A Wikimedian in Residence at the University of Montpellier’s Joint Documentation Service
Since June 1, 2026, the University of Montpellier’s Joint Documentation Service (SCD) has been hosting a Wikimedian-in-residence for a period of 18 months as part of a program supported by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation (MESRE) through the National Fund for Open Science. This groundbreaking initiative is part of the development of open science and aims to enhance the dissemination of scientific knowledge to the widest possible audience.
The University of Montpellier is thus continuing its commitment to open science and aligning it with a national initiative aimed at bringing together scientific communities and collaborative platforms for knowledge dissemination.
Coordinated by the Joint Documentation Service, this residency is based on close collaboration with the Directorate of Research and Doctoral Schools (DRED) and the Directorate of Scientific Culture and Historical Heritage (DCSPH). It will promote exchanges and collaboration with the University’s partner institutions on the Montpellier campus.
A Wikimedia project expert
Nicolas Vigneron, an experienced contributor to Wikimedia projects for many years, has been hired to lead this initiative. He has previously led several residencies at cultural and academic institutions, developing programs focused on training, outreach, and content creation.
Its role: to help academic communities adopt Wikimedia tools (Wikipedia, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, etc.) and to increase the visibility of research by making it accessible to as many people as possible.
Train, support, and empower
Over the course of 18 months, the residency will pursue several objectives:
- raise awareness among faculty members, graduate students, and undergraduates about the challenges of open contribution
- offer training courses and hands-on workshops
- support the publication of scientific content online
- increase the visibility of the university's research
This initiative helps to better disseminate scientific knowledge to the public, while strengthening digital skills related to open-source tools within the academic community.
With this initiative, the University of Montpellier becomes the first French university to host a Wikimedia residency.
Beyond the duration of the project, the goal is to establish a sustainable framework for contributing to and promoting open knowledge within the institution.