The University of Poitiers (UP; French: Université de Poitiers, pronounced [ynivɛʁsite də pwatje]) is a public university located in Poitiers, France. It is a member of the Coimbra Group. It is multidisciplinary and contributes to making Poitiers the city with the highest student/inhabitant ratio in France by welcoming nearly 28,000 students in 2017.
The University of Poitiers represents a global operating budget of around 150 million euros per year, one-third of which is for operating and investment costs and two-thirds for personnel costs. As of July 2015 it is a member of the regional university association
Leonardo da Vinci consolidated University.
Contents
History
Founded in 1431 by Pope Eugene IV and chartered by King Charles VII, the University of Poitiers was originally composed of five faculties: theology, canon law, civil law, medicine, and arts.
In the 16th century, the university exerted its influence over the town cultural life, and was ranked second only to Paris. Of the 4,000 students who attended it at the time, some were to become famous: Joachim Du Bellay, Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac, François Rabelais, René Descartes, and Scévole de Sainte-Marthe, to name but a few.
After temporary closure during the French Revolution when provincial universities were abolished, the University of Poitiers reopened in 1796. The reinstated university was merged from several schools and contained new faculties such as the faculty of science and the faculty of letters.
They established the École nationale supérieure d'ingénieurs de Poitiers, a department which trains engineers, in 1984 after having created the Institut de sciences et techniques de Poitiers, its predecessor.
The first Confucius Institute in France was created on the campus in 2005 with the cooperation of Nanchang University and Jiujiang University.
After having managed its payroll and budget since 1 January 2010, the University of Poitiers is the third university in France to have its premises.
In late 2011 the university changed its logo. They submitted four so that students and the staff were able to decide. The up-to-date logo is based on the original coat of arms while the former was something modern. Over 9,000 people participated in the selection of the new logo.
In 2012, the university launched a blogging platform where the teaching staff and researchers deal with topical subjects, each in their area of expertise. The slogan is the word of experts.
Organization
The university covers all major academic fields through its 14 teaching and research departments, institutes, and schools:
Teaching and Research Departments
Department of Law and Social Sciences
Department of Economics
Department of Basic and Applied Science
Department of Literature and Languages
Department of Human Sciences and Arts
Department of Sports Sciences
Department of Medicine and Pharmacy
School
Graduate Engineering School - École nationale supérieure d'ingénieurs de Poitiers (ENSIP)
Institutes
Polytechnic of Poitiers (IUT)
Polytechnic of Angoulême (IUT)
IAE University Business School (IAE Poitiers)
Institute of Communication and New Technologies (ICOMTEC)
General Administration Preparatory Institute (IPAG)
Institute of Industrial, Insurance and Financial Risks (IRIAF)
Research
In the scientific domain, it has these laboratories, where ENSIP is part of:
LIAS: automatics
IC2MP: chemistry and materials
Institut Pprime: physics
In the legal domain, the Center for Studies on International Legal Cooperation Archived 29 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine (CECOJI) is a joint research unit (UMR) involving the University of Poitiers and the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS).
Life on campus
Students can play in athletic teams, or just enjoy all the sports proposed. It is also possible to play golf at the north of the campus of Poitiers and sail in La Rochelle.
The Bitards are also known as the university's most famous student association.
Notable people
Medieval
Johann Reuchlin (1455-1522) - Greek and Hebrew scholar
François Rabelais (c.1490-1553) - writer
Hubert Languet (1518-1581) - diplomat
Joachim du Bellay (c.1522-1560) - poet, critic
Pierre de Ronsard (1524-1585) - poet
François Viète (1540-1603) - mathematician
Robert Hayman (1575-1629) - poet and colonist
Georg Anton von Rodenstein (1579-1652) - bishop
René Descartes (1596-1650) - philosopher
Joseph-François Lafitau (1681-1746) - Jesuit missionary, ethnologist, and naturalist
Modern
Georges Vacher de Lapouge (1854-1936) - anthropologist
Alfred Jeanroy (1859-1953) - linguist
José Fernández Montesinos (1897-1972) - historian and literary critic
Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995) - philosopher
Edmond-René Labande (1908-1992) - archivist and historian
Mikel Dufrenne (1910-1995) - philosopher
Roger Garaudy (1913-2012) - philosopher
John Howard Griffin (1920-1980) - American journalist and author
Jean Foyer (1921-2008) - lawyer and politician
Pierre Bec (1921-2014) - poet and linguist
Michel Clouscard (1928-2009) - philosopher and sociologist
Jean-Claude Coquet (1928-2023) - linguist and semiotician
Samir Amin (1931-2018) - economist
Kweku Etrew Amua-Sekyi (1933-2007) - Ghanaian Supreme Court Judge
Claude Hagège (b. 1936) - linguist
Joaquim Chissano (b. 1939) - Mozambican politician
Pascal Salin (b. 1939) - economist
Pascoal Mocumbi (1941-2023) - Mozambican politician
Points of interest
Jardin botanique universitaire de Poitiers