Fondation INSA Lyon

Mission & Vision

Created in 1957, the National Institute of Applied Sciences of Lyon (INSA Lyon) is one of France’s leading public engineering universities, training humanist engineers to address socio-economic and digital challenges in an ever more rapidly changing world.

Every year, INSA Lyon welcomes more than 6,000 students, 600 PhDs and awards more than 1,000 engineering diplomas and 150 doctoral degrees. Open to the world, INSA Lyon has established a network of more than 200 academic partners across five continents and hosts nearly 100 different nationalities on its campus. Its 22 laboratories also develop intensive, responsible, and collaborative research working on fields such as sustainable development, digital technologies, health innovation, and industrial transformation.

The INSA model, envisioned by Gaston Berger, the institution’s visionary founder, is more relevant than ever. He wanted a school of humanist engineers, open to diversity: today, INSA Lyon counts 23% scholarship students, 38% young women, 28% international students, 180 high-level student athletes, student artists, and 130 associations.

Actions Led

The INSA Lyon Foundation is a partnership foundation created in 2009 to support the development of INSA Lyon through philanthropy. It has been operating at the crossroads of different worlds for 16 years. In line with INSA Lyon’s strategy, its position is to identify societal challenges and incorporate them into its patronage activities, to act at the heart of the institution and contribute to transitions by promoting relationships and actions.

Thanks to engaging partnerships with socio-economic players who share our values and the generosity of individual donors, the INSA Lyon Foundation is an essential bridge between society and INSA Lyon. It offers patronage with impact and is involved in flagship partnership programs that support INSA Lyon’s strategic ambitions.

Programs:

• The Scholarship Program is one of the pillars of the Foundation’s social action, promoting success through equal opportunities. It is designed to meet the unique academic and personal challenges of each student.
• The Coups de Pouce (“Helping Hands”) and Associations Funds complement the Foundation’s social activities by providing additional resources for students’ passions, talents, and community involvement, supporting student‑led initiatives in sports, arts, science/technology, and entrepreneurship through targeted project funding.
• The Chair Program, deployed through 12 partnerships, addresses the R&D challenges of corporate patronage.
• The Convergences Program supports the challenges of evolving training in SD&SR and responsible digital technology.
• The ODACE Program, the goal of which is to support the training of engineering students in entrepreneurship by ultimately taking action on two levels: introducing each engineering student to entrepreneurship; and facilitating and accelerating projects with a positive societal impact.

Projects That US. Donors Can Support

U.S. donors can make tax-deductible donations to help INSA Lyon Foundation carry forward this legacy and support the INSA model in support of two emblematic, high-impact programs:

• Scholarships, to ensure the success of all engineering students by promoting equal opportunities through decisive measures (installation grants, living grants, emergency aid);
• Coups de Pouce (“Helping Hands”), to encourage the talents and passions of engineering students and enable them to bring their projects to life—whether artistic, technological, athletic, or entrepreneurial.