On 10 April 2025, at the Faculty of Medicine of Sorbonne University, Catherine Tourette-Turgis, founder of the Université des Patients and member of our Institute's strategic steering committee, gave a lecture entitled: “The Université des Patients: a French innovation and a political economy of hope.”

By placing testimonials at the centre of the presentation, this intervention provided an opportunity to look back on the unique trajectory of the Université des Patients, the first academic institution in France to recognise knowledge gained from experience of illness and to offer degree courses to patients themselves.

By combining academic expertise, real-world experience and inclusive teaching methods, this initiative is helping to transform traditional healthcare training frameworks by promoting diversity in career paths and perspectives. Far from being a simple teaching innovation, this project represents a genuine institutional shift in the approach to healthcare, re-examining the role of patients in the development of knowledge and public health policy.

Through this text, a wide-ranging reflection on the future of education, research and health democracy is opened up.​​​​​​​

We invite you to watch the entire conference, which is now available online:

Or download her speech (in French) via the link below.