Partnership between Australia and ENS Paris-Saclay
James Auger, former director of the Department of Design Education and Research (DER) and a researcher at the Center for Design Research (CRD), has been appointed director of research in design, culture, and creative practices at RMIT Europe.
The Australian Ambassador to France, Her Excellency Lynette Wood, welcomed the Vice-Chancellor and President of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Professor Alec Cameron, and the President of ENS Paris-Saclay, Nathalie Carrasco, at the signing ceremony on October 9, 2026, which brought together university officials, researchers, and innovation experts from Australia and France.
Un partenariat entre la RMIT et l'École
This agreement establishes a framework for collaboration in the areas of research, innovation partnerships, doctoral training, and student and staff mobility.
It is expected to foster the development of joint research projects, joint doctoral programs, and new opportunities for researchers to work at both institutions.
RMIT Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Alec Cameron stated that this partnership builds on RMIT’s longstanding commitment to France and Europe.
“In collaboration with ENS Paris-Saclay, we see significant opportunities to pool our strengths in fields such as design and artificial intelligence, particularly at the intersection of these disciplines.”
Nathalie Carrasco, President of ENS Paris-Saclay, said: “Many agreements are signed between institutions that barely know each other, in the hope that a relationship will develop later. Today, it’s the opposite. We are providing an official framework and defining the conditions for the future development of a relationship that already exists, forged over years of collaboration.”
Appointment of James Auger as Director of Research in Design, Culture, and Creative Practices at RMIT Europe
One of the key drivers of this partnership is the appointment of Associate Professor James Auger as Director of Research in Design, Culture, and Creative Practices at RMIT Europe. An internationally recognized leader in the field of speculative and critical design, Mr. Auger joins RMIT Europe after serving as Director of the Design Department at ENS Paris-Saclay and Co-Director of the Design Research Center.
This partnership will enable James Auger to maintain active research collaborations with ENS Paris-Saclay, while helping to develop RMIT’s research and industry engagement activities across Europe. It also provides RMIT with a permanent research base at ENS Paris-Saclay, thereby fostering future collaborative initiatives between the two organizations.
James Auger said that this collaboration creates a framework that allows researchers and students to work together in innovative ways.
“At the heart of this partnership are design research and the opportunity to explore questions that transcend disciplines; I look forward to seeing the ideas and projects that will emerge from it,” he said.
This partnership reinforces both institutions’ commitment to advancing international research collaboration and supporting the next generation of researchers through the sharing of expertise, mobility, and innovation.