And the winners of the Innovation Awards are...
A not-to-be-missed annual event since 2019, the"Innovation Afterwork took place on Wednesday June 28 at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, bringing together university researchers and their partners from the socio-economic world. On the program for this summer evening: advice, collective networking and the expected presentation of the Innovation Trophies. For this fourth edition, six researchers received awards.
Wednesday June 28, 5pm. Small groups hurry through the Jardin des Plantes towards the forecourt of the Institut de Botanique. This tree-lined setting is the setting for the University of Montpellier's "Innovation Afterwork", an evening of exchanges and meetings to which research players and their partners from the socio-economic world have been invited. For the hundred or so guests, the evening begins with an opportunity to exchange ideas and network, to discover ways of promoting a project, to find out about possible avenues of collaboration, or to benefit from advice on setting up a business. A convivial interlude before the launch, by President Philippe Augé, of the fourth Trophées de l'Innovation ceremony. Six trophies will be awarded this year, one for each of the 5 research clusters corresponding to the UM's major scientific communities, and an interdisciplinary "coup de cœur" prize.
Before revealing the names of the day's prizewinners, Hind Hemad, vice-president of Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole in charge of economic development, and Philippe Combette, vice-president in charge of partnerships and innovation at the University of Montpellier, took to the podium to recall the great successes of UM researchers in the field of innovation. One of these was Terratis, a deeptech aimed at combating tiger mosquitoes, which company director Celia Oliva came to present to "inspire others to take the plunge into entrepreneurship ". Vincent Usache, CEO of Microphyt, also highlighted the company's track record, emphasizing that "a partnership between a laboratory and a private company enables us to become more competitive ".
Dolphinfree: protecting dolphins from overfishing
For it was the added value of research to the entrepreneurial approach that linked all the participants that evening, whether their project was still in their heads or in the development phase. And to motivate everyone to believe in their projects, the University once again rewarded researchers involved in innovative projects. In the agriculture-environment-biodiversity category, Bastien Mérigot, a teacher-researcher at Marbec, received a trophy for Dolphinfree. A new-generation acoustic beacon system designed to protect dolphins from accidental capture in fishermen's nets - the leading direct cause of mortality for marine mammals - thanks to a bio-inspired sound signal based on ultrasonic waves that dissuade them from approaching. The system is due to be tested nationwide in the near future. Bastien Merigot is already seeking new funding to adapt his beacon system to other threatened species.
CarboZym: A more environmentally-friendly industrial chemical process
In the chemistry category, Jullien Drone, a teacher-researcher at Montpellier's Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie (ENSCM), came out on top with CarboZym. This start-up is in the process of being created, and he hopes to take over its management in the coming months. The project is the culmination of work carried out with Nicolas Brun, a researcher at the Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier(ICGM). Together, they have developed a unique process for immobilizing enzymes, by attaching them to a porous, biosourced support, enabling efficient, environmentally-friendly biocatalysis. " Two patents were filed in early 2023, we have passed the million euro funding milestone, and we have just launched a financing round to raise 3 million euros, which will enable us to bring this innovation to industrial scale," boasts Jullien Drone.
EPITRANSDIAG: RNA against cancer
Another award-winning mature project, this time in the bio-health category, is EpiTransDiag. This innovation is the fruit of a consortium co-led by Alexandre David, researcher at the Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle(IGH), Christophe Hirtz, teacher-researcher in charge of the Montpellier clinical proteomics platform, and Eric Rivals, researcher at the Laboratoire d'Informatique, de Robotique et de Microélectronique(Lirmm). By studying the chemical modifications of RNA, through analysis of the epitranscriptome, the aim is to develop innovative tools in association with machine learning, and ultimately to open up new therapeutic perspectives in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. A patent has already been filed, and according to Alexandre David, the aim is to develop cutting-edge " RNA chemistry " in Montpellier. The project has already given rise to France's first clinical platform for mass spectrometry of RNA chemical modifications.
- Listen to: A l'UM la science with Alexandre David and Eric Rivals
Thor eyes: Understanding the impact of thoracic implants
Other projects, although promising, still need support in their entrepreneurial endeavors. Such is the case with Thor eyes, an innovation awarded in the MIPS (mathematics, computer science, physics, systems) category. The result of a collaboration between Laurence Solovei, a surgeon in the thoracic and vascular surgery department at Montpellier University Hospital, and the biomechanics team at the Mechanics and Civil Engineering Laboratory(LMGC), Thor Eyes is now a technology transfer project led by Jimmy Teixeira, a mechanical engineer. A 360° stereo-correlation video technology makes it possible to measure deformation movements on the surface of living beings, such as thorax respiration, efficiently and non-invasively. Further studies are still required to develop the project and explore the scope of its applications.
JeudeCompta: breaking down accountant stereotypes
After an initial version in the form of a board game, JeudeCompta is a digital application project currently under development by Guillaume Dumas, a teacher-researcher at Montpellier Management. He asked himself " how to break down the stereotypes of the accountant behind his desk and make students' first contact with the discipline fun ", while targeting more broadly those " who want to acquire the basic knowledge to communicate with their chartered accountant ".
Inseparable: humanizing hospital care
Finally, the evening ended with the " interdisciplinary coup de cœur " trophy. The prize was awarded to Dorian Grégoire, an anesthesiologist, for his " Inséparable " project. An application designed to facilitate exchanges between relatives of patients hospitalized in intensive care and nursing staff. For Dorian Grégoire, this project can be a " vector for humanizing hospital care ", despite the constraints and psychological impact of emergency hospitalization. A clinical study is currently underway at Montpellier University Hospital.
Once again this year, the "Innovation Afterwork" was an opportunity for researchers who have not yet taken the plunge to discover the support services offered by the University of Montpellier. As for the Innovation Trophies, this year they once again proved that tomorrow's entrepreneurship is above all human-centred. When science embodies a commitment to society, everyone wins: the academic world, the socio-economic world and society as a whole.