Speaking to The PIE News following this year’s France Alumni Day Awards, Donatienne Hissard, director general of Campus France, said the country continues to benefit from a highly international research ecosystem but acknowledged that maintaining its competitiveness will require both attracting new talent and making it easier for researchers to build long-term careers.
“France remains a strong destination for scientific talent,” said Hissard, pointing to initiatives such as ‘Choose France for Science’, which has already enabled around 60 researchers to relocate their work to France after leaving the US, alongside the ‘Make Our Planet Great Again’ fellowship supporting postdoctoral research in climate change and biodiversity.
France currently hosts more than 25,000 international doctoral candidates, representing around 40% of all PhD students, making it the world’s fourth-largest destination for international doctoral researchers.
Nearly one in four researchers in France’s public research institutions is international, while almost two-thirds of scientific publications involve international collaboration. The largest groups come from China, Italy, Lebanon, Morocco and Algeria.
However, Hissard warned that France cannot afford to be complacent. Campus France is therefore looking to broaden its recruitment efforts beyond traditional markets, with countries such as India showing strong growth.
The number of Indian doctoral students in France has increased by 17% over the past five years, highlighting what Hissard described as “significant growth potential” in emerging markets.
Alongside recruitment, improving the experience of international researchers once they arrive has become an increasingly important focus.
Campus France’s current strategy places greater emphasis on connecting higher education with research, innovation and industry, highlighting sectors including artificial intelligence, health, ecological transition and advanced technologies. The agency is also working more closely with universities, research laboratories and employers to create clearer pathways from study into research careers and employment.
Yet administrative barriers remain one of France’s biggest challenges.
While digitalisation has simplified many visa and residence procedures, lengthy processing times can still discourage international researchers.
Campus France is working with universities, prefectures, diplomatic missions and other government agencies to improve coordination and streamline researchers’ arrival and settlement.
“Our goal is to make this experience as simple and seamless as possible while providing stronger support throughout, ensuring that France is not only an attractive destination but also a welcoming and sustainable place to build a scientific or academic career,” said Hissard.
The organisation also highlighted recent measures including France’s multi-year Talent Residence Permit, which allows highly qualified researchers to live and work in France for up to four years while simplifying employment procedures and enabling accompanying family members to work.
“France offers a unique balance: strong academic freedom, an excellent quality of life, a central location in Europe, a broad labour market and, compared with many competing destinations, a relatively affordable cost of living,” explained Hissard.
France offers a unique balance: strong academic freedom, an excellent quality of life, a central location in Europe, a broad labour market and, compared with many competing destinations, a relatively affordable cost of living.
Donatienne Hissard, Campus France
The focus on scientific mobility was reflected throughout this year’s France Alumni Day Awards, which celebrated alumni whose careers demonstrate the international impact of French higher education.
Among the recipients of the Young Scientific Talent Award was researcher Fiona Remage, whose career has taken her from France to the UK before returning to begin a new research role at Université de Rennes.
Having spent almost 15 years in the UK, Remage said returning to France had always been a long-term ambition.
“I’ve always felt at home there,” she said. “When my current supervisor contacted me advertising a position in France that perfectly suited my skills and research interests, I jumped at the opportunity.”
Now working in meta-research, Remage focuses on improving research reproducibility and promoting open science, arguing that the sector must move beyond the “publish or perish” culture that rewards quantity over quality.
“The rapid rise of AI risks amplifying these issues in a system where quantity is valued over quality,” she said. “We’re trying to promote alternative methods and values that really prioritise the quality of research.”
She also praised the collaborative culture she has found within French academia, describing stronger support for researcher development and greater opportunities to engage across institutions.
Another Young Scientific Talent recipient, hydrogeologist Farida Boube-Dobi, said France’s internationally connected research environment had enabled her to build collaborations that extend well beyond her own institution.
Her work combines field data, satellite imagery and innovative mapping techniques to improve understanding of groundwater resources across the Sahel, supporting climate resilience and water security in one of the world’s regions most vulnerable to climate change.
She credited both strong scientific mentoring and international networks with helping develop her career, while highlighting the importance of dedicated funding for women in STEM.
“The Schlumberger Foundation’s Faculty for the Future program has played a key role in supporting my postdoctoral research in France,” said Boube-Dobi.
“Such programs create concrete opportunities for women researchers to develop their careers, gain international experience and contribute to scientific fields where their perspectives are greatly needed.”
Looking ahead, Hissard said success for Campus France will ultimately be measured not only by increasing international enrolment, particularly at doctoral level, but also by France’s ability to become a long-term home for researchers whose academic freedom or career opportunities are under threat elsewhere.
“Our ambition,” she said, “is to make France a place where scientific research and academic freedom can thrive under the best possible conditions.”
