The Liliane Bettencourt school of Inserm

  The purpose of the Inserm Liliane Bettencourt School (EDI) is to provide second year students of medicine or pharmacy with early training in research. It offers those who are willing the possibility to have a resaerch activity while pursuing their studies, and later to combine research to their clinical practice. This program is inspired by the existing MD-PhD programs in the United States and other numerous countries.
It allows to obtain an early Master degree in science and later provides the possibility to obtain an MD-PhD degree. This program is inspired on american MD-PhD programs.

 

How to get in the School of Inserm?

 

The students are selected through various steps from all over France.

The selection by the student's Faculty

An application file must be prepared containing among other papers a CV, the results from the fisrt year of university and an article analysis. Many criterias are taken in account : grades and rank from the first year examination, high school grades, the ability to reflect on research subjects, but also motivation and extra-curricular activities.

The selection on application by the Inserm School

The Liliane Bettencourt Inserm School selects about 50 students among all applications from different french faculties. These students will then have the opportunity to attend "the February  School".

The entrance examination in june

It consists of two ranking tests in the form of an article analysis, treated subjects are close to those seen at the February School. The first test is about Biology and the second can be chosen between Physics, Chemistry or Mathematical Tools. At the end of these oral tests, some twenty students will be selected to follow the program as Inserm School laureates. The other students are encouraged to follow a research course with the help of their faculty, if the later can provide financial aid.

The February School

Two weeks of classes and conferences organised at the International Centre of Pedagogic Studies in Sèvres, an ancient royal factory near Paris. The environement is pleasant and friendly. This course is intense with classes in the day and conferences at night.
Four disciplines are studied : Physic, Chemistry, Mathematical Tools and Biology. The teachers try to link fundamental sciences to medical and biological knowledge, making interdisciplinarity a strong notion. The night conferences are an opportunity for students to meet scientists and/or clinicians of international renown who come to present their work and their career path.

And afterwards?

The different paths in medecine :



The different paths in pharmacy :

 

Second Year of medical/pharmaceutical studies

- February School and oral exams in june
- Credits validation of 1st year Master in the original faculty,or ENS (Normal Superior School), or in a science faculty.

The EDI students are completely free of chosing the subject of their crediting course, they are exhorted to change university. This will give them a larger choice of courses as well as an open-mindness and flexibility, valuable qualities in biomedical research.

Third Year of medical/pharmaceutical studies :

 

- Credits validation of 1st year Master in the original faculty, or ENS, or in a science faculty.
- Inserm School laureates must do 6 month of lab work training. This training can be done in a whole or in two separate 3 months periods in different laboratories or not.

It is a unique opportunity for the student to practice his learnings, test his motivations, target his interests, and above all to dive in fascinating atmosphere of lab work.

Second year of research Master
 

The following year, the laureate will be a full time science student in a faculty or at the ENS. It is a "brake" from medecine/pharmacy, so the laureate can fully commit to his research project for one year.

Science PhD

The laureate can either decide to return to his medical/pharmaceutical studies or to star a three year PhD. For those who become PhD students they must follow the same procedure as any PhD student, meaning finding a funding and a graduate school. The other option is to do the PhD after the medical/pharmaceutical final exam. The choice between these two paths is not obvious and we advise you to ask older students. Keep in mind that your choice will depend mostly on you second year or Master experience and opportunities.

 

Meeting days

Each year, the School of Inserm alumni are invited to reunite at the Scientific Sessions of September where students present the work they have done while in training or for their PhD. They must first rapidly advertise their work and invite everyone to come see their poster. Those interested can further discuss the results.

The laureates who have passed their master degree meet in mars for the Post-Master Days. These seminars have a particular theme and prestigiours speakers are invited.

 

Why the School of Inserm?

- The School of Inserm in an opportunity to meet students from all over France and from different trainings, giving an open-mindness.
- Laureates from the Scool of Inserm benefit from a personal educational support given by an experimented team all through their studies.
- The school of Inserm organises events that allow students to come together, prensent their research work and attend to high quality scientific presentations.
- The bettencourt-Schueller foundation funds fellowship of laureates :

• for their 6 months laboratory experience in 1st year Master         and for 10 months in their 2nd year Master, 417,09€ per month.

• If the laureate chooses to do a PhD immediately after the         master, the School of Inserm will fund the return to         medical/pharmaceutical studies for the same amount as the PhD         (1676,55€) until the final examination.  

• If the laureat decides to pursue his medical/pharmaceutical     studies after the Master, he will be given 417,09€ per month        until the final examination. To justify this, the student must     keep contact with research through the Scientific Sessions of         September, the post-Master days, or congresses and "summer     schools".

 

 Summary of fundings

 

For more information, do not hesitate to contact us!

You can also access the School of Inserm website or contact Cécile Parisy, official representative of the School.