The international attractiveness of ENS de Lyon is a strategic priority, both in terms of training and research. As the new 2023 academic year begins, we take a look at some of the signs of the vitality and international recognition of our institution.
An international campus
This year, 120 new foreign students will be joining the School, putting us back on a pre-Covid pandemic trend. Overall, nearly 80 nationalities are represented on campus. The hundred or so newcomers for the 1st semester or the entire academic year were welcomed at the end of August during an integration week organized by the Office of International Affairs.
A round-table discussion with professors and researchers at the welcome event for the new students highlighted the essential role of international stays. The speakers shared their experiences of broadening one's vision of the world and building networks. Outgoing mobility programs, in conjunction with ENS de Lyon's 200 partners, will be presented during Erasmus Days, from October 9 to 14.
ENS de Lyon's research laboratories are also welcoming guest researchers this month. Professor Atsushi Omura, Professor of Civil Law at the University of Tokyo, is visiting the Lyon Institute of East Asian Studies. Vikrant Jain (Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar) and Shishir Gaur (Indian Institute of Technology Varanasi) have joined the laboratory Environment, City, Society. Javier Giorgi, from the University of Ottawa, has also joined the Chemistry Laboratory.
ENS de Lyon on the European and global research scene
Over the past 10 years, projects by professors and researchers of our laboratories have won more than 50 ERC grants awarded by the European Research Council. Considering the size of ENS de Lyon, this is a very significant achievement. The most recent list of successful projects includes another two by researchers from our laboratories: Louis-Alexandre Couston (IceAblation project: improving predictions of rising sea levels) and Benjamin Wesolowski (Agatha Crypty project: ensuring the security of our communications) in association with CNRS and Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University.
Beyond European borders, ENS de Lyon coordinates the Franco-Indian Biosantexc consortium, in conjunction with other ENSs and IISERs (Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research). This new Biosantexc campus, dedicated to life sciences for health, was officially launched last May at the IISER in Pune (Maharashtra).
Progress in international rankings
ENS de Lyon's international recognition is evidenced by its good standing in international rankings, even when these are based on methodologies that are often more favorable to larger institutions. The Shanghai ranking places ENS de Lyon among the top 200 to 300 institutions/9th-12th in France, as does the QS ranking, which places it 184th/5th in France. As these rankings are based on criteria whose indicators increase with the size of the institution, this progress is all the more significant.
Moreover, in terms of performance per capita, ENS de Lyon ranks 1st among French institutions for the 4th year running in the Shanghai ranking, results confirmed by the very recent QS research productivity ranking. This year, ENS de Lyon also moved up 2 places to 12th place in Time Higher Education (THE) Best Small Universities ranking. ENS de Lyon also improved its rating in the THE World University Rankings 2024, moving up to rank 251-300 worldwide and 6th in France. The School performs particulary well in international outlook and - going against the national trend - in research quality.