Philippe Combette: "Innovation cannot exist without trust."
Philippe Combette, Director of the Montpellier Institute of Electronics and Systems (IES), was appointed Vice President for Partnerships and Innovation at the University of Montpellier during the board meeting held on September 26. He succeeds François Pierrot, who has been called to fill a national position at the CNRS. Interview with the new champion of innovation.
Philippe Combette, you have just been appointed Vice President in charge of partnerships and innovation. How do you see this role?
Before I get started,I will need to take a look at the landscape before me. I need to understand the forces at play and those that want to be involved so that innovation continues to be a success at the University of Montpellier. We are regularly ranked at the top of the list of universities focused on innovation in high-potential sectors. However, at the national level, university laboratories that engage with industrial partners rely on a maximum of 15 to 20% of their staff. In this regard, we can still make progress. Moreover, our capacity for innovation has been recognized at the highest level of government with the award of the " University Innovation Hub"label, which is a mark of confidence that we must honor.
How would you define innovation?
We do need to be precise, because for some people, innovation is associated with the market, while for others, it is associated with research and development. For me, the definition given by the DGFIP (French Public Finance Directorate) is clear.
Had you ever thought about becoming vice president?
No, not at all, but I am a person of integrity and, above all, very committed to the public good. I am passionate about development and innovation, and I have a good knowledge of regional and national players. I guess that made me a good candidate.
In an interview, François Pierrot, your predecessor, presented innovation as a public service mission for universities. Do you agree with this view?
Yes, absolutely. The nation must be able to deploy a strategy of promotion and innovation, and without universities, that would be complicated. We need to combine innovation, here and now. Personally, I find it very interesting for a researcher or a team to see an idea come to fruition and be promoted. It's not the commercial aspect that prevails, but a form of contribution to society.
How do you view the relationship between academia and innovation?
I know that some labs are reluctant to share their assets with the socio-economic world. They consider that their primary mission is to contribute to the advancement of knowledge. Admittedly, there is sometimes a preconception in academia towards industry, but the reverse is equally true.
Personally, I don't think these two worlds should be pitted against each other; they are two sides of the same coin: knowledge. And I find it hard to believe that the future of French research will be solely academic. We will need to strike a balance between fundamental research and applied research.
Where do these preconceptions come from?
Because these two worlds don't have the same rules or the same objectives, and as long as we don't share these rules or objectives, we won't succeed. There needs to be friction between labs and companies, regardless of the size of the company, whether it's a startup, a microbusiness, an SME, or a large group.
How can we overcome them?
I believe that innovation cannot be imposed; it must be allowed to emerge naturally. To achieve this, I believe more in small everyday things than in grand gestures. We see this when start-ups are welcomed into laboratories. This proximity generates trust. The company must trust the laboratory and its ability to respond in a timely manner, and the laboratory must understand that the company is not there to steal its ideas. Innovation cannot exist without trust.
Do you work in the same way with a large group and a start-up?
No. Large groups often operate on timescales that are almost synchronous with ours, and they have big plans. The dynamic is different with SMEs and start-ups, which are fragile, sometimes still developing, and for which time is an important factor. This is what François Pierrot initiated with the possibility of welcoming this type of company into the laboratories, as they represent the bulk of the French industrial network. This is where the university has a role to play as a mentor, and often it is this type of company that comes to us and needs our help.
What image do these companies have of the university?
They feel like they are entering a huge ivory tower, so it's up to us to make them understand that the academic world has changed.
Montpellier University has become EPE, PUI is taking shape... What will be the major challenges of your term of office?
The world is evolving. Startups are evolving, units that are not generating value but could be are evolving. And above all, young people are evolving. There are more and more student entrepreneurs. We must continue to develop this type of initiative and do so with local authorities, the Metropolis, the Region, the Department... There is a whole range of players who will participate in this famous PUI.
Is that what you wanted to achieve by creating Ob.i Lab at the Montpellier University Institute of Technology?
Yes, it's a place where laboratories, businesses, and students come together. We need to mix these worlds and rely on our young people to ensure that mindsets evolve. We need to offer students new futures, i.e., ways to project themselves into the business world. That is also the goal of innovation.
You mentioned the Region and Satt, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary. How do you see relations with innovation partners?
We need everyone, and everyone must have a clearly defined role. Who does what? At what level? Based on what connections? In fact, we need to know and recognize each other.
Until now, you were director of the Institute of Electronics and Systems. What did you gain from this experience? Did you work on commercialization there?
Yes, in 2021 we created a commercialization unit divided into two entities: IES Engineering and IES&Companies. The first is more focused on research and development, with the aim of addressing purely industrial issues.
And IES Companies?
It hosts start-ups in the laboratory's premises, with contracts and hosting agreements in place. Currently, around ten companies are hosted there and pay rent to the laboratory while benefiting from a very high-level scientific environment. As I said earlier, we know each other well and can work together to respond to regional, national, and international calls for projects.
And did it pay off?
In 18 months, revenue went from a few tens of thousands of euros to almost 2 million euros. So yes, it works.
You come fromIES, François Pierrot came from Lirmm. Is there a greater culture of innovation in the so-called technological sciences than in others?
There's the IES, the Lirmm, and there's chemistry too. In fact, there is a proximity to industry that means it's in our DNA, but just because we work with industry doesn't mean we don't need fundamental research—quite the contrary. It's a bit like the metaphor of a drawn bow: the strength comes from fundamental research, know-how, expertise... The arrow that hits the target is innovation derived from science, including social sciences, which we don't talk about enough, even though they have a rightful place in this sector.
How will this appointment change things for you? Will you continue teaching?
I will be teaching less, but I want to maintain a minimum level of contact with students because that is where you really encounter real life. I love Asian culture, I've been practicing martial arts for 35 years, and there's this wisdom of considering the present as a gift. Well, students make me feel, sometimes in a positive or negative way, but they make me feel what the present is. I would like to use this in my new role as VP, to feed off the present in order to better project ourselves into the future.