In 2010, the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon), the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the East China Normal University (ECNU) joined forces to create the Joint Research Institute for Science and Society (JoRISS).

This research structure established as its fundamental missions:

• Facilitating the development of Sino-French scientific projects involving the three partners
• Stimulating interdisciplinary research
• Increasing the contribution of science to solving the major societal challenges of the 21st century
• Creating links between academic and industrial research
• Reinforcing the PROSFER doctoral exchange program