through cross-disciplinary approaches to astronomy, astrophysics, electromagnetism and particle physics.
• Neurotrip - Three spaces dedicated to neurobiology and psychology, promoting experimentation and the dissemination of neuroscience research.
• PLATINUM - An immersive platform connected to the world of instrumentation, fusion and nuclear fission, combining virtual reality and remote access to international equipment.
• TRaIN - A network of technological platforms in biology and chemistry, where students prepare their experiments under real research conditions.
• PLADISSPAM - Dedicated to public health sciences, this platform provides training in the collection and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data, integrating narrative medicine.
• RARETRIPs - An interdisciplinary training program focusing on rare diseases, at the crossroads of biology, bioinformatics and data science, with an Open Science approach.
• IMMERSION - A digital and educational platform for discovering the ocean world via telescience and virtual reality.
• PITIO-FR - Gathers instruments for observing and analyzing astronomical objects, minerals and organic molecules in extraterrestrial environments.
• IFS (Interaction Fluide-Structures) - Develops teaching sequences around fluid and structural mechanics, right through to the design of hydrodynamic foil prototypes.
• FAC LAB ITEM - A "lab" for the environmental transition in urban environments: students design interdisciplinary studies and concrete solutions for the sustainable city.
• STACKAMI - Dedicated to training in the most advanced digital technologies: intensive computing, cloud, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and the deployment of applications for educational innovation.

TIGER: a France 2030 project financed by the ANR, co-financier, coordinator and facilitator of

TRIPsThrough TIGER, Aix Marseille Université and its partners aim to give Master's and PhD students greater exposure to research, broaden their international experience and increase their opportunities to work with players from the socio-economic and cultural worlds.

By diversifying sources of knowledge, facilitating access to research, and reinforcing the coherence between students' training and their career plans, a real transformation is taking place, enabling students to be better equipped to face the challenges of tomorrow.