Innovation, Development and Research Hub

Artificial intelligence, collaboration tools, multilingualism and digital literacy are now essential skills in 21^st -century life. In a world where advances in technology and education are continuously evolving, our innovation hub keeps pace with change to ensure our curriculum is constantly adapting to help us prepare students for the future.

The innovation, development and research hub aims to bring innovative methods of teaching and learning into our curriculum, while guaranteeing the acquisition of core skills like reading and writing.

Set up by Florimont as an idea laboratory and training centre for our educational plan, the hub examines a wide range of issues – from customising learning pathways and multilingualism to raising teacher and student awareness about safe digital practices and understanding AI.

It also researches the impact of these methods on results, leading to continuous improvement and adaptation to the needs of each student.

In 2025, the hub formed a partnership with the Multilingual Learning Research Centre at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Led by Eowyn Crisfield, Honorary Norham Fellow of Oxford University, this project helps the hub focus on the linguistic component of its research.

The hub develops practical projects to improve both teaching and learning: providing certain year groups with iPads (6^e and 3^e), identifying digital skills, building them into our curriculum and training teachers, setting up an AI task force, developing bilingual guidelines for primary students to ensure a smooth transition between linguistic environments, and examining the links between languages and maths.

These initiatives reflect our ongoing commitment to education based on evidence and innovation. The knowledge acquired not only helps us improve our educational programmes but benefits the wider teaching community.

The unit is managed by Yann Houry, Head of Educational Innovation at Florimont. He brings a wealth of expertise to integrating technology into education by developing new projects and training teachers.

Setting up an innovation hub means that Florimont now manages the entire innovation chain – from training teachers to classroom performance. It offers unique opportunities for the school community to develop practices and approaches, and seamlessly integrate technologies into daily teaching to support and enhance the entire curriculum. The Institut is pursuing the same objectives now as it has throughout its 120-year history: providing a comprehensive learning experience to nurture free-thinking and discerning individuals with a passion for life!