Innovation Awards

Since 2019, the University of Montpellier has been bringing together the leading players in local innovation at an event during which it rewards the best innovative initiatives by UM staff and those of Partner establishments in the I-Site Program of Excellence (PEI) Innovation Awards". An initiative of the Pôle Universitaire d'Innovation.

This initiative, which is in line with the objectives of the Pôle Universitaire d'Innovation (University Innovation Cluster) led by the University of Montpellier, is designed to help laboratories develop new innovation projects and maximize their impact.

The winners all come from one of the following five research clusters: Agriculture, Environment, Biodiversity - AEB, Biology, Health - BS, Mathematics, Informatics, Physics, Systems - MIPS, Chemistry, Social Sciences - SOC.

Would you like to find out more about the terms and conditions of participation? dedicated news.

Innovation Award Winners

Edition 2022-2023

• AEB winner (Agronomy, Environment, Health), Bastien MERIGOT (MARBEC: CNRS / IRD / IFREMER / UM / INRAE) with the DOLPHINFREE Project: bio-inspired acoustic beacon to limit the accidental capture of dolphins by fishing.
• Winner BS (Biology, Health), Alexandre DAVID - Christophe HIRTZ - Eric RIVALS(IGF: CNRS / INSERM / UM) - IRMB: INSERM / UM - LIRMM: CNRS / UM / INRIA / UPVD / UPVM) with the EpiTransDiag Project: Early cancer diagnosis, patient stratification and post-treatment follow-up using epitranscriptomics and machine learning.
• Winner Chemistry, Jullien DRONE(ICGM: CNRS / ENSCM / UM) with the CaboZym Project: ultra-porous carrier materials of biological origin for efficient biocatalysis.
• MIPS (Mathematics, Informatics, Physics and Systems)winner, Jimmy TEIXERA (LMGC: CNRS / UM) with the THOR EYES Project: Design of a 360° video-stereo-correlation device easily applicable to the measurement of deformation movements on the surface of living beings.
• Winner Human and Social Sciences, Guillaume DUMAS with the JEUdeCOMPTA Project : the miracle support game for learning accounting.
• Coup de cœur winner (Social Sciences), Dorian GRÉGOIRE with the INSEPARABLE project: optimization and organization of relations between a patient's relatives and care staff in intensive care, using specialized software.

Edition 2021-2022

• AEB winner (Agronomy, Environment, Health), Magali GIES (Post-Doctoral Researcher at CIRAD / UMR QUALISUD) with the PROMET project : Functional food based on fermented cereals, probiotics and plants with cholesterol-lowering potential thanks to the incorporation of phytosterols.
• BS Laureate (Biology, Health), Alain THIERRY (Researcher atINSERM / UMR IRCM) thanks to his work on circulating DNA, which has revealed strong potential for clinical applications and innovations around cancer, enabling us today to determine the choice of treatment, detect residual disease after surgery, monitor recurrence and detect resistance to treatment.
• Chemistry prizewinner, Habib BELAID (Post-doctoral researcher at CNRS / UMR IEM) for his work on the synthesis and characterization of biomaterials for healthcare applications, enabling the development of new formulations of printable composite materials with biocompatible and bioresorbable properties, as well as bioactive and antibacterial properties. Its market launch will address a major healthcare issue in the field of bone tissue engineering in dentistry and cancerology.
• MIPS (Mathematics, Informatics, Physics and Systems) winner,Vincent CREUZE (Lecturer atUM / UMR LIRMM), thanks to his work on "small" underwater robots weighing less than 100 kg designed at LIRMM. These innovations are now in daily use by French archaeologists at depths of up to 2,500 metres. Thanks to these innovations, France is now the first country to use specialized underwater archaeology robots on a daily basis.
• Human and Social Sciences prizewinner, Sophie SPRING (Lecturer-Researcher atUM / UMR MRM) with the design ofIncubagame, a free game open to all, whose aim is to discover key issues in business creation (matching the project to the creator, market positioning of the offer, legal and financial set-up) by including parameters linked to taking CSR dimensions into account right from the project development phase.

Edition 2020-2021

• AEB winner (Agronomy, Environment, Health), Claude GRISON (Researcher at UM x CNRS / UMR ChimEco) thanks to her research work on ecocatalysis, a key technology in ecology and industrial green chemistry, to create ecological, economic and social values from scientific results.
• BS Laureate (Biology, Health), Franck MOLINA(CNRS / sys2diag) thanks to his work on the design of laboratory-free diagnostic test methods, and more specifically for his invention of the first salivary test for SARS-coV 2 EASYCOV.
• Chemistry winner, Mikhael BECHELANY(CNRS / UMR IEM) for his work on multifunctional inorganic membranes and their applications in the fields of energy, the environment and health.
• Winner of the MIPS (Mathématiques, Informatique, Physiques et Systèmes) prize,Philippe POIGNET (UM / UMR LIRMM) thanks to his work on retinal surgery, and more specifically on a medical device incorporating a robot to assist microsurgery. This remotely-operated macro-micro robotic platform enables safer, more precise surgical procedures.
• Humanities and Social Sciences prize-winner, Simon MARESCHAL DE CHARENTENAY (Enseignant-Chercheur UMR CERCOP) thanks to his work on the theory and legal practice of BlockChain. Another highlight is the development of innovative teaching in the legal field, notably with the creation of the LegalTech University Diploma.

2018-2019 Edition

• AEB winner (Agronomy, Environment, Health), Jean-Christophe AVARRE ( IRD Researcher / UMR ISEM) thanks to his work on High Resolution Melting (HRM), based on the principle of two different DNA sequences, and the development of a totally innovative method that has led to a patent and the production of software.
• BS Laureate (Biology, Health), Saïd ASSOU (UM Research Engineer / UMR IRMB) thanks to his work based on the design and development of diagnostic tools enabling the transition from fundamental research to clinical applications in the fields of reproductive biology and regenerative medicine.
• Chemistry prizewinner, Xavier GARRIC (Lecturer/researcher UM / UMR IBMM) thanks to his research work on the design of new health products based on degradable polymers. An innovation in the field of medical devices for the treatment of mechanical female infertility.
• MIPS Laureate (Mathématiques, Informatique, Physiques et Systèmes), David ANDREU (Enseignant-chercheur UM / UMR LIRMM) thanks to his work on the design of supplementary solutions for human functional deficiencies resulting, for example, from spinal cord injury. He has contributed to innovations that have resulted in several patents and software registrations.
• Human and Social Sciences prize-winners, Camille CLEMENT ( INRAE Research Engineer / UMR Innovation) thanks to the development of a generic tool to support territories on issues of access to agricultural land and buildings: FONCIJEU, the agricultural land game.