The LS2N depends on 4 institutions: the CNRS (more precisely through its main link with the Institute of Information Sciences and their Interactions (INS2I), as well as with the Institute of Engineering Sciences and Systems (INSIS) and the Institute of Biological Sciences (INSB), testifying to an interdisciplinary activity), and the local institutions, which are the University of Nantes, Centrale Nantes, and the IMT Atlantic. Inria is a partner of the LS2N through several joint project teams.

The LS2N in December 2018 includes the activity of approximately 450 people with 229 permanent staff: 21 researchers (17 CNRS, 4 Inria), 178 teacher-researchers (including 109 from the University of Nantes (UN), 31 from the IMT Atlantic (IMT-A), 31 from Centrale Nantes (CN)) and 30 engineers, technicians and administrators (14 CNRS, 4 CN, 4 IMT-A, 7 UN, 1 Inria). It also hosts about 120 doctoral students and 101 engineers or contractual post-doctoral fellows.

A lab of more than 200 researchers and teacher-researchers, with teams of reasonable size (an average of less than 10 permanent members), contains more than 20 teams.
A grouping by major scientific fields becomes necessary in order to:
– display in a structured way the activity and skills (or “colors”) of the laboratory,
– facilitate interactions and cooperation between teams with related scientific objects,
– coordinate the platforms (hardware and software) associated with the theme,
– facilitate scientific animation and foresight,
– bring together teaching teams in charge of master’s courses,
– organize its evaluation.

The transversal themes of the lab are the result of the scientific reflections of the staff members based on their current work, the international exchanges already engaged, the analyses of various and varied prospective studies…, but also the feelings and/or desires of each other. And finally, the five transversal themes proposed by the lab are perfectly in line with the regional, national and European strategy for the coming decades. These transversal themes make it possible to cultivate inter-disciplinarity and to contribute to certain societal challenges.

Beyond the projects of excellence that are conducted, it is particularly at the intersection of the poles and transversal themes that the lab’s strengths and originality are displayed.