Innovation Afterwork: spotlight on tomorrow's student innovators

[Article] - Published on September 12, 2025 in Pôle Universitaire d'Innovation (PUI)

The 6th Innovation Afterwork took place on Tuesday, July 8, 2025 at the Orangerie du Jardin des plantes in Montpellier. It was an opportunity to raise students' awareness of the full range of support services offered by the Pôle universitaire d'innovation (PUI). Seven innovation prizes were also awarded, including the brand-new "Coup de cœur Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole" prize, created this year.

"Here, we've been doing intensive research for a long time... But it's finally being structured", greeted Montpellier University President Philippe Augé in his opening speech. On Tuesday July 8, the region's deeptech elite gathered at the Jardin des Plantes for the traditional Innovation Afterwork, organized by Montpellier's Pôle Universitaire d'Innovation (PUI).

This year, students were on everyone's lips. "The afterwork was conceived as a showcase for our community, but aimed at a younger audience. We want to raise awareness of innovation among our students and doctoral candidates, by making our schemes more visible", added Philippe Augé. The common denominator of most of the speeches was that they were at the heart of all concerns, with a single message: put your ideas into practice - all the signals are green!

Springboards for students

From student entrepreneur status, to Cifre theses, to calls for projects such as the Montpellier Innovation Booster (BIM) or Companies and campus, students were able to explore all the "springboards" made available to them by the PUI during this evening dedicated to innovation. Not forgetting the "Pre-incubate to co-incubate" schemes, designed to support innovative projects and transform students into tomorrow's entrepreneurs.

For the occasion, all the structures associated with the development of startups on the Montpellier site were present: theInitium incubator, the Montpellier Business & Innovation Centre(BIC), AgroVallée incubation, and TTM Factory, the incubator of the Société d'accélération de transfert de technologie(Satt AxLr). In just three years, the PUI has developed and orchestrated a whole ecosystem designed to make their task easier, and this was the main theme of this new Afterwork.

"The desire to be an entrepreneur is neither innate nor given... It is built, and requires skills in which training can play a part", acknowledged Agnès Fichard-Caroll, UM vice-president in charge of training and university life, during the round table discussion. Alongside her, Kate Rivière, head of the Initium Incubator, and Pascal Giat, head of the Cifre department at the Agence nationale de la recherche et de la technologie(ANRT), detailed the tools of their respective structures, in the presence of two students who had already taken the plunge. " I wasn't an entrepreneur at heart... And I benefited from intensive support", testified Yannick Lepecq, an M2 student incubated at Initium.

Growing innovation through partnership research

Logan Chevret, a doctoral student at the ICGM, is working at Saint-Gobain on the development of an innovative chemical recycling process and the synthesis of new recyclable materials. He is the recipient of a CIFRE thesis, and the project has benefited from the Companies and Campus scheme run by Montpellier's PUI, boosting the development of this innovation.
" It's thanks to schemes created and supported in Montpellier that my research was able to accelerate and be promoted in this way. Without this support, the level of commercialization achieved today would not have been possible."

Vice-president in charge of innovation and partnerships, Philippe Combette reiterated the importance of catching up with France's industrial lag. "The rise of deeptech is a reminder of the importance of funding intensive research", he hammered, before returning to the essential role of the PUI, which is entirely focused on the future. "In France, the scientific pool is large, yet only a small fraction of it is committed to innovation. The challenge is to grow this active base".

"To make it look easier here than anywhere else".

The Mayor of Montpellier and President of Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, Michaël Delafosse, also applauded a flourishing breeding ground and ecosystem. " But by working together, we are lowering the threshold for creation and innovation," he argued, referring to the tripartite agreement signed between Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, the UM and Satt AxLR. "We want to be legible, clear, aligned... So that there's no silo effect, and so that all the mechanisms can be activated. So that here, it seems simpler than elsewhere!" he summarized. "I want to express the wish that Montpellier, with the academic excellence that is its strength, be the territory with the most business creators, jobs, innovative projects and patents. This must be our challenge. And we have all the ingredients to succeed.

The high point of a new year rich in creation and discovery, the event rewarded seven researchers for having developed particularly promising projects in their field (see details below). It was an opportunity to shine the spotlight on researchers who are finding new ways... but above all, who are leading the way!

Seven innovation awards

Key words : Innovation, PUI