Signing of a partnership agreement between Montpellier's University Innovation Cluster (PUI) and seven competitiveness clusters

[Press release] - Published on April 8, 2025 in Press Room, Scientific Appeal, University Innovation Cluster (PUI)

On Monday, April 7, at 6 p.m., at the University of Montpellier's Institute of Botany, the first partnerships were signed between Montpellier's University Innovation Cluster and seven competitiveness clusters in our region (Aerospace Valley, Agri Sud-Ouest Innovation, Aqua-Valley, DERBI, Eurobiomed, Pôle Mer Méditerranée, Innov'Alliance). By strengthening synergies between all key players in the local ecosystem, this first structural collaboration aims to accelerate innovation and promote the emergence of high-impact solutions.

Montpellier University: a hub for innovation

With its scientific expertise and strong regional roots, the University of Montpellier, leader of the University Innovation Cluster (PUI), is embarking on a new initiative by collaborating with competitiveness clusters. This alliance aims to catalyze synergies between research and industry to drive innovation in Occitanie.

Montpellier's PUl embodies the ambition of innovation serving society and the region. Structured around the I-SITE program's three pillars of "Feeding, Caring, and Protecting," it brings together higher education and research institutions. Thanks to a dynamic ecosystem that includes one-third of Occitanie's researchers and 70,000 students, Montpellier is positioned as a major hub for innovation. The PUl also relies on key players such as SATT AxLR, the BIC incubator in the Montpellier metropolitan area, and the regional economic development agency AD'OCC to stimulate the creation of startups, support innovation in SMEs, and attract strategic investments.

Competitiveness clusters: catalysts for growth

Competitiveness clusters play an essential role in the innovation ecosystem. By bringing together companies, research laboratories, and institutions, they promote the emergence of high-potential collaborative projects. Their mission is to accelerate the market launch of new technologies, products, and services resulting from research by supporting companies as they ramp up their operations.

A partnership to transform innovation into economic impact

This agreement establishes a structured framework for intensifying the promotion of scientific innovations within the Montpellier metropolitan area and the Occitanie region. It aims to strengthen connections between research, the socio-economic world as a whole (companies, associations, consulting firms), and key players in local innovation. Through the support mechanisms of Montpellier's PUI (Public University Institute) and dedicated strategic events, this agreement aims to: transform scientific advances into high value-added industrial innovations, structure ambitious collaborative projects, and strengthen cooperation between researchers and manufacturers, supported by sector analysis of competitiveness clusters.

This collective commitment will therefore help to enhance the appeal of the Montpellier region, promote local expertise on the national and international stage, and raise awareness of innovation. It is also based on concrete commitments: a framework agreement formalizes the actions and commitments of the stakeholders, the PUl steering committee ensures rigorous monitoring, and strategic meetings facilitate the coordination of initiatives. An evaluation system will measure the impact of the actions undertaken to ensure that strategies are continuously adjusted.

This agreement marks a key step in the development of more fluid, efficient innovation that is connected to economic and societal issues. It also paves the way for the creation and support of deep tech startups emerging from research laboratories by providing them with privileged access to the resources and expertise of the PUl. Montpellier is thus positioning itself as a driver of technological and entrepreneurial innovation in Occitanie, strengthening its attractiveness and international influence.