The Inria project teams, an agile and open model

Changed on 21/05/2024

Human scale, independence, versatility, multiculturalism… these are just some of the qualities that characterise Inria’s 220 or so project teams today !

Equipe-projet
© Inria / Photo H. Raguet

A unique model…

The project team, an innovative model introduced by Inria at its creation, is the basic unit of the institution’s research.  Made up of some twenty persons with a leader, it combines the talents necessary to the conduct of a predefined research project.  Doctoral students, post-doctoral fellows and engineers from various backgrounds thus work together, driven by the power of listening and knowledge sharing specific to the institution, on a common project, assessed every 4 years!

… for unique projects!

Each project falls within one of the areas which fit it with the main priority lines of research defined by the institution: high performance calculation (HPC), modelling and simulation, data security, big data, connected objects… the possibilities are endless! For the successful conduct of its projects, each project team is given facilities conducive to both individual development and inter-personal exchanges.

Planning your career with an international outlook

Inria also encourages the emergence of collaborative actions, among peers from different centres or abroad, as well as the mobility of talents and skills, through several programmes.  Thanks to an open and flexible model where the concept of team comes fully into play, Inria can effectively address the multi-disciplinary and application issues of digital transition! ERC grants, exchange programmes, prestigious partnerships, shared laboratories… Inria offers its researchers several transition programmes giving them the possibility of an international shift to their career, and international visibility to their work… Inria also gathers together researchers of 102 nationalities and offers several pathways to international careers. What if joining us was already a step towards tomorrow?

A project team at Inria is characterised by

  • Agility suited to digital technology  :
    • teams can develop rapidly and adapt to new challenges.
  • A strong, subject-based unit:
    • clearly-defined objectives, financial and scientific autonomy and road maps liable to pivot seamlessly.
  • Management:
    • 15 to 30 people overseen by a scientific manager (the project team manager).
  • A partnership-based dynamic:
    • 86% of project teams are run jointly with universities and research bodies
  • A new road map every 4 years:
    • project teams are evaluated every 4 years.
  • A stimulating environment
    • Exploratory actions, challenges, software development, start-up creation, etc.
  • The desire for economic impact
    • Industrial partnerships geared towards the distribution of opensource software and the creation of start-ups.
More than 3 800 scientists work every day to meet the challenges of digital science and technology