Founded in 1854 and shaped by the educational vision of Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, UniLaSalle is one of France’s leading polytechnic institutes, born from the merger of five engineering schools and the creation of a veterinary school. Today, it brings together the life sciences, earth sciences, environmental science, energy, digital technology, and management under one roof, a rare combination that positions its 4,000 students and 27,000 alumni to tackle the interconnected challenges shaping our world.
With four campuses across France (Beauvais, Amiens, Rennes, and Rouen), 18 degree programs, and 260 partner universities worldwide, UniLaSalle carries forward a mission at the heart of its founder’s original conviction: to reduce poverty through education, and to make knowledge accessible to as many people as possible. As part of the global La Salle Universities network, spanning more than 1,500 institutions worldwide, UniLaSalle shares in a distinctly hands-on pedagogy built on personal mentorship, student responsibility, and service to the common good.
Through its research and its training of future engineers, veterinarians, and agricultural and environmental leaders, UniLaSalle is preparing a new generation to build solutions for a more humane, just, and sustainable world.
The Jean-Baptiste Gagne Foundation channels the generosity of UniLaSalle’s alumni, partners, and friends into scholarships, research, innovation, and campus life, transforming philanthropy into projects that strengthen the university’s educational mission.
Remaining true to Jean-Baptiste de La Salle’s vision of making education accessible to all, the Foundation helps remove financial barriers through merit-based scholarships, emergency grants, and interest-free loans, benefitting more than 150 students each year to pursue their studies regardless of financial circumstances.
The Foundation also expands UniLaSalle’s impact beyond France by supporting the creation of seven new La Salle universities across Africa. Alongside the development of new campuses, it helps transfer UniLaSalle’s academic expertise by training future faculty members and strengthening international academic partnerships. A first academic year is already underway in Burkina Faso, while a university project in Kenya continues to advance.
Innovation in teaching and research is another cornerstone of the Foundation’s work. Donor support has funded a new generation of veterinary simulation models that allow students to master clinical procedures in realistic conditions without putting live animals at risk, helping address the growing demand for highly trained veterinarians. The Foundation also supports research on one of today’s most critical resources—water—by funding projects that map drinking water contamination and examine consumption habits in vulnerable communities.
The Foundation invests in the next generation of changemakers by supporting student entrepreneurship through funded final-year internships, allowing students with promising ventures to develop their ideas rather than abandoning them for financial reasons. It also enhances campus life through projects such as a new student lounge on the Amiens campus and the development of immersive 360-degree learning tools that introduce first-year students to UniLaSalle’s diverse fields of study.
Through its research chairs, UniLaSalle leads integrated approaches to create knowledge and develop innovative solutions to drive real-world change. For example, its UNESCO Chair “Soils, Biodiversity and Future Generations” evaluates sustainable soil management practices in diverse contexts in order to identify solutions that help societies adapt to climate change and preserve biodiversity, sharing its findings with higher education institutions, research centers, and socio-economic actors around the world.
Together, these initiatives advance UniLaSalle’s commitment to educational excellence, scientific innovation, entrepreneurship, international cooperation, and an engaging campus experience.
With Friends of Fondation de France, U.S. donors can make tax-deductible gifts supporting the Jean-Baptiste Gagne Foundation’s core initiatives:
By supporting these projects, U.S. donors help UniLaSalle continue a 170-year legacy: giving talented students, regardless of financial background, the tools to become the scientists, veterinarians, and engineers our shared future needs.
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