On Friday December 6, Benoît Roig was unanimously elected president of Nîmes University, during a meeting of the Board of Directors. This election marks a turning point for the establishment, which is preparing for a new configuration from January 1, 2025.
Benoît Roig’s project for the next five years is based on strong axes developed during his previous mandate at the head of the University of Nîmes.
The emphasis will be placed on the territorial anchoring of the establishment, student success, as well as the quality of university life.
“This program is ambitious, I am aware, but it is that of a team determined to build a unique university model, innovative in its composition and its relationship with the socio-professional world”declared the new president, specifying that this model will aim to strengthen the visibility of Nîmes University and the partner structures of the Experimental Public Establishment (EPE).
A territorial alliance for 2025
Nîmes University, which will officially take off as an EPE on January 1, 2025, constitutes an original and ambitious territorial alliance initiative.
This new establishment will bring together not only the University of Nîmes, but also several academic, socio-professional and cultural establishments in Gard. Among its members are ESBAN (École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Nîmes), IFME (Institute for Training in Education Professions), Pont du Gard, Purple Campus, CCI Gard, Hemingway and Dhuoda high schools , the Greta-CFA Gard-Lozère, as well as the Nîmes University Hospital.
This unique partnership aims to strengthen links between the academic world, local institutions and businesses, and to create a real training and research network.
Benoît Roig’s journey: from Rugby player to university president
Originally from Narbonne, Benoît Roig has a unique background.
After studying at the University of Montpellier and a doctorate at the École des Mines d’Alès in 1999, he also distinguished himself as a high-level athlete, playing as a professional rugby player at the Rugby Club Narbonne and at the Rugby Club Nîmois between 1991 and 2001.
Alongside his sporting career, he has an academic career. After his doctorate, he became an assistant professor at the École des Mines d’Alès until 2010, before joining the École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique in Rennes.
In 2013, he took up his position at the University of Nîmes, where he founded the establishment’s first multidisciplinary research team, the CHROME laboratory. Under his leadership, the team is recognized by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research. It also sets up the “Risks and Society” Doctoral School.
In January 2019, Benoît Roig was elected president of the University of Nîmes, succeeding Emmanuel Roux. Re-elected in 2020, he continued his mission with the objective of strengthening research and the establishment’s local roots.
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