Strategy & Partnerships

Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University has made international outreach one of the five strategic areas of its multi-year establishment contract (2019-2023). The university's international strategy is based not only on a large number of strong and historic partnerships, which have been continuously consolidated over the years, thus enabling it to offer a large number of international programmes such as double degrees, joint degrees and off-campus courses. Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne also takes part in innovative forms of international cooperation such as the European alliance Una Europa, but also structural capacity building projects on governance and quality in higher education.

Since 2018, Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University has been participating in the project to build European universities with Una Europa, which brings together eleven leading universities in Europe. In 2019, the alliance received funding from the European Commission (under the Erasmus+ programme) for its 1Europe project. Considered as "models of good practice" of the European Higher Education Area (Bologna process), these universities aim to offer common and flexible curricula, including innovative formats in collaboration with third sector organisations. The aim is also to encourage the creation of an inter-university campus where the majority of students, from different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, can benefit from international mobility (physical, virtual or blended). The 1Europe project has also been complemented by the OpenU project, which led to the creation of the BLOOM platform, which aims to foster blended and online learning, mobility and academic cooperation between European institutions. Building on the achievements of the alliance’s flagship projects, 1Europe and Una.Resin, Una Europa partners continue to collaborate under the Una.Futura project to ensure the true integration of the alliance’s education, research and innovation dimensions.

At the global level, the university has participated in the construction of new Franco-national universities and has coordinated several capacity building projects on curriculum development as well as support for structural transformations in higher education, particularly on the African continent (with structural capacity building projects in Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Tunisia and Algeria).

Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University also strives to develop its strategy to attract international students, professors and administrative staff members, to internationalise its courses and to encourage the mobility of its students. The university, which has been awarded the "Choose France" label, implements actions aimed at improving the reception of these target groups. Over the last few years, thanks to the Erasmus+ programme, Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University has enabled an ever-increasing number of students, professors and administrative staff members to go abroad, in Europe, but also outside Europe. The impact of these mobilities covers multiple dimensions by increasing qualification levels to train the necessary talents that society needs; by improving the quality and relevance of higher education through transnational cooperation; by linking higher education, research and businesses to foster excellence and regional development; and by improving governance and exchange of practices. Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne has also participated, through various projects (such as OLA 3.0, LLOM or DIRE-MED), in developing innovative forms of mobility management and support for exchange students.

Lastly, the university has developed a large-scale international professor invitation programme and welcomes each year more than 120 visiting professors from all over the world. These international professors play a key role in the scientific and educational influence of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University as they participate in the internationalisation of its students and enable the continuation or development of cooperation in the fields of research and training.