The University Bourgogne Franche Comté (Burgundy-Franche-Comté) is a ComUE – an association of higher education and research institutions – in the region of Burgundy and Franche-Comté. It is headquartered in Besançon.
In 2007, a union of universities in Burgundy and Franche-Comté was initiated via a partnership agreement signed between them. The Federal University Bourgogne-Franche- Comté and PRES Bourgogne Franche- Comté – the regional centre for research and higher education – were created in 2010 in order to foster collaboration between scientists in the area.
By July 2013, the leadership of the University of Dijin and the University of Besançon announced that they wanted to form a community of universities and other institutions without colleges of engineering – ComUE – although the legislation creating this status was not passed.
In 2015, the ComUE – named the University Burgundy-Franche-Comté – was formally established as a ‘communauté d'universités et établissements’, headquartered in Besançon. The Technology University of Belfort-Montbéliard, the National School of Mechanical and Microtechnology Besançon, the Higher National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Food and Environment, and the Business School of Dijon joined the Universities of Dijon and Besançon as founding members of the ComUE.
The University Bourgogne Franche Comté establishes collaborations with other higher education and research institutions in the region in order to bolster scientific excellence, coordinate policies and help its institutions serve their public role; for instance, by disseminating research. By doing so, they hope to support the socio-economic and cultural development of the area.
A major project of the community is their I-SITE Project, in which the founding members of the community form partnerships with a variety of other institutions, including public hospitals and the National School of Art and Crafts.
