University Innovation Hub (PUI)

The University of Montpellier Awarded the “University Innovation Hub” Designation

Following an initial pilot phase that began in 2021, Sylvie Retailleau, Minister of Higher Education and Research, announced in July 2023 that the University of Montpellier had been designated a University Innovation Hub (PUI), receiving a total grant of 9M€ over the course of both phases.

The University Innovation Hub has recognized the University of Montpellier as an organization capable of making its knowledge and technology transfer offerings more transparent and of facilitating public-private relationships and partnerships.

The strategies of the higher education and research institutions located in Montpellier and its surrounding area are geared toward the emergence of a University Innovation Hub (PUI), led by the University of Montpellier.I-SITE’s “Feed-Heal-Protect” framework remains the backbone of the PUI’s strategic vision.

The Objectives of the University Innovation Hub (PUI)

The Montpellier University Industrial Park has considerable potential to help reduce economic disparities in the region by stimulating the creation of startups, fostering innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises, and enhancing the region’s appeal to outside companies.

With one-third of Occitanie’s public-sector Professors , and researchers (5,000 out of 15,000), as well as 28% of its students (70,000 out of 250,000), Montpellier benefits from dedicated and high-performing innovation organizations such as the SATT AxLR, a metropolitan incubator (BIC de Montpellier), an effective regional economic development agency (Agence AD’OCC), and a network of socio-economic groups (clusters, competitiveness clusters, etc.).

Our PUI's initiatives aim to encourage collaborative research, promote technology transfer, and stimulate entrepreneurship.

Programs of the University Innovation Hub (PUI)

Here are a few examples of tools implemented by the PUI to encourage public-private partnerships, promote technology transfer, and foster entrepreneurship:

• Booster Innovation Montpellier (BIM): dedicated support for innovators in the early stages of their project’s development, through training on various commercialization pathways and potential funding.
• Innovation Award: An award for staff members from all partners in the I-SITE Excellence Program, recognizing their commitment to developing innovations stemming from one of the five research clusters.
• Innovation After-Work: an annual event bringing together researchers, companies, partners, and local governments to discuss innovation, commercialization, partnerships, and entrepreneurship, during which the Innovation Awards are presented to the winners. 
• Companies and Campus: a call for proposals aimed at supporting the establishment of new public-private research partnerships by funding a portion of the expenses dedicated to innovation and encouraging the mobility of partner personnel within the company or laboratory.
• In Lab Engineering: a call for proposals aimed at supporting the establishment of new partnerships and facilitating SMEs’ access to the expertise of PUI organizations by providing funding to selected research organizations or platforms that wish to develop innovation units open to businesses.
• “Setting Up a Labcom”Workshop: workshops designed to raise awareness about the creation of “joint laboratories” between companies and research organization laboratories, aimed at PUI staff and researchers.
• Developmentof Initium, the University of Montpellier’s incubator, designed for individuals with innovative projects who are seeking support in starting a business.
• Creation and development of PEPITE Deeptech, aimed at raising awareness among and supporting deep tech entrepreneurs in commercializing their innovations.
• Capacity Building: a training program on innovation designed for all I-SITE partners.
• Deploy digital tools, particularly in collaboration with OCAPI, to manage agreements, calls for proposals, and intellectual property. The tool will subsequently incorporate a software detection platform and an invention disclosure module.

PUI Partners