Research projects and initiatives

Our university develops a wide variety of research projects, ranging from experimental to participatory research, from fundamental to applied research, and from research carried out within the research platforms on campus to research carried out in local or international research areas.

Our researchers have long been involved in initiatives to open up science to civil society and the socio-economic and cultural world. Thanks to the Science with and for Society label (“Science Avec et Pour la Société - SAPS-MESRI”), our university is able to structure a coherent policy and deploy actions and mechanisms to promote research results (dissemination, mediation, meetings, participatory research, etc.), in collaboration with its partners and catering to the target audiences (general public, schools, public unfamiliar with science, professionals, politicians).

The European Digital UniverCity (EDUC) alliance, of which Paris Nanterre University is a founding member, was one of the first European universities to be certified by the European Commission in 2019. Renewed in 2023, it now has eight members from seven European countries and is supported by a dense network of associated partners. EDUC aims to build a truly European university campus that facilitates cooperation between its members in all areas related to the university's main missions (education, research and innovation, social responsibility). Using digital tools, it encourages physical and virtual mobility among all its students, faculty, and administrative staff.

The UNISSON project is a cross-disciplinary project led by Paris Nanterre University. Its aim is to make the student experience on the university's campuses a national and international benchmark, thereby consolidating Paris Nanterre University's position as a major player in social and solidarity innovation. To this end, the project continues and reinforces the actions of Paris Nanterre University to assess, analyze, and respond to the diverse needs of students in all areas (studies, well-being, health, culture, etc.) before, during, and after their time at the university. The aim is to improve the material and social conditions of student life by creating the conditions for graduates to become strong players in social and solidarity-based innovation, drawing on their experience at Paris Nanterre University.

Paris Nanterre University is the winner of the Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions – Doctoral Networks – 2023, with the Cocoso doctoral network, which has been awarded €3,957,537 in funding over four years (2025-2028). Cocoso brings together six universities and 16 partners from the voluntary and public sectors in 11 European countries. This industrial doctoral network is dedicated to co-construction as a central dimension of democracy in the field of social action.