The University of Montpellier celebrates its innovative talents and signs a strategic agreement to boost scientific entrepreneurship

[Press release] - Published on July 9, 2025 in Press Room, University Innovation Hub (PUI)

The University of Montpellier's 2025 Innovation Afterwork event was held on Tuesday, July 8, at the Orangery in the Jardin des Plantes, attended by Michaël Delafosse, Mayor of Montpellier and President of Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, Philippe Augé, President of the University of Montpellier, and Philippe Combette, Vice President of Partnerships and Innovation at the UM.
This flagship event once again honored the innovators from the university community, with a particular focus on students, doctoral students, and young researchers, who are the real driving force behind the region's entrepreneurial dynamism.

Seven awards to recognize high-impact projects

The evening featured the presentation of seven innovation awards recognizing promising scientific and technological initiatives led by researchers, Professors, teacher-researchers, and aspiring entrepreneurs:

Innovation Award – Chemistry Division: Gilles Subra

For the ANR Sicle.e industrial chair, which is developing a method for tanning leather with silicic acid, enabling innovative reuse of leather waste, particularly for the benefit of the agricultural sector. Project led by IBMM, ICGM, and the BioWooEB unit.
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Innovation Award – Agriculture, Environment, Biodiversity Division: William Arditi

For Scanorhize, a revolutionary underground sensor that allows users to visualize root dynamics in the soil without excavation, promoting sustainable agriculture. The startup Humeos will market the product.
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Innovation Award – Biology and Health: Eric Kremer

For the CAVisca project, an innovative gene-based approach to treating Dravet syndrome, a severe form of childhood epilepsy. A startup is currently being developed.

Innovation Award – Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics, Systems: Kévin Yauy

For DocSimulator, a platform that uses generative AI to train healthcare students using simulated virtual patients, promoting the learning of medical and interpersonal skills.

Innovation Award – Social Sciences: Sandrine Grenier

For the YouTube channel Droit dans l’objectif, which offers a fun, scripted interpretation of the law through short and medium-length films, providing a new educational approach to justice.
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Favorite Award: Magali Taulan-Cadars

For the treatment of cystic fibrosis via an innovative dual inhalation therapy combining DNA and peptides, currently being developed by the future startup Aceso Therapeutics, spun off from the PhyMedExp laboratory.

Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole Favorite Award: Aurélie Perrin

For a solution that encapsulates biological assets in natural polymers, intended to replace pesticides in agriculture, using a biological strategy of targeted predatory worms. A startup is expected to be launched by the end of 2025.

During the evening, Philippe Combette, Vice President for Innovation and Partnerships at the University of Montpellier, alongside Agnès Fichard-Carroll, Vice President for Education and University Life, presented the initiatives led by the University of Montpellier—the leader of the University Innovation Cluster (PUI)—for students wishing to engage in innovation: PhD Innovation Week, national student-entrepreneur status, junior consultant training, among others.

The round table, moderated by Logan Chevret (PhD student at ICGM and former participant in PhD Innovation Week), Yannig Lepecq (Master's student, currently pre-incubated at Initium), Kate Rivière (head of the Initium incubator), and Pascal Giat (head of the CIFRE department at the National Association Research – ANRT), provided an opportunity to share feedback and insights on the support mechanisms available at each stage of the innovation process.

A strategic agreement to strengthen the innovation ecosystem

The evening concluded with a highlight: the official signing of a partnership agreement between the University of Montpellier, SATT AxLR, and Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole. This partnership marks a new stage in the structuring of a coherent and effective ecosystem around scientific innovation. The three signatories are joining forces to support project leaders, promote the results of public research, and encourage the emergence of high-impact startups.

This agreement aims to provide a clear, understandable, and coordinated roadmap, bringing together the expertise of various stakeholders to promote the region's economic development. It is fully in line with the ambitions of the Montpellier University Innovation Hub, which spearheads the UM's innovation strategy.

Keywords: Innovation