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Entomology is a branch of biology that focuses on the study of insects, and more generally on arthropods. EntomoCentre aims to promote studies in entomology in relation to global changes and innovative technologies.

Initiated in 2019, the network brings together laboratories of French National body for Agronomic and Environment Research (INRAE), National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), and the Universities of Tours and Orléans.

Our missions 

To bring together people and institutes working on insects in the Centre-Val de Loire Region. To achieve this, the network will focus on four major areas:

• Research: Promoting interaction between academic and non-academic partners to carry out international collaborative research projects.
• Training course: To coordinate entomology training offers on a regional scale, and then to deploy them nationally and internationally.
• Innovation: To increase national and international visibility on crosscutting themes that promotes industrial innovation and employability in the Centre-Val de Loire region.
• Decision-making: To carry out actions and offer solutions to regional, national and international bodies.

Our actions

Research: Research activities on themes related to biodiversity conservation, global warming, innovative food technologies, pathogen vector regulation or bio-inspired technologies.

• Support for teams setting up research projects on an international scale
• Organisation of large-scale conferences, symposiums and congresses in the Centre-Val de Loire region
• Development of a shared environmental metrology platform with unique measurement equipment in Natura

Training course: Creation of a new entomology-training offer in the Centre-Val de Loire region.

• Support for the introduction of a professional degree in applied entomology
• Support for the setting up of international courses at Master and Doctorate levels, particularly in relation to insect production techniques (insects farming).
• Coordination of training course offers between the Universities of Tours and Orléans
• Development of pedagogical tools

Innovation: Support for the development of research areas that promotes innovation and employability in the Centre-Val de Loire region.

• Organisation of methodological workshops for various stakeholders on new methods for sampling and monitoring biodiversity, production of insects for food purposes, development of innovative biological control methods based on plant-insect-microorganism interactions, and participative science.
• Support for the setting up and implementation of industrial insects farming and entomological conversion systems

Decision-making assistance: Setting up a federation of entomological research in order to promote exchanges between the scientific and political spheres and citizens. This structure could help decision-making in the framework of action plans, develop projects in participatory science and promote the popularisation of science.

Governance 

The network is co-coordinated by the Forest Zoology Research Unit (URZF) of INRAE, by the Institute for Research on Insect Biology (IRBI) of the University of Tours and by the CNRS.

The scientific committee is made up of representatives from INRAE, CNRS, the Universities of Orleans and Tours, the Conservatoire des Espaces Naturels Centre-Val de Loire, the Studium and Centre Sciences. They all meet twice a year to ensure the production of deliverables according to the various objectives, but also to study applications for funding.