CONFERENCE DES PRESIDENTS D'UNIVERSITE

Their core work

CPU is the national association representing French university presidents, acting as the collective voice of French higher education institutions in European policy and mobility frameworks. Within H2020, they served as France's institutional anchor in the EURAXESS network — the EU's pan-European initiative to support researcher mobility, career development, and cross-border talent services. Their role involves coordinating national-level services that help researchers move to, from, and within France, including guidance on career paths, gender equality, and integration support.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

CPU's early H2020 work (2015-2018) centered on the fundamentals of researcher mobility — career services, job listings, and gender awareness within the established EURAXESS framework. From 2018 onward, their focus expanded to include social integration of mobile researchers, engagement with industry, and the concept of EURAXESS "talent hubs" — a shift from administrative mobility services toward a more comprehensive researcher support ecosystem. The progression from TOP III to TOP IV to Hubs shows a clear trajectory: basic services → optimized network → strategic talent management.

CPU is moving from transactional mobility support toward becoming a talent management hub that connects researchers with industry and broader career opportunities beyond academia.

How they like to work

CPU operates exclusively as a participant, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as a national representative body contributing institutional reach rather than project leadership. They work in large consortia (49 unique partners across 3 projects), which reflects the pan-European structure of the EURAXESS network where each country contributes a national node. Working with CPU means gaining access to the French university system through a single, well-connected institutional gateway.

CPU has collaborated with 49 unique partners across 39 countries — an exceptionally wide geographic spread for just 3 projects, reflecting the EURAXESS network's near-complete coverage of European and associated countries. Their network is broad but thematic, centered entirely on the researcher mobility community.

What sets them apart

CPU is not a research performer — it is the institutional gateway to the entire French public university system. For consortium builders, partnering with CPU means accessing a national network of universities rather than a single institution. This makes them uniquely valuable for projects requiring broad national reach in France, particularly those involving policy implementation, researcher services, or higher education coordination.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EURAXESS TOP III
  Largest funding share (EUR 82,590) and CPU's first H2020 entry, establishing their role as France's EURAXESS service provider.
• EURAXESS Hubs
  Most recent project (2021-2022) piloting the new 'talent hub' concept, signaling the strategic direction of Europe's researcher mobility infrastructure.