About ERASME

The ERASME Center is an interdisciplinary programme that brings together scientific and civil society expertise to advance sustainable development in the EU, created on 1 September 2018 and inaugurated on 8 April 2019 at Polytech Clermont-Ferrand. It is a label awarded by Europe to recognise the expertise in sustainable development of University Clermont-Auvergne and its network and partners.

The ERASME Center is co-financed by the European Union as part of the Jean Monnet program of Erasmus +
The ERASME Center has five objectives :  

1. Promote excellence in sustainable development. Resources integrating thematic entries related to sustainable development and Europe are offered in the form of face-to-face courses, distance learning courses (MOOCs) or topic-specific seminars and summer schools. To advance knowledge and exchange, the Center and its partners develop transversal and interdisciplinary modules oriented towards doctoral students, civil society and the European institutions, such as debates in the European Parliament on environmental or social issues and the EIB/ECB climate policy. The ERASME Center is an incubator for the development of future Jean Monnet modules or chairs related to sustainable development.
    
2. Encourage the participation of young academics in teaching and research activities on European topics related to sustainable development. The Center of Excellence has a broad expertise. Sixteen experts from UCA and its network are responsible for a wide array of themes, share their experience in pairs with a young researcher (PhD or post-doc), stimulating an innovative teaching dynamic (creation of new courses and the development of new tools) and research collaboration (opening of new fields and teamwork). The Center of Excellence offers a variety of publication opportunities for young researchers, such as the the French-language journal for sustainable development and the European Review on Sustainability and Degrowth (to be launched in January 2020), open-access book publishing (Oeconomia), working papers and dissemination of thesis works.


3. Explore and advance innovative scientific methods and tools. To be at the forefront of the sustainability transition, the center advances and promotes a wide array of methods and competencies. Focus is on collaborative and interdisciplinary methods (System Dynamics, System Thinking, Expert Interviews, Participatory Modelling, Sustainability Circles, Prospective and Foresight), pedagogical tools (Critical Pedagogy, Mindfulness, Coffee-debates, World Café debates, Controversy Maps) and industrial ecology methods (Life Cycle Analysis, Input-Output Analysis, Material and Energy Flow Analysis). The expertise in a wide array of methodologies allows for an interdisciplinary exchange between Engineering Sciences, Life and Earth Sciences, Economic and Legal Sciences, Management Sciences and Social and Human Sciences. With this expertise at hand, the ERASME Center aims to create a European-wide network that initiates collaborations with regional territories, EU Neighbourhood Countries and other continents.
    
4. Disseminate scientific knowledge for researchers through an annual international symposium, awarding Jean Monnet prizes for an experienced and young researcher, a Donella Meadows price, civil society events (Coffee Debates, Thematic Round Tables) and collaboration with various European networks and initiatives through on-site networking and cutting-edge online exchange and community building with regional initiatives.
    
5. Incentivise students to widen their European perspective, explore European studies and the challenges posed by sustainable development (climate, biodiversity, inequalities, ...) via awareness raising days (European Day, Sustainable Development Week), internships (within ERASME and among our partners) and practical information related to sustainable development studies and mobility.