On January 9, 2024, UPPA and French Tech Pau Béarn signed a partnership agreement that will enable them to promote innovation, the region, its economy and its training courses, and to encourage the launch of innovative businesses.
Exchanges between researchers and business leaders from the French Tech Pau Béarn network will be set up to accelerate the transfer of academic research results, in particular through the creation of start-up companies. These exchanges will take place in UPPA's future Étincelles Start-up Studio, set up as part of the University Innovation Cluster*.
French Tech Pau Béarn will also be involved in events organized by UPPA, such as doctoral hackathons, escape games to promote entrepreneurship, student/business fairs, job dating and innovation days.
“Partnership, innovation and entrepreneurship are at the heart of UPPA's strategy. Recently awarded the University Innovation Cluster (PUI) label via its Sud-Aquitaine Innovation project, UPPA intends to federate the driving forces of innovation, particularly in the fields of energy and environmental transitions, while respecting the missions of each player in the ecosystem and to the benefit of the economic development of the Pays de l'Adour.” Laurent Bordes, president of l’UPPA.
“I'm delighted with this new partnership, which I'm sure will be a long-term one, given the obvious and shared benefits. It promises to bring together a wealth of opportunities between the worlds of higher education / research and the startup ecosystem.” Vincent Escudé, président of French Tech Pau Béarn.
* UPPA is the leader of the Sud-Aquitaine Innovation project, whose other founding members are CNRS, INRAE, Inria, Aquitaine Science Transfert and Adera, and which brings together more than 50 local partners committed to promoting innovation. Our University Innovatioin Cluster (PUI) will benefit from a 5.5 million euro grant from the France 2030 investment plan for 4 years, and will provide the recruitment of 13 employees.
It aims to bring the industrial world and research laboratories closer together, to intensify the entrepreneurial spirit among young people, and to accelerate the transfer of academic research results through the creation of innovative companies with breakthrough technologies. It must be in close contact with all the players involved in innovation in the area it covers.
