Montpellier Innovation Booster: the innovation accelerator!

[Article] - Published on October 7, 2024 in Valorization

From October 2 to 4, 2024, the University of Montpellier, leader of the Montpellier University Innovation Cluster, brought together ten innovative project leaders for a new session of the Montpellier Innovation Booster (BIM). At the end of three days of intensive training, the candidates for this edition will have until October 20, 2024, to submit their projects and try to secure funding to propel their innovations forward.

For three days, BIM participants underwent intensive training on project structuring and promotion, intellectual property, fundraising, and entrepreneurship. With the help of students from Montpellier Management's (MOMA) Master 2 programin Entrepreneurship Support andcoaches from the University Innovation Hub,¹, the BIM team, and the innovation consulting firm brought in for the occasion, each project leader was able to work on developing their innovative project and their pitch before the final presentation to the jury of experts .

David Virieux, leader of the Cure CMT project (a new therapeutic target for Charcot-Marie-Tooth diseases) and researcher at ICGM, was one of the candidates in this new session. "The students helped us simplify our pitch to make it more accessible during the pitch session, which was a challenge for me. The advice on structuring an innovative project and on the risks associated with my scientific field will also be very useful to me going forward. "

Exceptional funding of €120,000

The jury for this edition of BIM was composed of: Gaspard Lepine, project manager forINRAE's"University Innovation Hubs"; Christophe Bonnel, hospital physician and head ofinnovation at Montpellier University Hospital; Thanh Nguyen, head of contracts at the UM's Innovation and Partnerships Department (Dipa); Raphael Girardin, head of entrepreneurship atthe Montpellier Agro Institute, currently a coach on the M6 TV show "Qui veut être mon associé" (Who wants to be my partner?); Cyril Peyré, head of business support and cross-functional project management related to innovation (Dipa); Maylisse Seba, manager of Startup Dealflow at CNRS Innovation; and finally Laurent Biasetti, head of partnerships at Satt AxLR.

The winners will be announced in December and will receive exceptional funding of €120,000 this year. Montpellier Innovation Booster continues to establish itself as a major springboard for innovators, offering them concrete tools to transform their ideas into viable projects with a tangible impact on society.

1. Agence Ad’Occ, IRD, Agro Vallée Incubation, Satt AxLR, Initium Incubator, Montpellier University Innovation and Partnerships Department, CNRS ↩︎

Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Students, Innovation, Valuation