KEY ADDITIONS TO THE UNIVERSITY OF REIMS CHAMPAGNE-ARDENNE'S INVEST TEAM

The University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne is glad to announce the nomination of 3 new main actors of the development of the INVEST European University Alliance. 

Christophe Clément has been a university professor of plant physiology since 2001, and a qualified natural scientist. From 2001 to 2020, he was director of a research unit on Induced Resistance and Plant Bioprotection, founder and director of a CNRS research structure, the SRF Condorcet (31 laboratories, 15 technological platforms and 700 researchers) and of a Bioeco Academy campus for careers and qualifications. Since 2020, he has been Vice-president of the university's Academic Council, and 1st Vice-president since 2022. He was also 1st vice-president of the Bioeconomy for Change competitiveness cluster. He is the author of 194 publications in A-ranked journals in the field of plant response to biotic/abiotic stresses and biocontrol (h-index 69, cumulative citations: 24,000) and 4 patents.

Christophe Clément's vision is to unite and federate around the institution’s project, and to make dialogue and consultation with stakeholders the rule of operation. Through his program, he aims to strengthen the scientific identity of the University, and to develop and deploy the "research - training - innovation - international" continuum at the highest level.
Its project is based on 3 axis: a better quality working life (for both students and staff); strengthening URCA's identity and making URCA a more competitive and attractive university.

Students are at the heart of his project. It will make the fight against job insecurity, violence and inequality in all their forms a priority, and aims to accompany and support them at every stage of their career: in their orientation, their academic success and their professional integration.

To this end, it aims to make quality research one of the school's top priorities and to develop a training offer at the highest level to meet the current and future needs of society.

By focusing on the well-being of students and staff, as well as the strategic development of the university, Christophe Clément is committed to making URCA an environment of excellence where everyone is valued and recognized.

The election of Christophe Clément as President opens a new chapter for the University de Reims Champagne-Ardenne.

Essaid Ait Barka is Professor of Plant Physiology. He obtained his PhD from the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne in 1993. He continued his research at Université Laval in Canada and Penn State University in the United States. He has worked as a research professor at NSAC (Nova Scotia, Canada).

With a keen interest in plant-microorganism interactions, his current research focuses on the use of beneficial micro-organisms as microbial inoculants to promote plant growth and provide biological resistance against biotic and abiotic stresses.

He has published over 120 peer-reviewed articles, edited 9 books and two patents. Beyond his research contributions, he is involved in the life of URCA as Vice-President of the Academic Council from 2017 to 2020, and Vice-President for International Relations since 2018.

Hélène Goeury is INVEST Project Leader, the alliance of European universities for regional sustainability, of which URCA has been a member since November 2023. She holds a Franco-German-Polish Master's degree in European Studies from the universities of Opole (Poland), Mainz (Germany) and Dijon (France), with a specialisation in sustainable policies. During her studies, she benefited several times from Erasmus+ (both studies and traineeship) to do exchange semesters in Estonia, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands.

With a keen interest in Central and Eastern Europe, the democratisation of European policies and territorial cooperation, she worked for two years as policy officer in the Higher education and scientific department of the French Embassy in Norway. She also spent a year working in Germany in the field of European youth cooperation and green transition.