Innovation After-Work Event: Spotlight on the Innovative Students of Tomorrow

[Article] - Published on September 12, 2025 at the University Innovation Hub (PUI)

The 6th edition of the Innovation Afterwork event took place on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, at the Orangerie in Montpellier’s Jardin des Plantes. It was an opportunity to raise awareness among students about all the support programs offered by the University Innovation Hub (PUI) makes available to them. Seven innovation awards were also presented, including the brand-new “Coup de cœur Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole” award, created this year.

“We’ve been conducting intensive research here for a long time… But now it’s finally been formalized,”said Philippe Augé, president of the University of Montpellier, in his opening remarks. On Tuesday, July 8, the region’s deep-tech elite gathered at the Jardin des Plantes for the traditional Innovation Afterwork event, organized by Montpellier’s University Innovation Hub (PUI).

This year, students were the talk of the town. “The after-work event was designed as a showcase led by our community, but aimed at a young audience. “We want to raise awareness among our students and doctoral candidates about the issue of innovation by making these initiatives more visible,” added Philippe Augé. As the common thread in most of the speeches, they were at the center of everyone’s attention with a single message: bring your ideas to life—the green light is on!

Stepping stones for students

From student entrepreneurship to CIFRE theses, and including calls for projects such as the Montpellier Innovation Booster (BIM) and Companies and Campus, students were able to explore all the “springboards” made available to them by the PUI during this major evening dedicated to innovation. Not to mention the “Pre-incubate to Co-incubate” programs, designed to support innovative projects and transform these students into the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

On this occasion, all the organizations involved in startup development in the Montpellier area were in attendance:the Initium incubator, the Montpellier Business & Innovation Centre (BIC), AgroVallée Incubation, and TTM Factory, the incubator of the Technology Transfer Acceleration Company (Satt AxLr). In just three years, the PUI has developed and orchestrated an entire ecosystem designed to make their work easier, and this was essentially the central theme of this new Afterwork event.

“The desire to be an entrepreneur is neither innate nor a given… It is developed, and requires skills that can be cultivated through training,” acknowledged Agnès Fichard-Caroll, UM Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Life, during the roundtable discussion. Joining her were Kate Rivière, head of the Initium Incubator, and Pascal Giat, head of the Cifre department at the National Agency for Research and Technology (ANRT), who detailed the resources available through their respective organizations in the presence of two students who had already taken the plunge. “I wasn’t an entrepreneur at heart… And I received intensive support, ” said Yannick Lepecq, a master’s student incubated at Initium.

Fostering Innovation Through Collaborative Research

Logan Chevret, a doctoral student at ICGM, is working at Saint-Gobain on the development of an innovative chemical recycling process and the synthesis of new recyclable materials. He is a recipient of a CIFRE fellowship, and the project has benefited from the “Companies and Campus” initiative led by the Montpellier University Research Institute (PUI), which has accelerated the commercialization of this innovation.
“It is thanks to initiatives created and supported in Montpellier that my research has been able to accelerate and be commercialized in this way. Without this support, the level of commercialization achieved today would not have been possible.”

Philippe Combette, Vice President for Innovation and Partnerships, emphasized how crucial it is for France to catch up in the industrial sector. “The rise of deep tech underscores the importance of funding intensive research,” he emphasized , before discussing the vital role of the PUI, which is entirely focused on the future. “In France, the pool of scientific talent is vast, yet only a small fraction is engaged in innovation. The challenge is to grow this active base.”

“So that things seem simpler here than elsewhere”

Michaël Delafosse, mayor of Montpellier and president of Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, also praised the thriving talent pool and ecosystem. “Those who want to innovate may sometimes face complexities… But by working together, we lower the barriers to entry for creation and innovation, ” he argued, referring to the tripartite agreement signed between Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, the University of Montpellier (UM), and Satt AxLR. “We want to be transparent, clear, and aligned… So there is no silo effect, and all mechanisms can be activated. So that here, it seems simpler than elsewhere!” he summarized. “I would like to express the hope that Montpellier, with the academic excellence that is its strength, will be the region with the highest number of entrepreneurs, jobs, innovative projects, and patents. This must be our challenge. And we have all the ingredients to achieve it.”

As the highlight of a new year rich in creativity and discoveries, the event finally provided an opportunity to recognize seven researchers for spearheading and developing particularly promising projects in their fields (see details below). It was a chance to shine a spotlight on researchers who are making discoveries—but above all, who are blazing new trails!

Seven Innovation Awards

Keywords: Innovation, PUI