Country/Region/City
Each FISU World University Championship is more than just a sporting event — it’s a unique opportunity to discover a new culture, explore a region, and connect with a vibrant academic community.
This page introduces you to the host country and city for this edition, highlighting their history, key features, and commitment to sport and youth.
France
France stands out as a leading destination for students and athletes from all over the world, welcoming more than 430,000 international students each year. Renowned for the excellence of its higher education, the richness of its culture, and its art of living, France combines an exceptional historical heritage, innovation, and warm hospitality. Coming to France means discovering a country where diversity, open-mindedness, and passion for sport intertwine, with a dense network of universities, prestigious schools, clubs, and high-level fac.
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Nouvelle-Aquitaine is the largest region of mainland France: it covers more than 84,000 km², includes 12 departments, and is home to over 6 million inhabitants. With an incredible variety of landscapes ranging from the Atlantic coastline, forests, and mountains to vineyards and farmland, the region is recognized for its dynamism, lifestyle, innovations (notably in agribusiness, aeronautics, and healthcare), as well as the richness of its natural and cultural heritage. Nouvelle-Aquitaine is also a territory where sport plays a central role, reflected through many international events and values of conviviality and excellence
Bordeaux
Bordeaux, the capital of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, is a vibrant European metropolis, renowned for its vitality, UNESCO-listed architecture, and passion for sport and culture. Crossed by the Garonne River and surrounded by famous vineyards, Bordeaux is today one of France’s major student and sporting cities, where modernity and history coexist in harmony. A city of innovation, gastronomy, and encounters, it offers an exceptional quality of life, distinguished both by the richness of its cultural offerings and the quality of its sporting facilities.
Pessac
At the gates of Bordeaux, the city of Pessac is one of the key municipalities of the metropolis, renowned for the quality of its living environment, preserved green spaces, and rich viticultural and architectural heritage. Home to a vast university campus, Pessac welcomes many French and international students and stands out for the diversity of its sports, cultural, and scientific facilities. It also places strong importance on the environment, innovation, and inclusion, offering an ideal setting to host international university sporting events.
University of Bordeaux
Founded in 1441, the University of Bordeaux is a major institution within the French higher education landscape, welcoming more than 50,000 students, including many internationals. It offers a wide variety of programs, ranging from law to sciences, health, and the humanities, supported by high-quality teaching and internationally recognized research.
The Bordeaux campus extends over more than 180 hectares, spread across several key sites. The Talence campus is dedicated to science and technology, while the Pessac campus—one of the largest in Europe—hosts programs in law, economics, and management within a privileged natural environment. In the city center, the Victoire campus serves as a historic and lively hub for the humanities, complemented by specialized sites such as the Carreire campus, which focuses on health studies close to hospital facilities. All these spaces are connected by a modern transport network, making student life easier and ensuring strong links with the city.
The University of Bordeaux is undergoing a major transformation through the “Opération Campus” project, which aims to modernize infrastructures to provide an exceptional living and working environment. The vision is one that is open to the city, sustainable, and stimulating for all students. This commitment clearly reflects the determination to guarantee academic excellence while promoting well-being, diversity, and innovation.
This extensive university domain thus becomes a place of exchange, creativity, and success, at the heart of a dynamic, cultural, and sporting metropolis, welcoming students from all over the world to thrive, learn, and build their future.