Sorbonne University Foundation announces new president of the campaign committee

This is a homecoming for Anne-Laure Kiechel, who studied mathematics at the former Pierre-et-Marie Curie University, now Sorbonne University. In January 2019, she founded Global Sovereign Advisory (GSA), an independent entity which currently advises approximately twenty heads of state and governments on their economic and strategic issues with a holistic approach built on academic and interdisciplinary work. For Anne-Laure Kiechel, "Universities is a common good. By nurturing and sharing knowledge, they serve all the actors of a democracy, which is particularly precious in times of uncertainty. I am proud to be able to contribute to the influence of the invaluable heritage of Sorbonne University."

Sorbonne University was created on January 1, 2018 by the merger of the universities Paris-Sorbonne (Paris-IV) and Pierre-et-Marie-Curie (Paris-VI). Its three faculties (Arts & Humanities, Medicine, Science & Engineering) have numerous sites within Paris and on France’s coasts. It is ranked among the fifty best universities in the world in twelve different disciplines and the very first in Europe. It has 55,600 students including 10,200 international students and 3,700 academic researchers and another 3,000 partner researchers. More than 400,000 alumni are now active in a wide variety of disciplinary fields and in many countries.

"Our university is young but carries the heritage of one of the oldest and most illustrious places of thought and research. We continue to open up to the world and to society because that is the historic role of the university. The inauguration of Paris Parc in 2022, which brings together the transfer, innovation and entrepreneurship activities of Sorbonne University, will be a highlight for our university as well as for the community of students, scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs and more widely of the citizens. We will also strengthen our partnerships with universities on all continents,” said Jean Chambaz, president of Sorbonne University.

Launched in 2018 under the campaign presidency of Thierry Breton, the "Welcome to the Future" campaign has already raised 55 million euros from 60 corporate sponsors and 2,500 donors. 56 projects were thus able to be funded around five priorities: the smart city, tomorrow's health, artificial intelligence, environmental transition, heritage for the future. "The objective is to raise 100 million by 2022 to finance the development of interdisciplinary research, the emergence of talents and the construction of a stimulating environment" said Barthélémy Jobert, president of the Sorbonne University Foundation.

This article was first published on 6 June by Sorbonne University.