THE CENTRE IN BRIEF
INRIA established itself on the Sophia Antipolis site in 1981, when the new science park was still in the early stages, with many more facilities still to be built. In a few years, it became one of the leading players of this science park. FROM SOPHIA TO THE MEDITERRANEAN
The change in the Centre's name in 2008 - from "Sophia Antipolis" to "Sophia Antipolis – Méditerranée" -
illustrates the regional development that has led it to expand from its initial 7-hectare site with 18,000 m2 of buildings, extending its activities to Montpellier, Marseilles and Bologna. This development bears witness to the centre's desire to establish other partnerships as appropriate within the Mediterranean basin. THE CENTRE TODAY
Currently, the centre comprises:
625 people, including 455 on the INRIA payroll.
520 people working within 35 research teams: 28 within the INRIA premises at Sophia-Antipolis, 5 in Montpellier, 1 in Marseilles and 1 in Bologna (Italy). Nearly half of these teams are joint teams with one or more partners (Universities of Nice–Sophia-Antipolis, Montpellier, Provence and Bologna, CNRS - the French National Centre for Scientific Research, INRA - the French National Institute for Agricultural Research, CIRAD - a French research centre working with developing countries to tackle international agricultural and development issues, ENS, etc.), which are most often considered by the partners as teams within joint research units (DAB, I3S, IUSTI, LIRMM, LJAD, LIENS, MISTEA, etc.).
105 people working within the centre's management team and its eight departments, including around forty participating directly in the scientific and technological production of the research teams. Its action has permitted the creation of 16 start-ups, including 7 since 2000.
