[UNOC] Round table "The University: a key player in innovation and entrepreneurship".

  • IDEX
  • Innovation
Published on June 19, 2025 – Updated on June 19, 2025
Dates

on the June 4, 2025

On June 3, 2025, as part of the UNOC (United Nations Ocean Conference), the IdEx Innovation Program of Université Côte d'Azur took part in a round table organized by Pépite PACA-Est, at the Pavillon Région Sud / Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur in the La Baleine public area.

The theme of the meeting was: "The University: a key player in innovation and entrepreneurship".

Hosted by Céline Bourbousson, Director of Pépite PACA-Est, the event brought together university players, innovative project leaders and regional partners to discuss the University's decisive contribution to the entrepreneurial ecosystem.



A program structured around three key events


Stimulating emergence by supporting student entrepreneurship

  • Olga Pabion, Operational Director ofUniCA Entreprendre, presented this entrepreneurship center designed to support students in their entrepreneurial projects through personalized coaching and adapted tools. The center is part of the Pepite program.
  • Nicolas Thomas, a student entrepreneur, shared his experience and presented his company Mauvaise Herbe Studio, illustrating the key role played by Pépite PACA-Est in nurturing innovative ideas from young talent.

Supporting deeptech innovation through university programs

  • Sébastien Biehler, Operational Director of the IdEx Innovation Program, highlighted the "Start-up Deeptech" scheme, a call for projects designed to support technology-intensive projects from university research laboratories.
  • Hubert Bonnefond, founder of DareWin Evolution, gave a concrete illustration of how research from Université Côte d'Azur's Inria center has been transformed into deeptech entrepreneurship, with the support of IdEx.
  • Sophie Demolombe, Director of the Nucleate France UniCA program, presented this structuring initiative to promote scientific entrepreneurship. Nucleate is a network of PhD students, post-docs, medical interns, business and law students, who are supported by biotech transfer experts from the public and private sectors.

Innovation and university research in marine resources

  • Finally, Mohamed Mehiri, Deputy Director of theInstitut Fédératif de Recherche (IFR) MARRES, presented the IFR and the challenges of innovation for the marine environment, emphasizing the importance of cross-disciplinary and collaborative research for ambitious projects.

The round table demonstrated the diversity of actions undertaken by Université Côte d'Azur, in conjunction with its partners, to support the creation of value through research, student entrepreneurship and high-impact scientific innovation.


Find out more about the IdEx Innovation Program