Faculty and staff gathered at the Welcome Center March 5 for a well-attended Global Insights lunch-and-learn featuring the full team from the Rice Global Paris Center, offering a look at the center’s rapid growth and expanding role as Rice’s European hub. “From Launch to Legacy: Building a Global Hub for Rice University” highlighted how the Paris Center has evolved since its opening in 2022 into a platform for research collaboration, student learning and global engagement.
Administrative director Garry White opened the conversation by describing the center as far more than a physical location. It serves as Rice’s legal and institutional presence in Europe, providing a dedicated space for faculty convenings, research programs and student experiences while raising the university’s visibility and partnerships across the region.
The results have been swift. In just three years, the center has hosted more than 54 conferences and events and welcomed more than 2,300 participants. More than 300 students have taken part in programs or courses connected to the center including the Rice Global Paris Summer Program and the recently launched Paris Fall Semester Program.
Director of strategic alliances Estelle Dubernard highlighted several of the center’s growing international partnerships including a strategic collaboration with Université PSL that has already supported multiple joint research projects and led to a coordinated environmental engineering bachelor’s pathway between the institutions. Dubernard also discussed a new agreement with the Paris Brain Institute connecting Rice’s work in neuroengineering and health innovation with one of Europe’s leading neuroscience centers as well as Rice’s return to VivaTech, one of Europe’s largest technology and innovation gatherings.
Program coordinator Camille Evans and program assistant Smit Brahmbhatt provided insight into the student experience in Paris such as where students live, how courses are structured and the range of disciplines represented in the growing portfolio of summer and semester offerings.
The session also emphasized ways faculty can engage with the Paris Center from hosting conferences and meetings to teaching courses or conducting research while in residence. Calls for new conference and summer course proposals are expected to open in early May.
Those conversations will continue with the next Global Insights session April 7, which will spotlight Rice’s new membership in Venice International University. The program will introduce faculty and staff to opportunities for collaborative teaching, short-term programs and globally focused coursework in Venice, Italy. Registration is now open and lunch will be provided for those who register by April 3.
