On February 4th 2019, during the launching of the Olympic and Paralympic Week (SOP), the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation and the Ministry of Sports bestowed the “Generation 2024” label to the University of Franche-Comté. It is one of the first 24 universities in the world to be accredited. On February 27th 2022, the “Generation 2024” label was renewed until 2025 for the University of Franche-Comté.

The CEROU project was officially launched on September 20th 2019 under the patronage of Minister of Sports, Roxana MARACINEANU.

Its goal is to increase the attraction - Generation 2024 label - and the reach of research in our territory - Terre de Jeux label - with the support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Paris 2024 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the French Olympic and Sporting Committee (CNOSF), the Ministry of Sports and the International Committee of the French-Speaking Countries' Games.

The University Olympic Studies and Research Center (CEROU) is a federation of studies and research of the University of Franche-Comté (UFC). It aims at bringing together studies, teaching and research projects related to olympism that are led and dispensed at or outside of the UFC. 

In that respect, the University of Franche-Comté falls within the ministerial directives to promote education through sport and to highlight the civic and sporting values at the heart of teaching through olympism.

The CEROU was the first French center created within a university and recognised by the IOC. It is a true opportunity for our territory thanks to:

• Its attraction in France and abroad
• Its visibility in France and abroad
• Its recognition in France and abroad
• Its ambition to innovate and stand out
• Its research on olympism and Paralympic studies - research, papers...
• Its actions and expertise for researchers and students
• Its expansion of its current national and international support system such as the IOC, the CNOSF, Paris 2024... and those to come.

The CEROU strives to promote pedagogical and research-centred policies around the following 4 strategic axes:  

• Research
• Teaching and Training 
• Expertise
• Promotion

The CEROU is led by Director Eric MONNIN who is also the Vice-President of the University of Franche-Comté in charge of Olympic Studies. 

Olympism: universal values supported by the University of Franche-Comté

By creating the CEROU, the University of Franche-Comté wishes to:

• Encourage interdisciplinary partnership work
• Enhance scientific links and synergies between our laboratories
• Strengthen the structuring of existing or upcoming entities to favor networking
• Promote the visibility of research labs by opening to international opportunities or promoting their expertise
• Favor exchanges between our research labs and the socio-economic world

“A University Olympic Studies and Research Center is a University center which functions thanks to the contribution of professors, researchers and PhD students and whose mission is to create and/or spread Olympic knowledge, essentially to students - other groups can be targeted - through University activities such as courses, research, papers and seminars. The Olympic chairs that match this definition are also considered University Olympic Studies and Research Centers.” 

International Olympic Committee (2020). Directives for the University Olympic Studies and Research Centers, The Olympic Studies Center, Lausanne, Switzerland, p4.

CEROU key dates

• October 9th, 2018 : Nomination of the Vice-President de l’Université de Franche- Comté in charge of olympism
• February 3rd, 2019: The University of Franche-Comté is awarded the “Generation 2024” label
• September 20th, 2019: Official presentation of the CEROU project under the Minister of Sports’ patronage and with the support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Paris 2024 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (COJP), the French Olympic and Sporting Committee (CNOSF), the International Committee of the French-Speaking Countries' Games...
• December 10th, 2019: Unanimous vote on the CEROU statuses by the University of Franche-Comté’s Board of Directors
• March 12th, 2020: Unanimous nomination of the Director of the CEROU by the University of Franche-Comté’s Board of Directors
• March 30th, 2020: The IOC officially includes the CEROU in its reference document entitled “Academic Olympic Studies and Research Centres (OSRCs)”