Latest news with #EricBerton
Local France
18-04-2025
- Science
- Local France
First US 'refugee scientists' to arrive in France in weeks
Aix Marseille University said its " Safe Place for Science " scheme received a flood of applicants after announcing in March it would open its doors to US scientists threatened by cuts. Of 298 applications, 242 were deemed eligible and "are being studied" for some 20 available posts, the university said in a statement. It added that 135 of the applicants were US citizens, and 45 were dual citizens. University president Eric Berton said he wanted to see a new status of "refugee scientist" be created, and for more US researchers to be welcomed in France and Europe. READ MORE: Calls in France to create new 'refugee' status for US researchers A bill establishing such a status was presented in the French parliament on Monday by former president Francois Hollande, now a deputy. Aix Marseille University has previously brought in 25 scientists from Ukraine, Yemen, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories under another programme for researchers under threat. Advertisement The university has set aside a budget so that each researcher taken in receives between €600,000 and €800,000 over three years to continue their work. It said the applicants from a variety of US institutions, including Johns Hopkins, NASA, Yale, Stanford, Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania. A selection panel will meet next Wednesday, followed by remote interviews before the first scientists arrive in early June. READ MORE: How easy is it to move to France as a researcher or scientist?
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
First US 'refugee scientists' to arrive in France in weeks: university
The first researchers fleeing US spending cuts imposed by President Donald Trump will start work at a French university in June, officials said Thursday. Aix Marseille University said its "Safe Place for Science" scheme received a flood of applicants after announcing in March it would open its doors to US scientists threatened by cuts. Of 298 applications, 242 were deemed eligible and "are being studied" for some 20 available posts, the university said in a statement. It added that 135 of the applicants were US citizens, and 45 were dual citizens. University president Eric Berton said he wanted to see a new status of "refugee scientist" be created, and for more US researchers to be welcomed in France and Europe. A bill establishing such a status was presented in the French parliament on Monday by former president Francois Hollande, now a deputy. Aix Marseille University has previously brought in 25 scientists from Ukraine, Yemen, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories under another programme for researchers under threat. The university has set aside a budget so that each researcher taken in receives between 600,000 and 800,000 euros ($680,00-$910,000) over three years to continue their work. It said the applicants from a variety of US institutions, including Johns Hopkins, NASA, Yale, Stanford, Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania. A selection panel will meet next Wednesday, followed by remote interviews before the first scientists arrive in early June. faa/so/rmb/tw
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
French university's ‘Safe Place for Science' draws US applicants
Aix Marseille University's 'Safe Place for Science' program, which aims to attract top U.S. graduates, claims it's received nearly 300 applications from scholars 'wishing to pursue their research in complete freedom.' University President Eric Berton said Thursday the school proposed a bill this week requesting 'scientific refugee' status to expedite the processing of qualified U.S. researchers. Aix Marseille University, which dates back to 1409, said in March it was committing more than $17 million to enticing Ph.D. or MD students from all over the world — but mainly the U.S. — to study in Southern France over the next three years. University officials announced Thursday they'd received 298 applications for 15 openings when the program begins in June. The 242 applications that meet the school's guidelines are being reviewed. As many as 40 candidates will be interviewed. Americans accounted for 135 of those applications and 45 came from people of dual nationalities. Men and women applied evenly, the school said. 'In a context where some scientists in the United States may feel threatened or hindered in their research, our university is announcing the launch of the Safe Place For Science program, dedicated to welcoming scientists wishing to pursue their work in an environment conducive to innovation, excellence and academic freedom,' Aix Marseille University announced when launching the program. The university said the majority of U.S. applicants have ties to top schools including Johns Hopkins, the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Stanford and Yale. The French university's effort to attract U.S. scholars coincides with the Trump administration's efforts to strip funding from academic institutions including Harvard, which is in danger of losing its tax exempt status. According to Harvard officials, the White House has demanded the Ivy League institution take steps to meet several demands — including the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion programs — or lose nearly $9 billion in federal funding. Trump administration critics have warned of a U.S. 'brain drain' if top students leave the country and foreign students find studying here uninviting. ______
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
French university's ‘Safe Place for Science' draws US applicants
Aix Marseille University's 'Safe Place for Science' program, which aims to attract top U.S. graduates, claims it's received nearly 300 applications from scholars 'wishing to pursue their research in complete freedom.' University President Eric Berton said Thursday the school proposed a bill this week requesting 'scientific refugee' status to expedite the processing of qualified U.S. researchers. Aix Marseille University, which dates back to 1409, said in March it was committing more than $17 million to enticing Ph.D. or MD students from all over the world — but mainly the U.S. — to study in Southern France over the next three years. University officials announced Thursday they'd received 298 applications for 15 openings when the program begins in June. The 242 applications that meet the school's guidelines are being reviewed. As many as 40 candidates will be interviewed. Americans accounted for 135 of those applications and 45 came from people of dual nationalities. Men and women applied evenly, the school said. 'In a context where some scientists in the United States may feel threatened or hindered in their research, our university is announcing the launch of the Safe Place For Science program, dedicated to welcoming scientists wishing to pursue their work in an environment conducive to innovation, excellence and academic freedom,' Aix Marseille University announced when launching the program. The university said the majority of U.S. applicants have ties to top schools including Johns Hopkins, the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Stanford and Yale. The French university's effort to attract U.S. scholars coincides with the Trump administration's efforts to strip funding from academic institutions including Harvard, which is in danger of losing its tax exempt status. According to Harvard officials, the White House has demanded the Ivy League institution take steps to meet several demands — including the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion programs — or lose nearly $9 billion in federal funding. Trump administration critics have warned of a U.S. 'brain drain' if top students leave the country and foreign students find studying here uninviting. ______
The Guardian
17-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Nearly 300 applications to French university offer to take in US academics
Nearly 300 academics have applied to a French university's offer to take in US-based researchers rattled by the American government's crackdown on academia, as a former French president called for the creation of a 'scientific refugee' status for academics in peril. Earlier this year, France's Aix-Marseille University was among the first in Europe to respond to the funding freezes, cuts and executive orders unleashed on institutions across the US by Donald Trump's administration. What they were offering – through a programme titled Safe Place for Science – was a sort of 'scientific asylum', offering three years of funding at their facility for about 20 researchers. On Thursday the university said it had received 298 applications in a month, of which 242 were deemed eligible. The applicants hailed from institutions such as Johns Hopkins University, NASA, Columbia, Yale and Stanford, it said in a statement. Most of the applications were sent using encrypted messaging, the university's president, Eric Berton, wrote in the French newspaper Libération. 'And with them came worrying, sometimes chilling, accounts from American researchers about the fate reserved for them by the Trump administration,' he said. Most of the applicants were experienced researchers in fields that ranged from the humanities to life sciences and the environment, according to the university. Just over half of the eligible applicants, 135, were American, while 45 were dual nationals. More than a dozen French citizens also applied, as did Europeans, Indian nationals and Brazilians. The university said the selection process would start in the coming days, with the aim of allowing researchers to begin arriving in early June. François Hollande, a former president of France and a current Socialist MP, recently joined forces with Berton to call for France to recognise embattled researchers from around the world as refugees. 'Just like the expression of divergent opinions, their work, which is a source of innovation and knowledge, has become a risk for the propaganda of regimes,' the pair recently wrote in Libération. Academics, much like journalists or political opponents, should be able to qualify for protection, they argued. 'Indeed, current asylum mechanisms do not take into account the specificities of the academic environment and the threats facing scientists within authoritarian regimes,' they wrote. 'This is why we are making an urgent request, one that is appropriate for the current situation: the creation of a 'scientific refugee' status.' On Monday, Hollande backed his words with legislative action. In a bill tabled in the country's national assembly, he proposed that researchers who are suffering attacks on their academic freedom be eligible for subsidiary protection – a category reserved for asylum seekers who do not meet the conditions for refugee status but who can demonstrate that they are facing serious threats. Doing so would allow for faster and more efficient processing of these researchers, as officials could set out clear eligibility criteria and map out pathways to ensure that they would be able to continue their research. Hollande described it as an 'obligation', particularly for researchers working in fields such as the climate crisis. 'If they are interrupted, hindered, prevented, it will be a step backwards for humanity,' he told the broadcaster France Inter. He described the bill – which must be approved by parliament – as a response to a historic moment. 'It's a symbolic way to show that France is an open country at a time when the United States is closing in on itself and authoritarian regimes are pursuing aggressive, repressive policies,' he said. 'It's about rediscovering the France of the Enlightenment, the one that in other times was capable of welcoming persecuted researchers from all over the world.'
