UNIVERSITE DE BRETAGNE OCCIDENTALE

description of organisation

Founded in 1971 in the western tip of France, the University of Bretagne Occidentale (UBO) is a multidisciplinary university, attuned to the social, economic, political, cultural or environmental changes of our societies and the associated challenges. UBO offers degree programs in the fields of science, humanities, technology, medicine and law. It has 23 000 students, 9% of whom are international students of 100 different nationalities. It is a multi-campus university, with the main site in Brest and satellite campuses in Quimper and Morlaix.
UBO has 189 diplomas, 32 research units, 6 faculties, 8 institutes, an engineering school and 2300 employees including 1350 lecturers and 950 support staff (librarians, engineers, administrative staff, technicians, maintenance, service and healthcare workers...).

As a multidisciplinary university, it has an ambitious research and training policy that seeks to advance knowledge and improve qualifications for students and professionals in Western Brittany and beyond. Supporting Lifelong Learning (LLL) and Adult Education has also been one of the university’s main objectives since 1998. UBO now welcomes more than 5,000 adults each year.

Based on 32 research units (most of them linked with French national research organizations such as CNRS, IRD, IFREMER, INSERM...) and conducted by 850 researchers, UBO has developed a trans-disciplinary research approach around 4 strategic areas: Marine Sciences, Mathematics and ICT, Health Agrifood and Environment-Materials, Humanities and Social Sciences, corresponding to 4 specialized institutes including the European Institute of Marine Science (IUEM). More than 100 PhD theses are defended each year at UBO. UBO promotes interdisciplinary exchanges and the emergence of innovative research projects.

Several student services are available to support students throughout their studies and their student life: a Career, Guidance and Employability Center, 11 libraries, a health service, sport facilities and sport courses, and language support: free conversation workshops and language exchanges for all students are offered in four languages, led by students in their native language. French as a Foreign Language (FLE) course for foreign students are also available.
Since 2019, UBO is a member of the SEA-EU alliance, joining 6 universities which share a common vision of sustainability of marine societies and education as a key catalyst for change. SEA-EU alliance members are: Cadiz University, Gdansk University, Malta University, Kiel University, Split University and University of Bretagne Occidentale. The alliance’s objective is to build a distinctly international pluri-ethnic, multilingual and interdisciplinary European University. SEA-EU project also aims to remove the obstacles to international mobility for students with less opportunities, with the objective to reach 50% of international mobility within 10 years. SEA-EU alliance aims to create the conditions in which young people will be able to freely and confidently move between disciplines, languages, countries and sectors. SEA-EU will be a universe of possibilities, in which each student will be free, but guided, to seek out and develop his/her own path. SEA-EU also aims to foster student’s engagement and involvement, to deepen the link between university and society, and to promote the link between student’s organizations of European countries.
Volunteering appears thus as a highly-valuable path to be developed by UBO and its partners, since one of their objectives is to aware students on European citizenship and engage them to reflect critically on society and take up their democratic rights to improve life in local communities.