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Last updated on 06 Oct 2026
► Direct access : overview | guidelines | initiatives | resources

Since 2018, our University has been committed to improving its research practices, particularly in the areas of recruitment and researchers’ working conditions. In 2019, the University was awarded the “HR Excellence in Research” label by the European Commission. This label recognizes institutions for the quality of their human resources policies in research and certifies that their practices are aligned with the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers.
 
► What is the HRS4R certification?
Issued by the European Commission, it aims to enhance the practices of research organizations and institutions, particularly in terms of researchers’ recruitment and working conditions.
 

The “HR Excellence in Research” label is based on the “European Charter for Researchers” and the “Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers,” which set out 40 principles organized into four key areas:

  • Ethical principles and professional responsibilities
  • Recruitment and mobility
  • Working conditions, safety, and working environment
  • Training and career development

Our strategic priorities

The implementation of the label aligns with several key priorities of the institution’s policies, particularly its employment policy, as well as the University’s research policy and internationalisation strategy:

  • Maintaining the quality of recruitment processes
  • Ensuring the definition and implementation of clear and transparent management guidelines for internal promotions and remuneration schemes
  • Developing an environment conducive to professional fulfilment and improving working conditions
  • Encouraging the submission of proposals in response to European calls for projects
  • Enhancing the University’s visibility and ensuring alignment with strategies developed at other levels
 
6  strategic priorities 38
actions
2019 : award of the label
2023 : interim assessment
2026 : renewal with site visit
Read the action plan (in French)

→ Download the HRS4R Plan in French (PDF)

An ambitious HR policy

Find out about the initiatives being implemented under each of the six strategic priorities:
 
Ongoing career support
Enhanced onboarding support for research staff

→ Onboarding guide (French/English)
→ PhD student onboarding booklet (in French)
→ Research lecturer onboarding booklet

A comprehensive range of training courses for early-career researchers and throughout their careers

→ Skills development plan (in French, restricted access)
→ Training catalogue (in French, restricted access)

A fulfilling working life in an organisation grounded in humanistic, supportive, democratic, and inclusive values
A strong inclusion policy

→ Disability Master Plan (in French)
→ Workplace Equality Action Plan (in French)

Implementation of concrete measures to prevent and address discrimination, harassment, racism, antisemitism, and gender-based and sexual violence:
→ Establishment of two support units for victims and witnesses, one for staff (in French, restricted access) and one for students (in French)
→ Leaflet distributed during the recruitment process

An environment that encourages exemplary conduct in terms of ethics and scientific integrity
Appointment of a scientific integrity officer in 2020

Combating plagiarism and raising awareness of copyright and the protection of one’s work and research against plagiarism

→ Provision of Compilatio (in French, restricted access), a similarity detection (plagiarism) tool, to the academic community
→ Training and support for teaching staff provided by the Higher Education Teaching Support Service
→ Training and support for undergraduate and postgraduate students provided by the Documentation Service (in French)

Raising awareness and providing support on personal data protection in administration (in French, restricted access), teaching and research

A transparent, open and merit-based recruitment policy
Transparent recruitment procedures for all academic staff

→ Operational guidelines for Higher Education Selection Committees (MESRI, April 2019) (in French, PDF)
→ Indicative checklist to help identify potential bias, available to selection committee members (Official Bulletin, 21 February 2019) (In French) 

Open and non-discriminatory recruitment
→ Non-discrimination in recruitment leaflet (in French)

Merit-based recruitment

Support for international researchers and promotion of academic mobility
Support measures for outgoing mobility, in collaboration with the DRED International Division and the DRI Agreements and Outgoing Mobility Unit

→ Funding for overseas assignments for lecturers, research lecturers, and administrative staff for teaching purposes, for establishing or developing cooperation agreements, or for professional development
→ Support for PhD students (in French) wishing to complete their thesis abroad (joint supervision or international co-supervision of theses; European Doctorate label)
→ Funding for international mobility during PhD studies, notably through the MobiDoc programme launched in 2023

An environment conducive to international exchange: for many years, Université Lumière Lyon 2 has actively developed partnerships with numerous international institutions and is a founding member of the European BAUHAUS4EU Alliance.

Support for the onboarding of international researchers and PhD students

Support for researchers in project development and promotion of research
The University promotes the dissemination and use of research findings

→ Launch in 2021 of Rchrch, the research magazine of Université Lumière Lyon 2 (in French), aimed at making research and its findings accessible to all
→ Adoption of a second Open Science roadmap (in French) in June 2025, building on achievements, refining existing systems, and engaging and educating the academic community (the first was adopted in May 2022)
→ Drawing on the Presses Universitaires de Lyon and Université Tous Âges, as well as the broader development of public lectures, to support the dissemination and communication of science to non-academic audiences and make research outputs accessible to all as part of an open science approach.

The University facilitates the development of partnerships with socio-economic stakeholders through action research programmes and business start-ups
→ Adoption in May 2022 of the Science and Society Roadmap and the French Charter for Participatory Science and Research, focusing in particular on the following areas:
- Supporting and facilitating participatory and collaborative research
- Strengthening links between practical, professional, technical, and scientific knowledge
- Expanding a partnership policy aimed at diversifying funding sources


→ Creation in 2024 of a University foundation (in French), serving as a new interface between the University and its economic partners, with one of its priority areas being research on major societal challenges in support of social innovation.

Resources

Information
drh-secretariat@univ-lyon2.fr