MINES Saint-Étienne

Scientific culture

La Rotonde

La Rotonde

As a national Higher Education Institute, Mines Saint-Étienne feels naturally vested with social and educational responsibilities

For more than twelve years, the École des Mines has been decisively committed to promoting scientific, technical and industrial culture and to fostering closer links between research and industry. At the same time, programmes of scientific literacy dedicated to students from elementary and secondary schools were implemented and graduate — and doctoral-level students were involved in our policy of scientific culture that we consider both as a major community service in return to the general public and a nice opportunity of cultural enrichment for all.

To achieve this ambition of becoming an important and original actor of the scientific culture, the École des Mines created “La Rotonde” in 1990.

La Rotonde is the only Science Centre in France which is integrated into a graduate school of engineering. It is recognized as a laboratory of ideas and innovations which, by its multidisciplinary activities, helps to increase and enhance the ability of questioning in the field of scientific culture, in view of sharing knowledge, opening up and adaptation, and collective knowledge progress.

Many scientific mediation tools have been created at La Rotonde. The centre also works with students of the École des Mines who, through their involvement in this Science and Society project, have had access to humanistic education, complementary to their scientific training for excellence.

The main tasks of La Rotonde

  1. To be a cultural actor carried by cross-cutting themes, reinforcing the essential dialogue between Science and Society bringing “hard” sciences and social sciences closer together.
  2. To be a developer of the territory, implanted in the École des Mines, with an original approach of upgrading research and understanding of industrial innovation.
  3. To be a mediation centre, open to all audiences (people, schools, associations…)
  4. To be a producer of resources (multimedia, education, exhibitions, audiovisual…) and expertise, not only at a departmental, regional and national level, but also on a wider scale such as Europe and the French-speaking world.

In 2008, La Rotonde was awarded the label “Science and Culture, innovation” (SCI), for a 4-year period by the French Ministry of Research and Higher Education for its actions.

Website : La Rotonde

Contact

CCSTI La Rotonde
École des Mines de Saint-Étienne
158, cours fauriel
42023 Saint-Étienne cedex 2

Phone: +33 4 77 420 278
Mail: larotonde@mines-stetienne.fr

Open by appointment for school on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, from 8.30 to 12 and from 14 to 18.
Open on Wednesdays from 14 to 17.30, by appointment for groups.
Closed for the summer holidays.