Toulouse. New training courses, flexible licenses… The five changes of the new school year at Paul-Sabatier
By Anthony Assemat
Published on
It is strong from a place in the 300 best universities in the world, according to the latest Shanghai ranking published in mid-August 2022, and from a conquering state of mind that Paul-Sabatier University, in Toulouse, has carried out his return to school in 2022.
Paul-Sabatier University in figures
Paul-Sabatier is one of the biggest liners in the Pink City. It has more than 37,000 students (including more than 19,000 international), more than 3,700 staff, including 2,000 teacher-researchers), and more than 1,500 doctoral students.
It has satellite sites in Occitania: three IUT (University and Technological Institute) in Auch (Gers), Tarbes (Hautes-Pyrénées) and Castres (Tarn).
Big changes will take place in the daily life of the university. Here are the five novelties that will agitate the university specializing in the sciences.
#1. A Faculty of Health is created
This is a first in France in this form: the creation of a single Faculty of Health with the dissolution of its old characteristics. This Faculty of Health, effective since 1uh January 2022 and which is experiencing its first real start in September, is a unique entity born from the merger of the four existing faculties in the Pink City, namely the two faculties of medicine of Purpan and Rangueil, pharmacy and odontology . It brings together studies in medicine, dental surgery, pharmaceutical sciences, midwifery, radio manipulators, speech therapy and paramedical training. “This is a first in France,” says Sébastien Boyer, administrative director of this brand new Faculty of Health.
In the coming months – or the next few years – a future large health campus will emerge in the Pink City, and will eventually bring together 16,000 students (compared to more than 13,000 at present). Two sites will be in competition: Rangueil and Langlade.
#2. A partnership launched with Total
This is also changing in terms of new formations. In the Energy Master, Paul-Sabatier has created a 5e course called Green-Air (Management of energy resources, energy efficiency, intelligent self-consumption in networks). The first batch of 18 students will specialize in electrical distribution and the issues of all energy networks (nuclear, solar wind, etc.). Originality of this training: it was created in partnership with the global oil giant TotalEnergies.
#3. The new trainings
DUTs (University Technological Diplomas) turning into BUT (University degrees in technology). But what does this change, concretely?
“Students could, for example, do their training over three years instead of two. It’s a complete change of philosophy with the aim of professionalizing as a priority”.
Until 2026, Paul-Sabatier is experimenting, within the framework of the new Faculty of Health, with a Bachelor of Health Sciences which includes 700 L1 students for the start of the 2022 academic year. Three Nursing Training Institutes (IFSI) are part of the adventure (those of Toulouse and Saint-Gaudens for Haute-Garonne, and Albi for Tarn) and six courses are already available: orthoptics, hearing aids, psychomotricity, medical electroradiology manipulators, occupational therapy and podiatry-podiatry. “Speech therapy and masso-kinesitherapy training are under discussion,” says Monique Courtade, responsible for this new license. The latter wishes to “diversify profiles”.
Finally, there is something new in the relationship between the university and the teaching professions. Launched in 2021, thee PPPE (preparatory course for school professorship) prepare students who wish to become teachers, in addition to their training at Inspe (National Higher Institute for Teaching and Education). “The PPPE license combines disciplines that the student has encountered from the second degree in order to prepare him for the versatility of the profession of school teacher”, indicates the management of Paul-Sabatier.
The objective: to reinforce fundamental knowledge in French and maths.
#4. More licensing flexibility
The Toulouse University is leading the project called “Flexible Licensing”, a reform intended to personalize the course of students and increase their success rate. This program is based in particular on the development of tutoring, the organization of exams according to the rhythm of the students, but also flexibility in the validation of Teaching Units (UE).
“Some students find themselves, for example, with a full half-semester. With this system, they will be able to enroll in teaching units without repeating a year. They will also be able to do their License in two years instead of three. Each course is considered not as three successive years but as a set of teaching units to be validated”.
The choice of this route is made in consultation with the direction of studies of the establishment and concerns the following areas:
- Chemistry
- EEE (Electronics, electrical energy, automatic)
- civil engineering
- Computer science
- Math
- MIASHS (Mathematics and computer science applied to human and social sciences)
- Physical
- Chemical Physics
- Sciences
- Humanities
#5. Aid for students
In January 2022, a solidarity student grocery store, “Le petit Sab’lé”, opened on campus. It offers foodstuffs at 20% of their market value. 200 students use the services of this grocery store on a daily basis. “From this year, we are opening the grocery store to university staff, too,” announces Anoine Pouvreau, responsible for student life issues at Paul-Sabatier.
Other aids have been put in place. First for transport, students over 26 benefit from full support for their transport ticket, “over two months renewable”, indicates the university.
On the housing side, 15 emergency studios are rented from the Crous (Regional Center for University and School Works) of Toulouse-Occitanie. They are reserved for students in extremely precarious situations, “who are unable to find accommodation on their own”.
Finally, loans of laptops and 4G keysactivated in 2021, have continued since the start of the school year.
The university also wanted to take into consideration the lessons of the health crisis and the psychological consequences on students. The UT3 launch, from autumn 2022, a “Stress management” cycle.
“These will be various activities that will allow students to find solutions to combat their anxiety and strengthen their self-confidence, especially when approaching games”.
Psychological workshops, QI Gong sessions and mental preparation for exams will, for example, be missed.
The energy bill flies away at the university…
Questioned on the question of energy, Jean-Marc Broto recognizes that the situation is tense in his establishment, as in other public structures. “Despite the war in Ukraine, I admit that I don’t really understand the exorbitant increase in the cost of energy… We must find solutions with all the components of the university for this winter and we are also thinking about our own energy saving plan. For example, we can wonder about the February school holidays, when the buildings are heated even though they are used half the time”, explains the president of UT3.
Because the bill flies away. With an average of six million euros per year, the note for 2022 could be eight million euros … or even more. “I’m not worried … but still. We will hold the shock financially for 2022 but we are waiting for government aid for 2023”, discovered Jean-Marc Broto.
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