Summer Program

Application deadline is extended to 01 April 2024 at 23:59 (Paris time)!

AgroParisTech International Summer Program

This summer 2024, AgroParisTech is offering you a thematic summer program lasting 6 and a half weeks and 100% in English (including «Survival French» courses) with an exclusive format: courses, workshops, lectures, cultural visits…and internships within our research units in the Paris region (Palaiseau), Champagne region (Reims) or Loire Valley (Orléans)!

This program is entirely designed for international students being at least in their third year of higher education in programs related to AgroParisTech’s activities and having a B2 level in English. So, don’t hesitate to apply even if you don’t speak French: beginner and false beginner French classes will be given during your stay!

It is an opportunity to:

• Get a highly valuable experience in France, with a full immersion within the local education, research & innovation ecosystem and even learn some French. 

• Acquire new knowledge about life and environmental sciences and technologies in France and in Europe.

• Explore the areas of Food, Sustainable Cosmetics and Biotechnologies with specialized professors and researchers from the best French higher education institution on these subjects, on cutting-edge, high-tech campuses.

• Discover French methods of learning and experimenting in France’s best research units in the fields of agronomy, food, biotechnology, bio-cosmetics as well as related economics and politics, etc.

• Develop intercultural and other soft skills.

• Meet other students and professors to expand your professional network.

• Open up new life perspectives for yourself and maybe even pursue your studies at AgroParisTech!

What are you waiting for to sign up?

The program

Lasting an exceptional six and a half weeks, the program will start with a full week on our main campus in Palaiseau, located at the heart of the Plateau de Saclay, which is also called the “French Silicon Valley” (South of Paris). There, you will have the opportunity to discover the three main focus areas of Food, Sustainable Cosmetics and Biotechnologies through conferences, workshops, visits and lectures.

You’ll also get the chance to visit the French capital with an iconic cruise on the river Seine, a trip to the world’s largest marketplace for agricultural goods in Rungis and/or an outing to AgroParisTech’s experimental farm.

Starting from the second week, you’ll join one of AgroParisTech’s laboratories as an intern for 5 weeks depending on your interests. 

To conclude the program, all students will gather again at the main campus in Palaiseau for a presentation of their respective internships to the group and researchers involved, a feedback session and a final farewell event.

Research units involved

Each research unit may host 1 to 3 students. More research units may be opening intern positions for applicants to the AgroParisTech International Summer Program.

• PSAE – Paris-Saclay Applied Economics (Palaiseau)

Paris-Saclay Applied Economics is a joint research unit of France’s National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), Université Paris-Saclay and AgroParisTech. The research conducted within the research unit aims to evaluate the economic efficiency of public policies related to agriculture, food, and the environment using theoretical analyses and quantitative methods, such as econometrics, experimental economics, or market equilibrium modelling. Recent work by PSAE researchers has focused on the role of land use in reducing greenhouse gas emissions; the interactions between international trade and adaptive responses to climate change; the development of foods based on plant proteins; the impacts of the Nutriscore and Ecoscore on consumer food choices; and power dynamics within the agrifood industry. In all their work, PSAE researchers examine how stakeholders, such as producers, consumers, and taxpayers, are affected by different regulatory options (e.g. taxes, subsidies, mandatory labelling, technical standards) when it comes to economic, nutritional, health, and environmental returns.

• IJPB – Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin (Versailles)

The “Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin” is a joint INRAE and AgroParisTech research unit within the Université Paris-Saclay. It is one of the largest Plant Science research centers in Europe and is renowned for its unique combination of experimental resources and pluridisciplinary expertise in biology, chemistry and mathematics. The IJPB aims to develop multidisciplinary concepts and tools that extend our fundamental knowledge about plant biology and agronomy towards innovative solutions for complex scientific and social challenges. Research at the IJPB focusses on the evolution and expression of plant genomes; the response of plants to environmental constraints and how this relates to biodiversity; the mechanisms that govern plant development, signaling and communication at different scales, from the cell to whole plants through to seeds; modeling of complex biological phenomena for predictive purposes; and characterization of plant metabolism and their bioproducts (cellulose, lignins, lipids and specialized metabolites) for agroecology and a sustainable bioeconomy.

• GQE-Le Moulon – Quantitative Genetics and Evolution-Le Moulon (Gif-sur-Yvette)

The Quantitative Genetics and Evolution research unit is a member of the Institut “Diversité, Écologie et Évolution du Vivant” (IDEEV) hosting scientists from INRAE, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS and AgroParisTech. GQE-Le Moulon works on evolution and quantitative genetics and develops both theoretical models and applied experiments on plants and yeasts. Altogether, it covers a wide range of disciplinary fields in Biology (including theoretical and evolutionary biology), Agronomical sciences, Mathematics (biostatistics and mathematical modeling) and Bioinformatics. In such a multidisciplinary environment, their research specializes on population genetics and genomics for quantitative traits observed at different integration levels in contrasted environments: molecular phenotypes, architectural or developmental traits, yield components and adaptive traits. The lab also contributes to the valorization of cultivated biodiversity in wheat (participative selection) and maize (marker-assisted selection, genomic selection). Its scientific production is excellent and recognized worldwide.

• SayFood – Paris-Saclay Food and Bioproduct Engineering & the AgroParisTech-Inrae International Centre for Molecular and Physical Gastronomy (Palaiseau)

SayFood is a research unit recently created by INRAE and AgroParisTech. Its mission is to acquire new scientific knowledge and propose new approaches in product and process engineering, applied to bioresources. Thus, the unit aims to contribute to the development of new sustainable food systems by working in interdisciplinarity on the “design-consumption” continuum. To conduct its research, SayFood draws on a set of disciplines covering food science, microbiology, process engineering and consumer science.

The AgroParisTech-Inrae International Center for Molecular Gastronomy was created by its director Hervé This, who invented molecular gastronomy in 1988. The scientific discipline of “molecular and physics gastronomy” has grown steadily throughout the world (37 countries involved to date), with research activities, teaching applications and culinary applications. The center is dedicated to researching and sharing culinary advances from a chemical and molecular point of view, including Note by Note cuisine, a genuine revolution in the culinary world using pure compounds instead of animal or plant tissues to cook.

• ABI – Industrial Agro-Biotechnologies (Reims)

The Industrial Agro-Biotechnologies research unit is dedicated to the creation of innovations and their transfer to industrialization. Located in the European Center for Biotechnology and Bioeconomy (CEBB) at the heart of the Pomacle-Bazancourt biorefinery, it focusses on the valorization of biomass through the combination of white biotechnologies, green chemistry and process engineering. Thanks to its expertise in chemistry, polymers/materials, microbiology/biochemistry/molecular biology, chemical engineering and separation process as well as in analytical chemistry, the ABI unit is able to carry out multi- and transdisciplinary fundamental as well as applied research projects, the ambition being to develop and optimize sustainable industrial processes and high added-value products from agro-resources (biorefineries by-products, agro-waste…). Specifically, ABI’s scientists focus on the development of high added-value bio-based functional molecules/ingredients (antimicrobials, antioxidants, anti-UV, flavoring agents, surfactants…) and polymers/materials, as well as that of platform molecules (synthons), such as organic acids or aromatic/phenolic compounds, which can be used in fine chemistry, in the food industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the cosmetic industry and as biocontrol.

• Cosmetology Research Chair (Orléans)

Since 2022, the AgroParisTech Cosmetology Research Chair aims at strengthening local research and education in cosmetology, fostering growth in the cosmetics industry by producing world-class skills and expertise, speeding up innovation transfer between the Chair and the private sector, and positioning the Orléans region as a global leader in cosmetics. It is supported by private benefactors, the AgroParisTech Foundation, LVMH Recherche and the Shiseido group. It is also located at the heart of Cosmetic Valley, an organization that brings together, coordinates and supports 220 companies, research centers, universities and higher education institutions in the French perfumery-cosmetics sector. Together with local authorities, this organization promotes growth and innovation in the sector and contributes to the international influence of the French cosmetics industry.

Academic offer and logistics

Included:

• Accommodation (Paris/Palaiseau, Orléans, Reims)
• Transport to and from Orléans and Reims at the beginning and end of the internship
• Local transportation
• Above-mentioned social and cultural activities
• Laboratory internship, including mentoring by top-level professors and researchers
• Courses, workshops and conferences, including “Survival French” classes
• Cultural visits included in the program
• Local support by AgroParisTech’s European and International Relations Office

Not included:

• Transportation to and from your home destination
• Transportation to and from your arrival and departure location (airport, railway station…)
• Daily living expenses (e.g. meals), except where indicated
• Extra social and cultural activities that are not mentioned in the program

Price

• 4,000 EUR
• 3,200 EUR for partner universities

Students enrolled at one of AgroParisTech’s partner universities benefit from a preferential rate with a discount of 800 EUR. To benefit from this rate, please send us your application via your Home Institution’s International Office.
 

Who is the program open to?

The program is open to English-speaking students (minimum B2) who are at least in their 3^rd year of higher education. It is exclusively designed for students enrolled in scientific and technological courses related to life and environmental sciences. Students may be complete beginners in French.
 

How to apply?

To take part in the AgroParisTech International Summer Program in Food, Sustainable Cosmetics and Biotechnologies, please fill in and send the application form with supporting documents to @email before 24 March 2024 at 23:59 (Paris time). Your application has to be written in English.

If you are a student from a partner university, please forward your application to the International Relations Office of your university and they will contact us directly.

If you wish to benefit from the preferential rate and your university is not partnered with us, please contact the International Relations Office of your university so we can explore possible cooperation opportunities between our two institutions.

There are a limited number of places available on the program and in our research units, so make sure to highlight your motivations, relevant background and ambitions if you want your application to be accepted!

After the deadline, applications will be carefully reviewed by AgroParisTech’s European and International Relations Office and research units. You can expect an answer in early April.