{"id":50279,"date":"2019-10-28T17:07:43","date_gmt":"2019-10-28T16:07:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucly.fr\/?page_id=50279"},"modified":"2026-07-20T18:20:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T16:20:01","slug":"campus-saint-paul","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ucly.fr\/en\/ucly\/our-institution\/ucly-campuses\/campus-saint-paul\/","title":{"rendered":"Saint-Paul campus in Lyon"},"content":{"rendered":"

From prison to a place of learning and freedom<\/h2>
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A landmark urban regeneration project<\/p>\n

Inaugurated in 2015, Saint-Paul Campus occupies the former Saint-Paul Prison, built in 1862, and forms part of a wider redevelopment project that also includes the former Saint-Joseph Prison, built in 1831. Together with its partners, UCLy has transformed these former places of confinement into an open campus that contributes to the revitalisation of this historic district of Lyon.<\/p>\n

Today, the site brings together students, academics, researchers, local residents, businesses and community organisations in an environment that encourages openness, dialogue and collaboration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n

\n \"photo-drone-campus-saint-paul\" <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>

An architectural vision serving a humanist project<\/h2>

More than an architectural conversion, Saint-Paul Campus embodies UCLy's humanist vision of higher education, founded on the transmission of knowledge, solidarity and dialogue across generations. Its design is based on five guiding principles:<\/p>

\u2022 preserving an outstanding architectural heritage;<\/p>

\u2022 opening the campus to the city while encouraging a diversity of uses;<\/p>

\u2022 fostering interaction between students, local residents, businesses and community organisations;<\/p>

\u2022 designing environmentally sustainable buildings in line with the sustainable development ambitions of Lyon's Confluence district; <\/p>

\u2022 creating learning environments that support innovative teaching and collaborative learning.<\/p>

Designed with Sustainability in Mind<\/h3>

Environmental performance has been a key consideration throughout the redevelopment of both sites. The campus combines groundwater heating and cooling, a biomass heating plant, solar hot water production, green roofs and high-performance low-energy buildings. The large bioclimatic glass roof, designed as a \"cold greenhouse\", also contributes to the thermal comfort of the campus.<\/p>

The Saint-Joseph site is based on the same model, with the installation of a wood-fired boiler room for the production of heating and thermal energy, a solar-thermal-energy production plant, the implementation of green roof terraces, and high energy performance (BBC) throughout the islet.
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A campus designed for innovation and entrepreneurship <\/h2>

Innovation is one of the defining features of Saint-Paul Campus. Students have access to spaces designed to experiment, develop projects and collaborate with academics, researchers and business partners in an environment that encourages creativity and entrepreneurship.
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Facilities supporting entrepreneurship include:<\/strong><\/h3>

\u2022 The CUBE incubator, providing individual workspaces, meeting rooms and coworking facilities for student entrepreneurs.<\/p>

\u2022 A co-design room equipped with interactive technologies to support collaborative project development and collective intelligence methods.<\/p>

\u2022 A dedicated partnership space promoting exchanges between students, researchers and partner organisations.<\/p>

More than a campus : a humanist learning environment <\/h3>

In keeping with UCLy's educational mission, Saint-Paul Campus places personal development alongside academic excellence. Community engagement, sport, culture, international openness and human formation are integral parts of the student experience.<\/p>

Students benefit from:<\/p>

\u2022 A student association hub bringing together around thirty student organisations;<\/p>

\u2022 A sports hall<\/a> open to students and university staff;<\/p>

\u2022 Spaces dedicated to music, performances and cultural events;<\/p>

\u2022 The Equal Opportunities Programme, providing additional scholarships based on academic merit and social criteria.<\/p>

State-of-the-Art teaching and research laboratories<\/h3>

For more than seventy years, UCLy's science programmes have combined academic excellence with close links to industry and professional practice. Today, the Faculty of Science and Health benefits from teaching and research facilities that support both student learning and scientific research.<\/p>

\u2022 12 teaching laboratories<\/strong>: 3 for microbiology, 3 for biochemistry, 3 for chemistry, and 3 for biology, equipped with the latest analytical equipment to promote student learning (microscopes, balances, spectrophotometer, fume hoods, incubators, and more).<\/p>

\u2022 3 research laboratories<\/strong> with an animal facility and a cold room, equipped with equipment that places them at safety level P2, thus allowing the handling of pathogens, an essential condition for the development of research within the university.<\/p>

\u2022 <\/strong>The future HUB Biotech<\/strong>, a new facility dedicated to advanced biotechnologies, scheduled to open in 2027.<\/p>

Designed for contemporary teaching and learning<\/h3>

Saint-Paul Campus has been designed to support contemporary teaching methods. Flexible learning spaces, a Learning Lab, audiovisual production facilities, hybrid teaching technologies and collaborative digital tools provide an environment that adapts to new ways of learning, both on campus and online.<\/p>

A few examples:<\/strong><\/p>

\u2022 A 500 m\u00b2 modular <\/strong>learning space designed for collaborative teaching and group work;<\/p>

\u2022 An audiovisual recording studio supporting hybrid and distance learning;<\/p>

\u2022 Interconnected lecture theatres accommodating conferences for up to 1,000 participants;<\/p>

\u2022 Campus-wide high-density Wi-Fi and BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) connectivity.

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Looking to the future while preserving its heritage<\/p>\n

From a place of confinement to a place of learning and innovation, Saint-Paul Campus reflects UCLy’s ambition to educate skilled professionals, responsible citizens and graduates committed to serving society.<\/p>\n

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\n \"Devanture <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>

\"<\/em>Transforming a prison into a university means transforming a place of confinement into a space of freedom. It means believing that openness to knowledge can help to overcome suffering. It is to develop the capacity for renewal of the territory and of humankind.\"<\/em> <\/p>Excerpt from the inaugural address delivered by Thierry Magnin, former Rector of UCLy, at the opening of Saint-Paul Campus in September 2015.<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote><\/div>

\n\n Virtual tour of Saint-Paul campus <\/a>\n\n <\/div>

Saint-Paul campus: 36,000 m\u00b2 <\/h2>