Strategic interdisciplinary and interinstitutional centres

While advanced research often requires specialists who are totally dedicated to their specific field of study, the assimilation of new knowledge by the scientific community and the combinations and interactions that result from it require significant efforts to break down barriers. UNIL is therefore keen to create a strong culture of interdisciplinarity for all those studying, teaching or researching at the university and an open-minded approach that addresses from the outset, issues in disciplines that have traditionally been quite separate or even antagonistic, for example on the margins of the human and social sciences on the one hand, and the natural or technical sciences on the other.

The UNIL Rectorate has created a number of interdisciplinary and interinstitutional centres with the aim of encouraging a spirit of cooperation that transcends the usual thematic and scientific “borders”, offering optimal conditions and driving the search for solutions in response to the multiple challenges faced by our society.

Strategic interdisciplinary centres bring researchers from one or more faculties together to study an area of common interest. They have access to specific resources from the UNIL Rectorate insofar as they contribute to the development of the university’s strategic priorities. Their activities contribute to UNIL’s dynamism and institutional and academic profile. They include :

Interinstitutional centres bring researchers from one or more faculties together with those of other universities to study an area of common interest. The existence of those centres is based on agreements with the management of partner institutions. Their activities contribute to the dynamism of the Lausanne and Lake Geneva region. They include :