MUSE – UM Educational Innovations
Educational Innovations
The TAKE-OFF Call for Projects, which supports educational innovations, complements the educational transformation strategy of the institutions and components of the MUSE consortium. It aims to promote high-quality education that reflects the campus’s excellence in training and supporting students as they acquire skills, the pedagogical transformation of academic programs, and the development of interdisciplinarity, through the use of innovative teaching methods and by aligning existing Master’s programs with international standards of excellence and attractiveness and/or by creating new Master’s programs. This call is open to all teaching teams at the consortium’s member institutions.
At the heart of the challenges addressed by our I-ISITE, educational innovation and excellence in our educational offerings require a profound transformation of learning approaches and spaces.That is why the fourth round of support for flagship innovations under the TAKE OFF program is backing projects involving innovative educational equipment. To ensure a lasting impact that benefits as many people as possible, these transformations are firmly rooted in the overall development strategies of the program components and institutions.
With a budget of over €1 million, the MUSE Board, acting on a recommendation from the evaluation committee—composed of recognized external figures in the field and experts from MUSE’s Center for Support of Pedagogical Innovations (CSIP)—selected four projects:
Program for Project-Based Work Combining Mobility, Virtual Tools, 3D, and Experiments(APP’ MOV)
Faculty of Sciences | Project Leaders: Patricia Cucchi, Nelly Godefroy
Escape Game at Xstry – Integrated Training(EXIT)
, Faculty of Sciences | Project Leaders: Karine Molvinger
Master's in Wood Sciences(Master Bois)
Faculty of Sciences | Project Leaders: Bruno Clair, Sandrine Bardet
Quantitative Biology in Practice(QuBiP)
Faculty of Sciences | Project Leaders: Cherine Bechara, Luca Ciandrini
As a flagship program of I-SITE MUSE’s educational innovation, this call for proposals has the specific objectiveof supporting the transformation and/or creation of academic programs. It thus aims to support the strengthening or optimization of academic programs, with priority given to Master’s programs, engineering programs, and programs not leading to national degrees, such as summer schools and institutional certificates.
With a budget of nearly 3M€, the MUSE Board, acting on a recommendation from the evaluation committee—composed of recognized external figures in the field and experts from MUSE’s Center for Support of Pedagogical Innovations (CSIP)—selected 30 projects:
Action 1: Support for existing national degree programs (5 projects for the FdS)
Supporting a Paradigm Shift and Change in Teachers’ Approaches to Active Pedagogy(APP-ACTIV)
FacultyofSciences| Project Leader: Patricia Cucchi
Consolidate BioHealth Master(CBHM)
Faculty of Sciences| Project Leader: Rachel Cerdan
Innovative Training through Research(FIRE)
Faculty of Sciences| Project Leader: Sylvie Hurtrez-Bousses
International Biodiversity Field School(IBIO)
Faculty of Sciences| Project Leader: Vincent Girard
Quantitative Biology(qBio) Track
Faculty of Sciences| Project Leaders: Luca Ciandrini and Cherine Bechara
Action 2: Support for new national degree programs (2 projects for the FdS)
Eco-Epidemiology of Animal and Human Pathogens: Comprehensive and Useful Resources(EpiCURe)
Faculty of Sciences| Project Leader: Catherine Moulia
Master's in Wood Sciences
, Faculty of Sciences| Project Leaders: Bruno Clair and Sandrine Bardet
Guide and support the educational transformation strategy of institutions and their constituent units
The second round of the Take-off call for proposals, designed to assist and support the educational transformation strategy of the institutions and components of the MUSE consortium, took place from October 15, 2018, to February 20, 2019. The main objectives of Take-off #2 are to:
=> Promote high-quality education that reflects the institution’s excellence in training and supporting students as they acquire skills.
=> Promote pedagogical transformation of academic programs and foster interdisciplinarity through the use of innovative teaching methods.
=> Bring existing Master’s programs up to international standards of excellence and appeal, and support the creation of new Master’s programs.
Take-Off #2 was divided into three main initiatives:
=> Learning Labs
=> Pedagogical Innovation in the MUSE Curriculum
=> From Theoretical Knowledge to Business Practice
(See all projects)
Learning Labs
Support for the development of flexible, collaborative, and innovative physical learning spaces. These spaces are designed to encourage and facilitate creative teaching practices that foster collective intelligence. These approaches must be integrated into a strategy for the pedagogical management of these spaces and, as a result, have a tangible impact on the pedagogical transformation of institutions or their constituent units.
Two of the six projects selected for this initiative are led by the Faculty of Sciences
How can we develop innovative teaching methods, test them, and train teachers? To drive a transition in teaching methods and advance instructional design at the Faculty of Sciences, we would like to equip it with a “learning lab.” Combining mobile, colorful, and modular furniture with digital tools, stationery, and multi-purpose movable whiteboards and partitions, it will be suitable for a wide range of uses. It could serve as a “brainstorming room,” a project room, or even a “fablab,” depending on the tools we choose to install later on.
It will feature a communal area where people can enjoy a snack. It will be primarily available to academic liaisons, FDS faculty, and students enrolled in TU or problem-based learning. The three main intended uses are: Exchange and Training, Incubation, and Demonstration.
In this project, we aim to develop an innovative interdisciplinary learning lab to encourage biology and bioinformatics students to interact by combining their skills, thereby taking an active role in their own education. This collaborative space, comprising two molecular biology labs dedicated to DNA sequencing that open onto two modular computer labs, will expose students to a real research laboratory where they can generate and analyze data themselves to collectively address a shared scientific question.
A dynamic, multidisciplinary team composed of faculty members, researchers, and technicians will support them through the process of commercializing their work (authoring international scientific publications) and disseminating their findings (presentations at conferences, outreach to the general public).
Educational Innovation in the MUSE Program
Support for the pedagogical transformation of a university course or program. This initiative aims to stimulate pedagogical creativity and to support a shift in the approach of faculty members and faculty-researchers toward promoting student autonomy and the internationalization of academic programs. This may encompass two types of projects:
=> Innovative teaching activities involving a critical mass of faculty and students focused on active, flipped, hybrid, peer-led, and other such teaching approaches.
=> New Master’s programs, university degrees, engineering degrees, and architecture degrees that meet the criteria for internationally attractive programs (courses taught in a foreign language, innovative teaching methods, etc.).
Five of the 21 projects selected for this initiative are led by the Faculty of Sciences
Cell biology is an important discipline in both animal biology and plant biology. Unfortunately, this discipline requires the acquisition of a certain amount of knowledge that can later be combined with interpersonal skills and practical skills to analyze complex situations. The way cell biology is currently taught, particularly in the first year of undergraduate studies, therefore remains very lecture-based, with “traditional” lectures, tutorials, and lab sessions.
We propose introducing a more engaging and active learning activity through this Trivial Pursuit-style serious game project for L1 and L2 levels. The game software, which has already been developed at the School of Law by UM’s instructional designers, can be adapted to any discipline. This adaptation—which requires the design of a specific logo and a large database of questions—will allow students to combine fun with learning.
The Mobility European Master in Evolution is an international master’s program resulting from the collaboration of four major European universities: the University of Groningen, Uppsala University, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and the University of Montpellier; and from a special partnership with
, Harvard University (U.S.). A similar partnership with the University of Lausanne is currently being developed.
This international master’s program, in which all courses are taught in English and which is based on student mobility (a student may not spend more than two semesters at the same university), contributes significantly to the University of Montpellier’s international reputation through its academic programs. This project aims to consolidate certain innovations we propose to implement in order to enable this master’s program to remain at the forefront of international programs in this discipline.
The Chem’Sc@pe educational innovation project brings together three academic departments within the Faculty of Sciences: Chemistry, Computer Science, and Languages. It involves designing and developing an educational escape game centered on organic chemistry at the L1 level. It is primarily aimed at students (~950) enrolled inTU OrganicTU (HLCH201) during the second semester of their first year of the bachelor’s program at the Faculty of Sciences. Chem’Sc@pe aims to make organic chemistry more accessible and engaging for students, facilitate learning, and foster cooperation among students (through small-group work).
Chem’Sc@pe will combine a game board with a card game and a smartphone app. The game will be available in both French and English versions. In the medium term, this game could be adapted for other scientific disciplines taught within the Faculty of Sciences, and more broadly, for other departments at the University of Montpellier.
The Plat-Ini-UM Project arose from a simple question: How can we combine university education—which is inherently theoretical—with career readiness, which is based primarily on quantifiable, largely practical skills? To provide an appropriate answer to this question, we aim to develop problem-based learning in a scientific field that is highly valued in the professional world: the study of biological electrical phenomena. To this end, we propose implementing an experiment-based curriculum that combines flipped and reverse teaching methods, offering students genuine freedom to imagine, conceptualize, and carry out their experiments while interacting directly with professionals in the field.
This should help students develop critical thinking skills and acquire technical skills that are valuable and sought-after in the professional world, such as in the pharmaceutical and agricultural industries.
Faced with the major challenge of minimizing our impact on the environment, a transition is necessary, particularly in our choice of materials. Wood is the only renewable material that is low-energy to produce, locally sourced, carbon-sequestering, and recyclable. The uses of wood are multiplying, and this trend will continue to grow in the coming decades. Drawing on our broad range of expertise in wood, we propose that the Montpellier campus play a leading role in this transition by offering a resolutely interdisciplinary Wood Sciences program. This complex material will be studied from its formation within the tree through to its uses as a material or in molecular form, drawing on expertise in biology, ecology, chemistry, physics, mechanics, civil engineering, and process engineering.
The funding requested for this project aims to bring together local and national stakeholders—including those from academia and the socio-economic sectors—to establish a Master’s program in Wood Sciences based in Montpellier.
Support the pedagogical transformation of academic programs as part of the development of the future MUSE Masters of Excellence programs
=> Promote a quality education label through MUSE, reflecting the institution’s excellence in teaching.
=> Promote innovation within academic programs and emphasize this aspect in faculty status.
=> Develop interdisciplinary approaches using innovative teaching methods.
=> Bring existing Master’s programs up to international standards of excellence and attractiveness, and support the creation of new Master’s programs through the “Excellence Curricula” Program
This first call for proposals includes four types of initiatives:
Innovative educational projects (approximately 35%)
Development of digital and educational resources (approximately 15%)
Creation or development of educational innovation labs (approximately 40%)
Language training as part of the internationalization of educational programs (approximately 10%)