The TROPIMUNDO track of the Master's program in Biodiversity, Ecology, and Evolution (BEE) aims to train students capable of conducting fundamental or applied research, expert assessments, or environmental evaluations in the fields of ecology and natural or cultivated terrestrial tropical biodiversity. The program combines various pedagogical approaches: traditional academic courses, applied field studies, and supervised projects.
This is an international program where the second semester of the first year of the Master's program (M1) is completed in Réunion and shared with the Biodiversity, Tropical and Terrestrial Ecosystems (BEST-T) program. The other semesters are taught at various European universities that are partners of the TROPIMUNDO consortium (www.tropimundo.eu) in Belgium, mainland France, French Guiana, and Italy.

Educational goals :

The educational objective of the second semester of the TROPIMUNDO program (taught in English) offered in Réunion is to provide a solid theoretical foundation in ecology and evolutionary biology, with a specialization in the study of tropical terrestrial biodiversity (agro- and ecosystems). Fieldwork (field school in Réunion and Madagascar), cross-disciplinary project-based approaches, and the implementation of communication activities allow students to develop more practical skills.
Understanding the mechanisms governing the dynamics of terrestrial biodiversity allows for their application in expertise in tropical terrestrial ecology. TROPIMUNDO students acquire other complementary skills through additional semesters spent at other European universities that are partners in this international consortium.

Training opportunities:

The TROPIMUNDO international track, offered at the University of Reunion Island since 2020, covers the second semester (S2) of the first year of the Master's program (M1), shared with the second semester courses of the BEST-T track. Like the latter, it is specifically designed to address the challenges and issues of biodiversity, ecology, and evolution in a tropical context, capitalizing on the unique characteristics of Reunion Island and extending its reach to the wider Indian Ocean region. This program adopts an interdisciplinary approach, focusing on natural and cultivated terrestrial ecosystems and offering courses that open up to the humanities and social sciences, which are central to conservation efforts. The program emphasizes the acquisition of practical skills, particularly through fieldwork and research projects, reflecting the University of Reunion Island's commitment to fostering training grounded in real-world experience and local issues. This program is an international program (Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree), which promotes the exchange of expertise in line with the ambitions of the institution.
The existence of this entire semester (250 hours) of courses taught in English, shared with the BEST-T program, meets the requirements of the New Training Offer (NOF) in terms of internationalization of training.

This program continually strives to remain strongly focused on the needs of the local area, both to meet the needs of the population and to preserve its environment. Research plays a crucial role in the implementation of this Master's program; the research areas of the Joint Research Unit (UMR) Plant Populations and Bioaggressors in Tropical Environments (PVBMT), the Master's program's supporting laboratory, have enabled the development and integration of the program within the local, regional, national, and international landscape.

This course trains through and for research (fundamental or applied) in order to bring about scientific inquiry by drawing on the issues of the territory and region of the South West Indian Ocean (SWOI).
The annual professional development councils, which include professionals from the sector, ensure this continuity. Similarly, a network of professionals actively supports training, whether they are speakers or internship supervisors from state bodies, companies, consulting firms, associations, etc., in the field of the natural terrestrial environment.

At the international level, the TROPIMUNDO joint master's program is one of the few specialized master's programs in ecology and tropical biodiversity that allows students to immerse themselves in a tropical zone during semester 2.
All courses in semester 2 offered in Reunion Island in the TROPIMUNDO program are conducted entirely in English, and shared with those of the BEST-T program, allowing local immersion for the international students welcomed.

Within this framework, a field school is conducted and takes place both in Reunion Island (1 week, tropical botany) and in the Indian Ocean area, generally in Madagascar (2 weeks, tropical forest ecology).

Students also carry out a supervised research project involving independent work: the cross-disciplinary PlantRunDNA teaching-research project (field and laboratory).

Total teaching hours: 250 hours taught in English and shared with the BEST-T program

The TROPIMUNDO training offered in Reunion Island (semester 2) aims to understand the processes responsible for the dynamics of biodiversity in tropical terrestrial environments (ecosystems and agrosystems) in order to propose appropriate conservation and protection measures.

The training is carried out both by classical academic approaches offering a solid theoretical background and by practical teachings of fundamental or applied scope delivered in the field, within the National Park of Reunion (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)) and in the region (Madagascar), or in agricultural settings, in the field or on the experimental sites and laboratories of the Plant Protection Center.

The teaching method relies heavily on personal work, analysis, and critical thinking among students, through interactive courses, or analysis of data collected in the field or in the laboratory, or from articles based on experimental results.

The areas covered in semester 2 of this course are tropical forest ecology, tropical botany and molecular systematics, plant health, the study of biotic interactions… Solid foundations are also given in statistics, modeling, spatial analysis and eco-informatics.

The second semester, carried out in Reunion Island, offers courses in English in conjunction with the BEST-T program, including a Field School in Reunion Island and Madagascar.

Semester 1 is carried out in Belgium at the Université libre de Bruxelles and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (ULB and VUB), semester 3 in mainland France (Sorbonne, Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle), French Guiana (Université de Guyane) or Italy at the University of Florence (UNIFI), and a six-month internship in M2 in semester 4 completes the training (bibliographic research and choice of subject during M1) (www.tropimundo.eu).

The skills acquired during this training are in line with those of the RNCP record

Skills specific to the training:

In terms of skills, our recent graduates are capable, upon completion of their training, of leading a professional project from conception to completion, including its dissemination and associated communication. They can conduct a literature review and perform a state-of-the-art analysis on a given topic, formulate a research question, a problem statement, or a hypothesis, develop an experimental protocol and implement it in the field or laboratory, acquire, organize, analyze, and interpret data, and finally discuss the results obtained to address the problem statement or test the hypothesis. They can write a scientific report and present it orally to an expert audience or the general public. They can apply and develop these professional skills in both academic research contexts and more applied roles, such as in consulting firms or organizations responsible for the enhancement, conservation, or management of natural or cultivated terrestrial biodiversity.

TROPIMUNDO students participate with BEST-T in the cross-disciplinary teaching-research project PlantRunDNA at the level of data analysis and report writing during semester 2.

Students are encouraged to attend the scientific presentations of the Plant Protection Unit and the Bioecotrop seminars of the Training and Research Unit (UFR) Sciences and Technology via videoconference (every week)

The TROPIMUNDO internship lasts 6 months in M2 (semester 4) and the bibliographic research and presentation of the topic are done within the framework of an internship module in M1.

Registration fees are set annually by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Space and are available on our institution's website: Register at the University of Reunion

• Possessing Bachelor's level skills in the proper application of biological models, in the use of analytical tools, and in the mastery of concepts related to the ecological and biological study of organisms and populations,
• Having excellent academic results, particularly in the core subjects of the BEE specialization: ecology, animal and plant biology (organismal biology), statistics, evolutionary biology and genetics
• Have a good command of spoken and written English (expression and comprehension) (one entire semester of classes is taught in English).
• Possess good oral comprehension and good scientific writing skills in French
• To be autonomous, committed and rigorous; to know how to work in a team
• Demonstrate strong motivation and consistency between the candidate's academic project and the training requested.
• Demonstrate how your experiences (e.g., internships or jobs) or commitments (e.g., volunteer work or naturalist activities) are relevant to the program you are applying for. Any prior experience in ecology and strong fieldwork skills should be highlighted.

• Particular attention will be paid to the existence of skills in the essential prerequisite fundamental subjects: ecology, animal and plant biology, statistics, evolutionary biology, genetics.
• Overall average >12/20 in semester 5 or the last semester for which information is available. No core subject below 10/20
• Minimum level B2
• For students whose first language is not French, a minimum C1 level is expected.
• Any annual performance reviews of the candidate by their professors or supervisors will be an asset.
• A letter of application and motivation accompanied by a Curriculum Vitae (CV) describing the student's skills and project, and demonstrating a strong coherence with the requested training is expected.
• The CV and cover letter will allow the candidate to highlight any commitments or experiences that may be an asset.

Bachelor of Sciences, License mention Life Sciences

Depending on the student's situation, applications for admission to the first year of the Master's program (M1) follow three specific procedures (the national platform MonMaster, Études en France, Validation of Acquired Experience). For more information, please consult the university's student services page. Enroll in the first year of a Master's program

Applications for all international students are submitted exclusively and specifically via the platform. www.tropimundo.eu.

Baccalaureate + 3 or equivalent

The target audience is primarily drawn from training programs of the type Bachelor of ScienceRecruitment is international (www.tropimundo.eu)

5 seats

The admission dates for the first year of the Master's degree (M1) are set nationally each year and are available on the platform. My Master

For admission to the second year of the Master's program (M2), the schedule is determined by the institution. It is available on the student services page of the university website: Students re-registering

According to the platform's schedule www.tropimundo.eu

For the years 2020-2021, to 2024-2025 the success rates in semester 2 of the M1 of the TROPIMUNDO students enrolled were 100% (15 students enrolled in total).

For students welcomed in semester 2 in Reunion Island and having completed the full course (classes of 2020-21 and 2022-23) the success rate for the diploma of this joint Master's degree is 87,5%.

Doctorate.

The sectors of activity and types of employment targeted by this training correspond to those listed in the RNCP record

The TROPIMUNDO international program provides access to engineering-level positions internationally in the fields of environmental expertise, tropical ecology and biodiversity, tropical agronomy, crop pest control, biological invasion management, genetic resource management, etc., in consulting firms, local authorities, protected area management organizations (Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), institutions), public institutes or national research centers, private companies, associations, etc. Young graduates can also work in the field of scientific communication, the
environmental awareness and training.

After a doctorate: research or research and development, higher education, in one of the fields mentioned above