Investments for the Future Program

Led by the Secrétariat général pour l’investissement (SGPI), the "Programme d’Investissements d’avenir" (Investment for the Future Program, PIA) was launched in 2010 by the French government. It is designed to prepare for the future and to increase the growth potential of the French economy. It is based on a public investment policy to promote education, higher education and research and make the best of technological and economic breakthroughs.

Initiative d’excellence (IDEX) PSL (Initiative of excellence)

The PSL IDEX was presented and certified in 2011 as part of the PIA1 "Initiative d'Excellence" call for proposals. An annual allocation is received by PSL, based on the interests provided by the investment of the €786.8M non-expendable endowment. This non-expendable endowment will only be definitively acquired by the university once it is perpetuated.
The ambition of the IDEX PSL project is to be among the 5 to 10 world-class universities in France, in accordance with the program's objectives.

Labex (laboratories of excellence)

Nine LabEx are confirmed within the scope of PSL in 2019. These are: (Cell(n)Scale, CORAIL, DCBIOL, DEEP, ENS-ICFP, HaStec, IPGG-Labex, MemoLife, WIFI), which are part of the university's major research programs.

Equipex (equipment of excellence)

In 2011, in response to the PIA1 call for proposals that aimed at improving the equipment of French scientific research laboratories, PSL schools were awarded 8 Equipex. Each of the projects received funding ranging from €2 to 10 million. In 2020, PSL submitted 21 projects to the EQUIPEX + call for proposals launched by the ANR.

Instituts 3IA

The Prairie project (PaRis Artificial Intelligence Research InstitutE), in which PSL plays a key role, was certified Institut 3IA (Interdisciplinary Institutes of Artificial Intelligence) in 2019.

Fonds National de Valorisation (National Fund for technology transfer)

In 2017, Université PSL obtained €1 million from the PIA to support the PSL-Valorisation service and develop technology transfer and startup created from PSL laboratories. Thanks to this funding PSL-Valorisation launches each year a call for pre-maturation projects that aims to support innovative projects with high socio-economic potential, stemming from its research teams. The FNV's support was renewed at the end of 2018 for €2 million and then at the end of 2019 for €6 million over a period of 3 years.

Fonds National d'amorçage (National Seed Fund)

The FNA is a fund of funds, managed by Bpifrance and intended to support investment funds in the seed stage. Through this system, Bpifrance is one of the major shareholders of the PSL Innovation Fund, which has raised €76.5M to be invested in PSL's deep tech startups.

Tremplins Carnot

This certification of excellence is awarded to research institutions selected because they promote closer ties between public research and socio-economic players.
Two "Tremplins Carnot" were created within PSL scope: IPGG Microfluidics (hosted by PSL) and Cognition (hosted by CNRS). Both became Carnot Institutes in 2019, joining the five Carnot Institutes within PSL scope (M.I.N.E.S, Cognition, Curie-Cancer, Inria and IPGG).

Institut Convergences

The ANR "Institut Convergences" call for proposals aims to initiate a new approach to develop a few centers bringing together multidisciplinary scientific forces of great scope and high visibility to better respond to major issues, at the crossroads of societal and economic challenges and investigations from the scientific community. PSL was awarded an "Institut Convergences" certification in April 2017: Q-Life.

SFRi and IdéES

Launched by the ANR for IDEX and I-SITEs, SFRI and IDéES respectively aim to enable universities to develop "the impact and international attractiveness of research-based education" and to support "their efforts to transform and integrate". They are part of the EUR (Écoles Universitaires de Recherche) call for proposals launched in March 2017 as part of the PIA3. The PSL project was selected and allocated €33 million over nine years.

Ecoles de recherche (Research schools)

In 2017, two "Ecoles Universitaires de Recherche" (Research schools, EUR) projects, TransLitterae and Front-Cog, were selected as part of the new EUR call for proposals of the PIA3. They are now integrated into the 18 Programmes Gradués de PSL.

French Tech Seed

The French Tech Seed Investment Fund aims to support technology start-ups in the post-maturation phase. It was launched in June 2018. PSL was one of the first winners with the PSL Tech Seed consortium, certified as a "business contributor", which allows PSL start-ups to receive money from this fund, managed by Bpifrance and endowed with €400 million.

Disrupt Campus

In 2017, the "Campus et Formation Etudiants-Entreprises (CFEE)" (campus and student-business training program) project presented by Université PSL and the Innovation Factory, with the support of the Web School Factory, won the "Disrupt' Campus" call for proposals, funded by the PIA and launched by Bpifrance and the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation.

How does Programme d’Investissements d’Avenir (PIA) work

The PIA is based on thematic national calls for proposals designed to select excellent, innovative and high-growth potential projects (PIA1, PIA2, PIA3, PIA4). The program can thus provide funding for the structuring of research universities, for equipments or laboratories of excellence, support industrial and collaborative projects, etc.
Each decision is evaluated by prominent, independent experts.