Inauguration of Hydropolis

After more than a year of construction and at a cost of over 10 M€, funded by the Occitanie Region, the University of Montpellier (UM), the CNRS, and the French National Research Institute for Development (IRD), the inauguration of the new Hydropolis building on the Pharmacy campus took place on Thursday, March 30, in the presence of Philippe Augé, President of the University of Montpellier, Claire Gatecel,Chair of the Occitanie Region’s Higher Education and Research Committee; Jean-Christophe Avarre,Deputy Director of the IRD’s ECOBIO Department; Patrick Lachassagne,Director of the Hydrosciences Montpellier unit; and Eric Servat,President of the UNESCO International Water Center in Montpellier.

Hydropolisis the culmination of a major water-related project. The building brings together several research teams and organizations working on all the new challenges related to water. It thus houses, under one roof, the UNESCO ICIREWARD International Center, the Montpellier Environmental Research Observatory (OREME), the HydroSciencesMontpellier (HSM) research unit, and the Aqua-Valley Cluster.

The goal will be to advance scientific knowledge about water, foster cooperation between industry and research teams, and develop and enhance the international recognition of its researchers, in order to position Montpellier as one of the world’s leading centers for water research.