Nouria Hernandez was appointed Rector of UNIL by the Council of State on 28 August 2015. An internationally renowned biologist specialising in fundamental research on genes, she took up her position on 1 August 2016 after forming a new Rectorate, which was validated by UNIL’s Council on 3 March. The Rector is responsible for general affairs and quality, and has a particular interest in questions of sustainability. "Sustainability is a topic that is very close to my heart,” she says. “There is a link between human beings and the general degradation of the planet. I am worried for future generations. That’s why I chose to study biology. I have also been thinking about what I would like the university to become. I saw that the previous Rectorate had worked on almost all my ideas. So I can take things a step further, without doing a complete U-turn. All of that convinced me."