M2 - Biodiversity Communication and Education

This course starts with the integration seminar.

During this course, students will participate in the design and implementation of two major annual events in the field of ecology: the Festival de la biodiversité (Festi'Versité) and the Salon national de la biodiversité (SNB). Since 2008, these events have provided an opportunity to bring together, get to know and promote all the players in the professional ecology sector in France.

Working with partner organizations (OFB, F-CEN, UPGE, F-CPIE, UM, CNRS, local authorities, etc.) and the organizing professional structure, the students will assist in the management of the two events.) and the organizing professional structure, the students are assistants to the project management of the two events, occupying various positions according to their motivations, interests and abilities (experience, skills, proposed training courses) in conjunction with volunteers from other training courses (BTS): recruitment and reception of the public and speakers, media events, communication, safety (fire risk, first aid), logistics, fund-raising, eco-responsibility, etc. The positions are offered through job descriptions for which the students apply during the master's integration seminar.

Supported by an Adhoc structure (in the process of being set up) and under the direction of a steering committee bringing together their main stakeholders, these 2 events integrate the assistance of students from the Environmental Management master's courses at the University of Montpellier's Faculty of Science, as part of their teaching and through their student associations.

- Festi'Versité, the biodiversity festival. Festi'Versité raises public awareness of ecological issues through events, shows, games, conferences, screenings and photo exhibitions. It takes place over a weekend in late October/early November at Montpellier Zoo.

- The national biodiversity show. Combining a forum for careers and training, a scientific and technical congress and professional meetings, it features conferences and round tables, scientific and technical presentations, recruitment and professional exchanges. The show takes place over 2 days in January at the Parc des Expositions in Montpellier.

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During this course, students will apply the skills acquired during the "Project Management" course to a concrete case, a project to be carried out in groups of 3 to 5 students on behalf of a professional structure (private or public companies, cooperatives, liberal professions, associations, public establishments (universities and research organizations in particular), local authorities, etc.).

The project takes place over a 4-month period, during which the students work part-time, on a rhythm of ½ day a week (Friday mornings).

The project is designed to enable students to put their knowledge and skills to good use outside the university environment, by responding to the specific needs of a professional organization. The project prepares the student to respond to a specific need, acting as an engineering and design service provider in anticipation of their next professional appointment, i.e. their end-of-study internship or first job. It's an enriching experience that can be added to a student's CV, sometimes leading to an internship or even a job.

The projects on offer are diverse and varied: scientific and regulatory watch, state of the art, validation of methods and protocols, data collection and analysis, feasibility studies for creation and innovation, support in the preparation phase of responses to calls for tenders or calls for projects, diagnosis and recommendations, drafting of advisory or training documents, design and implementation of educational and/or teaching activities, design of communication documents, assistance with the organization of events, etc.

How it works: The UE coordinators and each pathway coordinator look for and propose topics that will be open to all students from all pathways (mixed groups are possible if the topic lends itself to it, as do the profiles). Students apply, and the UE coordinator selects the applications and proposes a group structure, which is then rapidly validated by the UE coordinator. The course leaders propose one or more tutors for each proposed project.

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Project management is an essential skill for a Master's-level professional. The aim of this course is to enable you to design and manage a project. We'll look at the different phases of a project, its financing (diversification of sources and budget), the planning of work, time and resources, teamwork (meetings, conflicts, reporting) and risk management. The 6-week "project management" MOOC (Common Core, or classic course - 20 hours of training: Common Core (4 weeks) + 2 specialization modules minimum) between late September and early November will be supplemented by various TDs.

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The expansion of the urban environment is leading to the fragmentation/destruction of natural habitats, conservation problems and a change in the relationship between man and nature. However, urban spaces can also be home to significant biodiversity in close proximity to man, which can then be used for conservation, awareness-raising, improving human well-being or even therapeutic purposes. It's a tall order to try to work in ecology while denying the existence and consequences of the urban environment and its particularities. The aim of this course is to help future ecology professionals find a compromise between urban development and respect for nature. Through courses given by a variety of professionals and a field trip to Montpellier, students will discover where (associations, consultancies, local authorities, etc.), with whom and how an ecologist can act in urban ecology.

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1 "The way in which the modern West represents nature is the least shared thing in the world" (Descola, 2005, p. 56). According to anthropologist Philippe Descola, the category of "Nature", as a reality separate from the human world, was invented by Europeans, and is just one of the ways in which societies can account for the living and non-living beings that surround them.

While Philippe Descola is helping to renew questions concerning the relationship between society and the environment, he is also drawing on a long tradition in the human and social sciences. Numerous works have already explored the various forms of knowledge and social organization to which these relationships give rise: ethnoscience, anthropology of technology, economic anthropology, ethnoecology, sociology of science and technology, and so on.

This issue is far from being confined to the academic sphere. It is also of interest to those involved in conservation (biodiversity, natural resources, etc.) and industry (pharmacology). It is also mobilizing so-called "indigenous" populations who are demanding, both locally and internationally, access to resources and the preservation of an intangible heritage.

2. Situated at the crossroads of social sciences and life sciences, these disciplines analyze how human societies use plants, animals and other environmental components, and how their conceptions and representations of their environment(s) shape these uses. This research also explores how human societies organize themselves, perpetuate themselves, change to adapt to new contexts (globalization, global change) and transmit knowledge about their relationships with nature.

For a long time, these disciplines focused more specifically on the interrelations between so-called "traditional" societies and their immediate environment. Then, from the 1970s onwards, researchers reconsidered the distinction between "traditional" and "modern" societies, to better address the new environmental and social transformations taking place today.

On the one hand, even the most isolated local societies are affected by events that are decided and unfolding on different scales (international conventions, economic crises). Their immediate environment is also affected by global phenomena (climate change, erosion of biodiversity, etc.). In return, their actions can also have international ecological, social and economic repercussions, when, for example, these companies organize to bring their demands to international arenas.

On the other hand, the relationship that modern societies have with their environment is being reconfigured in the face of an increasingly "artificialized" planet threatened by serious disruptions and crises. The place of flora and fauna is being reconsidered, and their rights are the subject of controversy. Moreover, the entry into a new geological era, the Anthropocene, is being used to call on both the natural sciences and the human and social sciences to take a fresh look at the shared history of the environment and society.

3. The very work of scientists and engineers is apprehended in a new light. A new scientific project in the humanities and social sciences aims to reconsider the role of "non-humans", and calls for analytical categories other than Nature and Culture. New scales and methods of investigation are also envisaged to analyze global processes.

These recent changes in scale invite researchers in the humanities and social sciences to (re)consider their approach through a reflexive lens: they are no longer mere observers, but can also be genuine actors in processes, when they are not directly involved in a social movement.

4. The aim of this module is to introduce these different scientific and operational fields. The aim is to provide students with benchmarks and food for thought, enabling them to construct scientific questions on the relationship between society and the environment, and to reflect on the ways in which current environmental and social issues can be tackled. The speakers' varied geographical and disciplinary backgrounds will illustrate the approach across a wide range of ecosystem types, socio-cultural contexts and themes. In the time available, we cannot claim to cover all the themes, approaches and methods exhaustively. Any student wishing to delve deeper into this field will need to take a more in-depth training course.

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Gestion du Milieu Aquatique et Prévention des Inondations
Discipline: Ecology, Hydraulics

This teaching unit enables students to immerse themselves in a real case study, in the field, relating to the GEMAPI competence. Stakeholders and managers will be met on the study site to appreciate the challenges and complexity of the territory. Student groups will work on a concrete project to bring together water management and flood prevention in a way that respects ecology, the environment and people. This teaching unit will be an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills acquired in previous courses (ecology, hydraulics, legislation, regional planning, etc.).

The study is deployed on the same concrete case, from the field phase through modeling, analysis and concerted management, to the phase of presenting the impact of developments. Work is carried out in groups.

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The expansion of the urban environment is leading to the fragmentation/destruction of natural habitats, conservation problems and a change in the relationship between man and nature. However, urban spaces can also be home to significant biodiversity in close proximity to man, which can then be used for conservation, awareness-raising, improving human well-being or even therapeutic purposes. It's a tall order to try to work in ecology while denying the existence and consequences of the urban environment and its particularities. The aim of this course is to help future ecology professionals find a compromise between urban development and respect for nature. Through courses given by a variety of professionals and a field trip to Montpellier, students will discover where (associations, consultancies, local authorities, etc.), with whom and how an ecologist can act in urban ecology.

See full page

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1 "The way in which the modern West represents nature is the least shared thing in the world" (Descola, 2005, p. 56). According to anthropologist Philippe Descola, the category of "Nature", as a reality separate from the human world, was invented by Europeans, and is just one of the ways in which societies can account for the living and non-living beings that surround them.

While Philippe Descola is helping to renew questions concerning the relationship between society and the environment, he is also drawing on a long tradition in the human and social sciences. Numerous works have already explored the various forms of knowledge and social organization to which these relationships give rise: ethnoscience, anthropology of technology, economic anthropology, ethnoecology, sociology of science and technology, and so on.

This issue is far from being confined to the academic sphere. It is also of interest to those involved in conservation (biodiversity, natural resources, etc.) and industry (pharmacology). It is also mobilizing so-called "indigenous" populations who are demanding, both locally and internationally, access to resources and the preservation of an intangible heritage.

2. Situated at the crossroads of social sciences and life sciences, these disciplines analyze how human societies use plants, animals and other environmental components, and how their conceptions and representations of their environment(s) shape these uses. This research also explores how human societies organize themselves, perpetuate themselves, change to adapt to new contexts (globalization, global change) and transmit knowledge about their relationships with nature.

For a long time, these disciplines focused more specifically on the interrelations between so-called "traditional" societies and their immediate environment. Then, from the 1970s onwards, researchers reconsidered the distinction between "traditional" and "modern" societies, to better address the new environmental and social transformations taking place today.

On the one hand, even the most isolated local societies are affected by events that are decided and unfolding on different scales (international conventions, economic crises). Their immediate environment is also affected by global phenomena (climate change, erosion of biodiversity, etc.). In return, their actions can also have international ecological, social and economic repercussions, when, for example, these companies organize to bring their demands to international arenas.

On the other hand, the relationship that modern societies have with their environment is being reconfigured in the face of an increasingly "artificialized" planet threatened by serious disruptions and crises. The place of flora and fauna is being reconsidered, and their rights are the subject of controversy. Moreover, the entry into a new geological era, the Anthropocene, is being used to call on both the natural sciences and the human and social sciences to take a fresh look at the shared history of the environment and society.

3. The very work of scientists and engineers is apprehended in a new light. A new scientific project in the humanities and social sciences aims to reconsider the role of "non-humans", and calls for analytical categories other than Nature and Culture. New scales and methods of investigation are also envisaged to analyze global processes.

These recent changes in scale invite researchers in the humanities and social sciences to (re)consider their approach through a reflexive lens: they are no longer mere observers, but can also be genuine actors in processes, when they are not directly involved in a social movement.

4. The aim of this module is to introduce these different scientific and operational fields. The aim is to provide students with benchmarks and food for thought, enabling them to construct scientific questions on the relationship between society and the environment, and to reflect on the ways in which current environmental and social issues can be tackled. The speakers' varied geographical and disciplinary backgrounds will illustrate the approach across a wide range of ecosystem types, socio-cultural contexts and themes. In the time available, we cannot claim to cover all the themes, approaches and methods exhaustively. Any student wishing to delve deeper into this field will need to take a more in-depth training course.

See full page

Gestion du Milieu Aquatique et Prévention des Inondations
Discipline: Ecology, Hydraulics

This teaching unit enables students to immerse themselves in a real case study, in the field, relating to the GEMAPI competence. Stakeholders and managers will be met on the study site to appreciate the challenges and complexity of the territory. Student groups will work on a concrete project to bring together water management and flood prevention in a way that respects ecology, the environment and people. This teaching unit will be an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills acquired in previous courses (ecology, hydraulics, legislation, regional planning, etc.).

The study is deployed on the same concrete case, from the field phase through modeling, analysis and concerted management, to the phase of presenting the impact of developments. Work is carried out in groups.

See full page

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The expansion of the urban environment is leading to the fragmentation/destruction of natural habitats, conservation problems and a change in the relationship between man and nature. However, urban spaces can also be home to significant biodiversity in close proximity to man, which can then be used for conservation, awareness-raising, improving human well-being or even therapeutic purposes. It's a tall order to try to work in ecology while denying the existence and consequences of the urban environment and its particularities. The aim of this course is to help future ecology professionals find a compromise between urban development and respect for nature. Through courses given by a variety of professionals and a field trip to Montpellier, students will discover where (associations, consultancies, local authorities, etc.), with whom and how an ecologist can act in urban ecology.

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This UE is based on the same pedagogical project as the "Salon de l'écologie-1" UE: organization and participation in the two events "Festi'Versité" and "Salon National de l'Ecologie" (see "Salon de l'écologie-1" sheet).

The specificity of the "Salon de l'écologie-2" UE lies in the roles and involvement of the students in their mission of assisting the project managers of the 2 events. In this UE, they are involved in positions of responsibility as administrators of one of the partner student associations: president, treasurer, communications manager, logistics manager, eco-responsibility manager, festivities manager, congress manager, forum manager. They will coordinate the highlights of the events, the actions of the various teams and the work of the students and volunteers involved in implementation through the "Salon de l'écologie 1" EU.

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"I - Physical characterization and biogeochemical cycles of coastal marine ecosystems II - Biodiversity and functioning of coastal marine ecosystems III Coastal and marine law; Uses, conflicts and integrated management of the coastal zone. This course offers students a systemic approach to the study of coastal marine ecosystems from a highly multidisciplinary perspective. The physical structure of these ecosystems will be addressed through courses on their geomorphology and hydrology, with a particular focus on hydric couplings with the open sea and their watersheds. Their biogeochemistry will be addressed, in particular to describe carbon and nutrient flows through the water and sediment compartments. Several aspects of their biodiversity will be illustrated to describe the importance of these ecosystems as living environments for the species they support, and in particular the role of this biodiversity in their functioning. The coastal zone is densely populated by man (40% of the world's population). Particular attention will be paid to human uses (e.g. aquaculture) and their territorial planning, including the evaluation of their ecosystem services in an economic context, management and protection measures (e.g. Marine Protected Areas, Natura 2000), and professionals involved in the management of these environments will present practical feedback. Finally, the implications of the Law of the Sea for the management of coastal zones will be discussed. "

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1 "The way in which the modern West represents nature is the least shared thing in the world" (Descola, 2005, p. 56). According to anthropologist Philippe Descola, the category of "Nature", as a reality separate from the human world, was invented by Europeans, and is just one of the ways in which societies can account for the living and non-living beings that surround them.

While Philippe Descola is helping to renew questions concerning the relationship between society and the environment, he is also drawing on a long tradition in the human and social sciences. Numerous works have already explored the various forms of knowledge and social organization to which these relationships give rise: ethnoscience, anthropology of technology, economic anthropology, ethnoecology, sociology of science and technology, and so on.

This issue is far from being confined to the academic sphere. It is also of interest to those involved in conservation (biodiversity, natural resources, etc.) and industry (pharmacology). It is also mobilizing so-called "indigenous" populations who are demanding, both locally and internationally, access to resources and the preservation of an intangible heritage.

2. Situated at the crossroads of social sciences and life sciences, these disciplines analyze how human societies use plants, animals and other environmental components, and how their conceptions and representations of their environment(s) shape these uses. This research also explores how human societies organize themselves, perpetuate themselves, change to adapt to new contexts (globalization, global change) and transmit knowledge about their relationships with nature.

For a long time, these disciplines focused more specifically on the interrelations between so-called "traditional" societies and their immediate environment. Then, from the 1970s onwards, researchers reconsidered the distinction between "traditional" and "modern" societies, to better address the new environmental and social transformations taking place today.

On the one hand, even the most isolated local societies are affected by events that are decided and unfolding on different scales (international conventions, economic crises). Their immediate environment is also affected by global phenomena (climate change, erosion of biodiversity, etc.). In return, their actions can also have international ecological, social and economic repercussions, when, for example, these companies organize to bring their demands to international arenas.

On the other hand, the relationship that modern societies have with their environment is being reconfigured in the face of an increasingly "artificialized" planet threatened by serious disruptions and crises. The place of flora and fauna is being reconsidered, and their rights are the subject of controversy. Moreover, the entry into a new geological era, the Anthropocene, is being used to call on both the natural sciences and the human and social sciences to take a fresh look at the shared history of the environment and society.

3. The very work of scientists and engineers is apprehended in a new light. A new scientific project in the humanities and social sciences aims to reconsider the role of "non-humans", and calls for analytical categories other than Nature and Culture. New scales and methods of investigation are also envisaged to analyze global processes.

These recent changes in scale invite researchers in the humanities and social sciences to (re)consider their approach through a reflexive lens: they are no longer mere observers, but can also be genuine actors in processes, when they are not directly involved in a social movement.

4. The aim of this module is to introduce these different scientific and operational fields. The aim is to provide students with benchmarks and food for thought, enabling them to construct scientific questions on the relationship between society and the environment, and to reflect on the ways in which current environmental and social issues can be tackled. The speakers' varied geographical and disciplinary backgrounds will illustrate the approach across a wide range of ecosystem types, socio-cultural contexts and themes. In the time available, we cannot claim to cover all the themes, approaches and methods exhaustively. Any student wishing to delve deeper into this field will need to take a more in-depth training course.

See full page

Gestion du Milieu Aquatique et Prévention des Inondations
Discipline: Ecology, Hydraulics

This teaching unit enables students to immerse themselves in a real case study, in the field, relating to the GEMAPI competence. Stakeholders and managers will be met on the study site to appreciate the challenges and complexity of the territory. Student groups will work on a concrete project to bring together water management and flood prevention in a way that respects ecology, the environment and people. This teaching unit will be an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills acquired in previous courses (ecology, hydraulics, legislation, regional planning, etc.).

The study is deployed on the same concrete case, from the field phase through modeling, analysis and concerted management, to the phase of presenting the impact of developments. Work is carried out in groups.

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The aim of this course is to introduce students to:
1. the workings of the communications departments of different types of organization involved in research and scientific culture or its application (research institutes, local authorities, associations, NGOs, companies, etc.)
2. the methodology for drawing up a communications strategy and plan, as well as a press kit.
Teaching will be based on presentations by communication department managers from various organizations, and on practical sessions enabling students to analyze and design communication strategies and plans, and to write press kits based on real projects submitted by communication department managers.

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The aim of this course is to teach students how to design communication, mediation and education tools and actions on the theme of biodiversity. It will provide the knowledge needed to define communication objectives, target audiences, define key messages, choose a communication method, and carry out and evaluate these actions. It will also give students a thorough understanding of the issues surrounding biodiversity and its preservation, and a good knowledge of the bibliography and sources of information in this field.
The course will include both practical and practical work, as well as a group project.

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This course comprises 4 hours of lectures, during which students are introduced to the basic concepts that define scientific museum institutions (status, typology, missions, public, collection, conservation, exhibition, education and study functions), as well as the related professions.
These lessons are followed by 11 hours in the field, during which students take guided tours of scientific collections and museums (Jardin des Plantes, Herbarium, Zoological Park, Aquarium, Museum, etc.), focusing on scenography, itineraries and mediation systems.

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Innovation is the very culmination of scientific research, but it is also the condition for the survival and/or development of most companies and associations, and hence of all human organizations. Innovation is also a very important lever for the economic development of territories, where it is often coupled with the circular economy or the inclusion economy. 

Being able to participate in the design and implementation of innovative projects, and finding the financial and partnership resources to do so, are skills that are increasingly in demand among all employees, whatever their status and role in the organization (in short, from blue-collar workers to CEOs, technicians, engineers and even ... researchers!) The aim is as much to inculcate a professional culture of innovation as to teach its basic methodological and technical principles. This educational program is based on a project-based pedagogy, and uses seminar work (7 days a week, 24 hours a day) in a closed environment, cut off from the outside world for better concentration. The pedagogical principle is to bring together several skills (in our case, those of 4 GE Master's courses and 2 Energy Master's courses) in the same time and place to work as a group on a local environmental issue. Conferences, meetings, visits, reflection and work will alternate to enable students to deliver a written response and an oral presentation at the end of the week. The best projects will be presented orally to a panel of professionals and defended by the students themselves. 

Open to all GE majors in M2 (except GeIBioTe) in FI and APP, and to the Energy master's program.

With the exception of the Aquadura course, for which this UE takes place over the course of the semester, the Cogithon takes the form of a 6-day seminar. The seminar starts with a theoretical part (the first day) and then proceeds in the form of workshops in which students are organized into project teams. Teams compete to present a project in response to an invitation to tender, which changes every year and is drawn up in partnership with local players. The call for tenders is based on the work of the Aquadura course and their November restitution. 

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The M2 internship lasts 5.5 to 6 months, full-time (from mid-March to the end of August at the latest).
Students are proactive in their search for an internship.
The internship is validated by the course tutor on the basis of its relevance to the student's career plan and the ComBiodiv course's pedagogical objectives.
During the internship, each student is supervised by a university tutor and an internship supervisor from the professional organization.
A scientific and technical study report is drawn up as part of the course.
It can take place in France or abroad. The internship takes place in a professional organization and is covered by an internship agreement issued by the UM.

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