ICJ - Interview of Jean-Marc Rapp

Jean-Marc Rapp. President, IDEX project selection jury

1- What is your role as president of the jury?

I think that my role is basically to guarantee the quality of the decisions. That means, on one hand, the quality of the substance of the decisions and, on the other hand, the quality of the process that leads to them.
This goes both for the project developers, who made immense efforts to present and prepare them, and for the government, who expect this process and this contest to lead to improvements and, therefore, major changes in the French university system.

So it is a very large responsibility and I am grateful that I do not bear it alone. Indeed, I would say that another part of my role is to ensure that the multinational, multicultural jury bonds effectively, since it is made up of people from various professional backgrounds. So in a way I also serve as a justice of the peace.


2- What is your opinion of the changes in higher education and research in France?

Listen, I am very impressed by what is happening in France, both on the basis of what we have seen through this competition and with regard to other aspects. The system is changing enormously, and very quickly. For a long time France has had a very fragmented education and research system but it is now becoming much less so, and this progress is being made at a rapid rate. I have also been struck by the fact that all of the project developers that we have seen have been full of enthusiasm and determination to drive things forward.

In short, my assessment would be highly positive. France is genuinely a country on the move and, as such, has plenty of reasons to be optimistic.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Jean
• Marc
• Rapp
• projets
• initiatives
• ICJ
• NSB
• Noir
• sur
• blanc
• 2011