Student of the week // Antoine Seilles
Antoine Seilles - 31 years old - Originally from Albi - Montpellier resident since 1993 - PhD in Web data processing at LIRMM since 2011
"Before NaturalPad and in parallel with my studies, I founded a short film association with friends: imagiLAB".
[ Would you like to introduce yourself in a few words? ] - Entrepreneur, researcher and video game enthusiast, surrounded by a crack team.
[ Your passions? Your hobbies? ] - Video games, of course, but more broadly, comics, SF and heroic fantasy novels, cinema... Before NaturalPad and in parallel with my studies, I founded a short film association with some friends: imagiLAB. I also love writing. And in the NaturalPad team we regularly do sport, which is essential for team spirit and relieving stress.
[ Your studies? ] -I followed a course in Math Informatics applied to science, culminating in a thesis on the use of the Web and the representation of data from social network analysis in online debates. In parallel with my first years of computer science, I did a bachelor's degree in performing arts with a film option.
[ Tell us about the NaturalPad concept ] - NaturalPad is developing MediMoov, a web-based platform of movement-based games for adapted physical activity. The idea is to use motion-based video games to adapt physical activity to individual abilities.
Today, MediMoov is mainly offered to retirement homes, which means we use senior citizens. But we plan to offer the solution to specialized structures in the field of functional and postural rehabilitation.
[ Your typical day ] - In fact, I don't do much IT any more. I do quite a lot of investor meetings, public relations with the institutions that support us, and sales prospecting. I really enjoy spending time with the management team. But I'm often on the move.
[ Your favorite place at university? ] - The green spaces of the Faculty of Science. We're lucky to have a great climate in Montpellier, and I've always found it very pleasant to be able to take advantage of the University's green spaces for breaks between noon and midday. I also really like the room in Building 16 in the IT department. I spent most of my time there as a part-time lecturer, but I think it's a good place for teachers and students to exchange ideas. We also organized a game jam there 2 years ago, and it's a good memory. The botany institute also has a very nice amphitheatre. Overall, I think the Institut de Botanique is a great space. We're housed at Euromov within the UFR STAPS. It's a part of the university that I discovered late in life, and it's really nice. Euromov is a brand-new building, superbly designed for business-laboratory exchanges in movement sciences. I also recently discovered part of the CHU's heritage. Between Colombière and Lapeyronie, there's a series of old buildings with a great cachet.
[ Your favorite place in Montpellier? ] - Difficult question, I love walking around the city center at weekends. Both the old Montpellier and the stores in the center. The St Roch district, the Azimuts bookshop, the graffiti on the quays of the Verdanson, the St Anne church exhibition hall, La Panacée, the restaurants on Rue des écoles laïques or Rue de l'aiguillerie, such as Chez Laïd, Burger'n'co, Le bric à brac... We also have two video game-themed bars: Final Spot and Meltdown. I hesitated for a while to set this up as a project before NaturalPad. I love the concept, and I don't think these places have shown their full potential yet.
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