UCL strengthens collaborations with France on doctoral research and AI

UCL hosted Sylvie Retailleau, French Minister of Higher Education & Research, this week as part of a high-level delegation exploring opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaboration with France. Minister Retailleau and Her Excellency Hélène Tréheux-Duchêne, French Ambassador to the UK, were joined by Professor Alain Fuchs, President of Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL) and fellow academics to meet PhD students from UCL and PSL. The students work on collaborative activities between the two institutions. UCL President & Provost Dr Michael Spence signed two agreements, the first a framework with PSL setting out plans to expand mutual research links including the UCL-PSL doctoral research internship programme, which will receive support from the Embassy of France in the UK from April 2024 onwards. The second was a Letter of Intent between UCL and Inria, France's national Institute for Digital Science and Technology, establishing a roadmap to launch a Joint Centre on Artificial Intelligence later this year. The planned UCL-Inria centre will significantly advance research collaborations in computer science, with a core focus on AI. It will signal a pivotal step in supporting Franco-British cooperation on science, innovation and global engagement.