Jean-Michel Blanquer is a former Director General of School Education. Previously, he was rector of the Academy of Guyana and the Academy of Créteil and assistant general manager of the office of the Minister of Education, Gilles de Robien. Author of the successful L'Ecole de la vie ("School of Life"), he is now General Manager of the ESSEC Group.
In France the university remains, apart from a few exceptions, the poor relation of higher education. Jean-Michel Blanquer, with its expertise, seeks to overcome the contradictions, which in his opinion are sterile, between the Grandes Ecoles and universities, between research and pedagogy, between academic research and economic functions.
The University of the Third Millennium is necessarily multidisciplinary, rooted in its territory, oriented towards the universal.
At this university focused on the future, research is obviously paramount. The author shows how by cultivating interdisciplinarity and developing links with teaching, research alters the very organization of the university. It transmits the not only the content, but also values, hence the importance given to the "humanities" in the early years. As an economic player, the university knows how to encourage its students to enjoy its environment, it builds bridges and develops the learning and and placement training. As for the teacher, he is a "tri-athlete": a teacher-researcher who gives life and purpose to the institution as an active member.