Thesis Project on public policies and transformations in French public higher education
La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime
CDD
Temps-plein
Il y a 2 mois
Offer DescriptionThe Ministry of Higher Education and Research, represented by the Nouvelle-Aquitaine academic region, and the LITHORAL (French name : Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Territoire Histoire Organisation RégulAtion Loi) laboratory at La Rochelle University are offering a COFRA (Convention de formation par la recherche en administration) thesis contract entitled "Public policies and transformations in French public higher education: what are the issues and prospects for a regional university ?"Research context :Higher education and research establishments have undergone major changes over the last 20 years, driven by ministerial policies (development of courses as part of European policy - LMD system -, research pact in 2006, LRU law of 2007, ESR law of 2013, ORE law of 2018, LPR of 2021, etc.).All these measures made major changes within institutions, and have favoured a deep evolution in the French university landscape (site policies, experimental institutions, etc.). In today's global and competitive university environment, institutions need to put in place real strategies in order to establish a clear positioning. At the same time, the major challenges facing society (global warming, ecological crisis, increasing scarcity of resources as the world's population continues to grow, geopolitical context, etc.) reinforce the importance of research in the ability of states and organisations to cope with an uncertain environment.La Rochelle Université has chosen to develop a specialization strategy focused on urban and coastal sustainability (Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability), in line with the initial desire expressed by Minister Vidal to allow university sites to define their own strategy . The institution has also included in its strategy the ambition to carry out methodological work on the societal and territorial impact of a regional university, developing a strong identity based on a specialization strategy.This carefully thought-out strategic project, designed to be consistent with its local area over the years 2017 to 2021, has led to an in-depth restructuring of the institution and entered its operational phase in the last quarter of 2021. The institution's transformation has been facilitated by the fact that it is a winner of the call for “excellence in all its forms” under the 4th Future Investment Program (named PIA 4).This call for projects "offers universities and higher education establishments the opportunity to build a profound transformation project that recognizes and enhances their own path to excellence, on a site-wide scale. Excellence is not a one-size-fits-all concept, and each institution must be able to rise to the highest level, while respecting its own project and territorial identity (...) With the “ExcellenceS program”, universities and higher education institutions will have all the levers they need to establish themselves as the place for inventing the future and foreshadowing the major transformations of tomorrow. (...) By recognizing excellence in all its forms, even more than it has been able to do in the past, the State is affirming more than ever the key role played by higher education and research establishments within their territories, and its desire to support them in defining their own signature. "La Rochelle University was awarded for the “Excel'LR project” and is now able to go further and faster in deploying its strategy of specializing research on the issues of the Intelligent Sustainable Urban Coastline, developing its range of courses, for the benefit of its students and the territories it serves. This far-reaching transformation of a complex organization requires the development of new management tools and indicators, so that the strategy can be managed and adjusted if necessary, and the institution's impact can be monitored (societal, economic, scientific impact, etc.).Thesis project :After giving some preliminary thought to local public action and the territorialization of higher education, research and innovation, the thesis project will first investigate the question of the territorial anchoring of universities and the capacity for action of public players at local level, while also integrating the relationship between universities and businesses.In this respect, it will be interesting to analyze the strengthened relationships between institutions and their economic environment that France has encouraged since the LRU, through the various components of the PIA and now as part of France 2030, with the aim of diversifying the resources of universities and generating new sources of funding. Research will be able to draw on the various scientific studies that have been carried out in this area, particularly on the relationship between universities, cities and local areas, including in other countries. With regard to the more specific field of the university/company relationship (socio-economic players), the thesis will be able to take a closer look at the qualitative and quantitative evolution of these collaborations on different university sites, before analyzing the changes made or desired within the academic environment to foster university/industry collaborations. This will enable a critical analysis of the management strategies and university programs, to increase exchanges with industry.The documents and work produced by the Nouvelle Aquitaine academic region and, at national level, by the MESR's analysis and statistics service (SIES) will be useful for this research and comparative analysis.Once this global comparative approach has been adopted, it will be important to look more specifically at the local environment of La Rochelle, which is a sine qua non conditionfor the development of the indicators mentioned. Given the objective, the research conducted as part of this doctorate will enable us to take a 360-degree approach (considering both public management and local economic impact, for example) to the subject of the impact of an institution such as La Rochelle University (which stakeholders? What are their expectations? What data needs to be collected?...) The aim will therefore be to engage a process of reflection involving the institution's various stakeholders in order to obtain the food for thougt needed to design the strategic information system required to manage an institution that has chosen such a niche and local positioning. As a result, the case study of La Rochelle University, in addition to highlighting how the public policies implemented enable, facilitate and accelerate the transformation of a higher education and research institution, will make a methodological and operational contribution through the design of indicators reporting on the implementation of the institution's strategy, the monitoring of which will improve the quality of the public service provided. From a conceptual point of view, it will be necessary to define the quality of the public higher education service, using the case study mentioned above. Beyond the notion of quality, the subject of stakeholder satisfaction may be questioned. The aim of the thesis is to define the indicators and variables needed by stakeholders to ensure alignment between the strategic project and the institution's situation. The contributions made by the doctoral research will then be used to build a decision support system to help steer the school.RequirementsResearch Field Economics » Administrative sciences Education Level Master Degree or equivalentResearch Field Management sciences » Other Education Level Master Degree or equivalentResearch Field Sociology » Educational sociology Education Level Master Degree or equivalentSkills/QualificationsYou have a Master's degree in management/public management, economics, political science, sociology or a Master's degree from a leading business school, or an engineering degree. You have a definite interest in applied research and are dynamic, organized and able to work in a collaborative environment.Fluency in French is essential for working in a French-speaking environment (min. level C1), as is fluency in English for accessing scientific literature and being able to present one's work in a scientific environment (min. level B2).The person recruited should be familiar with the usual office automation tools. A good knowledge of survey methods in the social sciences would be appreciated.Languages FRENCH Level ExcellentLanguages ENGLISH Level GoodAdditional InformationSelection processNature of the contract : 3-years fixed-term contract.Remuneration defined by the amended decree of 29 August 2016 setting the remuneration of contractual doctoral students.Position based at La Rochelle University. Travel to the New Aquitaine academic region is mandatory.Please send your CV and a note of intent of no more than 2 pages before the 30th of April 2024 to :Work Location(s)Number of offers available 1 Company/Institute La Rochelle Université Country France State/Province Charente Maritime City La Rochelle Postal Code 17000 Street 23 avenue Albert Einstein GeofieldWhere to apply E-mailisabelle.sueur@univ-lr.frContact CityLa Rochelle WebsiteStreet23 avenue Albert Einstein, BP 33060 Postal Code17031STATUS: EXPIRED