SESSTIM

What SESSTIM does

SESSTIM (UMR 1252 — Sciences Économiques et Sociales de la Santé & Traitement de l'Information Médicale) is a French public research unit based in Marseille, jointly operated under the tutelles of Aix-Marseille Université (AMU), Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM), and Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD). The unit conducts interdisciplinary research at the intersection of health economics, social sciences, epidemiology, biostatistics, and medical informatics, organized into three research teams — CaLIPSo, QuanTIM, and SanteRCom — and staffed by approximately 67 personnel. Its constituencies are graduate students, public-health researchers, clinicians, and decision-makers in the French and international health systems.

Core outputs span both research and education. Research deliverables include peer-reviewed publications and named AI/ML assets — the LongiMam deep-learning model for breast-cancer risk prediction, the AD Course Map for Alzheimer's disease, NLP pipelines, predictive analytics, anomaly-detection systems, generative-AI methods for adaptive trial design, and joint-modeling optimization — frequently run against the French National Health Data System (SNDS) and international cohorts such as HLS19. Educational products include four Master's programs (AI4PH, EISIS, MQERS, SPSD), a portfolio of professional diplomas (CESU, DESU, DU), the recurring HEAR+STAT summer school (now in its 5th edition), the QuanTIM webinar series, and co-organization of the ADELF-EPITER international congress (12th edition in 2026).

SESSTIM is not a commercial enterprise; it has no conventional revenue model. Income is sourced from French public research block grants through its three supervising institutions, supplemented by competitive project funding and modest tuition/fees from professional diplomas and summer schools (referenced at roughly €100–€200 per HEAR+STAT participant). Distribution runs through academic channels — university curricula, hosted events, peer-reviewed publications, and a growing social/web presence (webinars, BlueSky) — placing graduates and methodological outputs into French public-health agencies, hospitals, and academic institutions rather than a commercial customer base.

Name

SESSTIM

Legal name

UMR 1252 SESSTIM - Unité Mixte de Recherche

Website

https://sesstim.univ-amu.fr

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

SESSTIM (UMR 1252) is a French public research unit in Marseille jointly operated by Aix-Marseille Université, INSERM, and IRD, conducting interdisciplinary research and graduate education in biostatistics, epidemiology, health economics, and medical AI for students, clinicians, and public-health decision-makers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Marseille

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

SESSTIM (UMR 1252) is a mixed academic research unit that delivers interdisciplinary research and graduate-level training in health economics, social epidemiology, biostatistics, and medical informatics. It sells Master's programs (AI4PH, EISIS, MQERS, SPSD), professional diplomas (DESU/DU programs), the HEAR+STAT Corsican Summer School on biostatistics, the ADELF-EPITER International Francophone Congress, and the QuanTIM Webinar Series to students, healthcare professionals, and public health decision-makers.

Product overview

SESSTIM (UMR 1252 - Sciences Économiques et Sociales de la Santé & Traitement de l'Information Médicale) is a mixed research unit affiliated with Aix Marseille University, INSERM, and IRD. SESSTIM operates as an academic and research organization rather than a commercial product company. Its portfolio consists of: (1) graduate-level educational programs (Masters in AI4PH, EISIS, MQERS, SPSD) and professional diplomas (DESU/PGDip programs in AI4PH, MQES, MSTAVS, MSTEPS, IIM, and other specializations), all focused on quantitative methods, biostatistics, medical informatics, and health economics; (2) the QuanTIM research team and webinar series providing scientific dissemination; (3) the HEAR+STAT annual summer school in Corsica; and (4) the ADELF-EPITER international congress. SESSTIM also hosts the ISSPAM Institute for public health sciences and offers various CESU/DU professional certificates in health informatics and statistics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CaLIPSo: Research team focused on cancer, long-term diseases, and health policy research
• QuanTIM
• SanteRCom
• ISSPAM

Products and services

• AI4PH Master's Program (Artificial Intelligence for Public Health) Master's specialization delivering training in AI methods applied to public health, covering machine learning, statistics, and data science for health research and practice, intended for graduate students in health sciences and data-related disciplines.
• EISIS Master's Program (Expertise et Ingénierie des Systèmes d'Information en Santé) Master's specialization focused on expertise and engineering of health information systems, training professionals in health data management and information systems for graduate students and information technology professionals in healthcare.
• MQERS Master's Program (Méthodes Quantitatives et Économétriques pour la Recherche en Santé) Master's program in quantitative methods and econometrics for health research, covering statistical modeling and economic evaluation in health, intended for graduate students in public health and applied economics.
• SPSD Master's Program (Santé Publique et Spatial Demography) Master's specialization in public health and spatial demography, focusing on geographic and demographic aspects of health, designed for graduate students pursuing careers in epidemiology and population health.
• DESU MQES (Diplôme d'Études Supérieures Universitaires in Health Economics) Professional university diploma in health economics and health economics evaluation, delivered as continuing education for healthcare professionals and graduate students seeking applied credentials in economic evaluation.
• DESU MSTAVS (Advanced Statistical Methods for Health Research) Professional university diploma in advanced statistical methods for health research, delivered to physicians, researchers, and graduate students requiring rigorous methodological training in biostatistics.
• DESU MSTEPS (Statistical Methods and Recent Advances in Epidemiology) Professional university diploma covering statistical methods and recent advances in epidemiology, intended for clinicians, public health professionals, and graduate students seeking advanced epidemiological training.
• DESU IIM (Informatique et Information Médicale) Professional university diploma in medical informatics and medical information processing, offered to healthcare professionals and graduate students aiming to specialize in health information systems and clinical data management.
• HEAR+STAT Summer School (Modern Methods in Biostatistics and Epidemiology) Corsican Summer School on Modern Methods in Biostatistics and Epidemiology, focusing on statistical methods for excess risk analysis and net survival, targeted at doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers, and healthcare professionals. Registration fee is €100-200 per participant depending on profile.
• ADELF-EPITER International Congress (12th edition) International Francophone Congress of Epidemiology and Public Health co-organized by SESSTIM, ADELF and EPITER, bringing together 300-500 doctors, veterinarians and epidemiologists across Francophone regions.
• QuanTIM Webinar Series Weekly scientific webinar series organized by the QuanTIM research team, featuring international researchers presenting advances in quantitative methods for health research, including a PhD Student Award competition, for researchers, graduate students, and public health professionals.
• ISSPAM Institute (Institut des Sciences de la Santé Publique d'Aix-Marseille) Interdisciplinary institute promoting public health research and training across quantitative and qualitative methods, hosted by SESSTIM and serving as the umbrella for cross-team collaboration with Aix Marseille University and its partners.

Quantifiable outcome

• 12th International Francophone Congress of Epidemiology and Public Health expected attendance: 300-500 experts
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability10 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• ORS PACA (Observatoire Régional de la Santé Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional health observatory partnership for public health research and surveillance in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.
• Institut Paoli CalmettescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional cancer research institute partnership for cancer research, clinical studies, and public health research collaboration.
• CESPA (Centre d'Economie de la Santé Provence-Alpes)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealth economics center partnership for economic evaluation research in health.
• IHU Méditerranée InfectioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity Hospital Institute partnership for infectious disease research and public health interventions.
• APHM (Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Marseille)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor public hospital system partnership for clinical research, epidemiological studies, and health services research.
• AMSE (Aix Marseille School of Economics)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEconomics research school partnership for health economics and economic evaluation research.
• Coalition PLUScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational network of community-based organizations fighting HIV/AIDS and hepatitis, involved in community-based research and intervention research.
• ADELF (Association d'Epidémiologie de Langue Française)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrancophone epidemiology association co-organizing the International Francophone Congress of Epidemiology and Public Health.
• EPITERcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublic health epidemiology association co-organizing the International Francophone Congress of Epidemiology and Public Health.
• CENSUR Working Survival GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChallenges in the Estimation of Net SURvival working group, co-organizing the HEAR+STAT Corsican Summer School on biostatistics.
• ISPED (Institut de Santé Publique, d'Epidémiologie et de Développement)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint webinars organized with ISPED University of Bordeaux for international summer school programs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH): University-affiliated Swiss research and teaching institute covering epidemiology, biostatistics, public health, and health systems — a close functional analog to SESSTIM with stronger global-health footprint and similar mixed university/research-council funding model.
• EHESP (École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique): France's dedicated graduate school of public health, offering overlapping Masters and continuing education in epidemiology, biostatistics, health policy, and health informatics. Most direct institutional competitor for French public-health graduate students and a comparable public-tutelle funding model.
• ISPED (Institut de Santé Publique, d'Épidémiologie et de Développement, Université de Bordeaux): Direct peer French public-health research and training institute within a major university. Already collaborates with SESSTIM on joint webinars and summer schools, and operates a near-identical mix of epidemiology, biostatistics, and health-informatics Masters programs serving the same student segments.

Broad incumbents

• Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health: Global leader in public-health research and graduate education, including biostatistics and epidemiology. Functions as the aspirational benchmark and primary competitor for top international graduate students in AI-in-public-health research.
• Institut Pasteur: Larger and broader French biomedical research institution with an epidemiology and public-health research center. Overlaps with SESSTIM on infectious-disease epidemiology and global-health training but operates at materially larger scale and budget.
• INSERM (parent tutelle): One of SESSTIM's three supervising tutelles and France's national biomedical research agency. Comparable as the umbrella research institution that hosts UMR-style units; broader scope, but the same model of joint university/INSERM research units.
• London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM): Global benchmark graduate school with extensive epidemiology, biostatistics, and public-health training. Comparable mission and program mix; materially larger, English-language, and internationally oriented — sets the competitive ceiling for SESSTIM's AI4PH-style offerings.
• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: Largest U.S. school of public health, with comparable epidemiology, biostatistics, and health-informatics programs. Relevant as a comparator for AI-for-public-health training positioning and international student recruitment, though operates at vastly greater scale.

Regional players

• Karolinska Institutet — Department of Public Health Sciences: Northern European university department offering epidemiology and public-health Masters/doctoral training. Comparable research/teaching mix; serves a different geography but targets a similar Nordic/European student segment for quantitative public-health training.

Others

• CESPA (Centre d'Economie de la Santé Provence-Alpes): Regional health-economics center already in partnership with SESSTIM. Comparable only at the sub-discipline level (health economics) rather than across the full SESSTIM research portfolio; included to reflect the close ecosystem of overlapping regional health-research units.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sesstim_amu
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@sesstim-umr1252
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sesstim

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SESSTIM