FMEL (Fondation Maisons pour Etudiants Lausanne )

The Fondation Maisons pour Etudiants Lausanne (FMEL) is a Swiss public interest organisation which offers housing to students of the University of Lausanne (UNIL), the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne (EPFL), the Canton of Vaud’s higher education institutions (HES) and of the higher school of Pedagogy of Lausanne (HEP). The foundation’s mission is to build and manage student houses, and the activity is wholly not for profit. Founded in1961 by the town of Lausanne, the Canton of Vaud and the University of Lausanne, to meet the ever-growing needs in terms of student housing, the Foundation today houses over 2,500 students in 14 geographical sites, mainly in the greater Lausanne area. Between now and 2022, the FMEL will practically double its bed-capacity and thus will be able to give greater choice to students in terms housing. In September 2018, a new residence will open in the centre of Lausanne which will add a further 100 students to the FMEL community. In autumn of 2020 the emblematic “Vortex” residence will open for around a thousand students and academic guests on the campus of the University of Lausanne. Thereafter, the FMEL will actively participate in the “Campus Santé” project, building a residence for the students of the higher education institution of applied health for the Canton of Vaud (Haute Ecole de santé vaudoise (HESAV)). The Fondation Maisons pour Etudiants Lausanne is governed by a Board of Trustees composed of representatives from the State of Vaud, the town of Lausanne, the management of the University of Lausanne and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne, as well as three students immatriculated at UNIL, EPFL, or from a higher education institution. Representatives of the student associations of UNIL and EPFL (FAE and AGEPOLY) are invited members without voting rights.