https://www.ins2i.cnrs.fr/en/innovation

Innovation

CNRS Informatics's partnership and innovation policy follows the orientations defined by the CNRS Innovation Office (DGDI) and particularly focuses on digital technologies. One of the objectives of CNRS Informatics's laboratories' research is to provide the industrial and business spheres with innovative skills, products and services that generate economic value. Innovation is an inherent element of the majority of CNRS Informatics's laboratories. The Institute's policy in this area is reflected by the creation of start-ups and industrial collaboration projects among other achievements. Companies regularly draw on CNRS Informatics researchers' expertise in many cutting-edge sectors. In this way the Institute plays an important role in the CNRS's innovation dynamic thanks to its research units' capacity to generate industrial collaboration projects and produce technologies that drive the creation of start-up companies.

Innovation at CNRS Informatics

For several years now the global economy has been driven by information and communication technologies. Computer systems with hypercomplex architectures are behind the revolutions linked to advances in e-commerce, opening up data and the dematerialisation of many economic and administrative services. Recent technological advances in the field of artificial intelligence have strengthened digital technology's dominant impact on all economic sectors to an even greater extent. CNRS Informatics's research units have thus proved to be key players in the digital revolution and the knowledge economy.

The fields of research of these units range from fundamental computer science to automation and from the design of systems on chips (software/hardware interface) to robotics or signal and image processing. CNRS Informatics researchers develop application software, system services, network protocols or even code embedded in drones or smart cards. They thus provide expertise in machine learning, robot control, network security, human-machine interaction or decision support for policy-makers.

Software is thus the main target object of the CNRS Informatics's approach to innovation. The fields of application are highly diverse so software development at CNRS Informatics is aimed at different market segments including the automotive industry, aviation, factories of the future, IT services, medicine, the intelligent city, e-commerce, the cultural industry or decision-making support systems for public policy-makers. The Institute is therefore positioning itself to respond to the respective expectations of different economic sectors to understand more about the most suitable modalities for collaboration projects and technology transfer.

Although software is the Institute's prime valorisation object, other forms of research results are coming to the fore in the areas of invention, know-how or databases. These emerge from CNRS Informatics units and are often developed in the framework of collaboration projects with our socio-economic partners.

Start-up companies

CNRS Informatics's benefits fully from the support mechanisms for setting up companies implemented by the CNRS and its partners. Its researchers have thus been able to create several hundred start-up companies since 1999.

Over 350 start-up companies have come out of CNRS Informatics laboratories

(since 1999)

25% of CNRS start-up companies come from CNRS Informatics

29 start-up companies have received i-Lab awards

(since 2015)

Start-up companies from CNRS Informatics laboratories work in diverse fields of expertise as varied as security, health, software development, industry, innovation support or energy in relation to the problems of today's society.

Security

Health

Industry

Energy

Innovation

RH - soft skills

Industrie des loisirs

The pre-maturation programme

In 2015, CNRS set up a pre-maturation programme aimed at detecting and then supporting the early technological development stages of emerging projects with high innovation potential. This support consists of technical and financial assistance to help such projects reach TRL level 3 (analytical or experimental proof of the project's main functions and/or characteristics of its concept). The winning projects are supported by a team made up of representatives of various CNRS departments and also partners involved in the valorisation of the Institute's research results such as the CNRS's Business Relations Department (DRE) and Partnership and Technology Transfer Department (SPV), CNRS Innovation and the Institute's own internal Technology Transfer Unit.

This programme has been intentionally positioned ahead of the work carried out by CNRS Technology Transfer Companies (SATTs). At the end of the 12 to 18 months of support, the financed projects are then supported by a SATT in the context of a maturation project. Pre-maturation enables possible obstacles that could block the implementation of the innovation to be identified and put right. All project proposals made by researchers, academics or engineers working for CNRS Informatics research units are eligible. Project leaders are invited to submit their projects to CNRS Informatics Technology Transfer Units by one of the four 2021 deadline dates:

Deadline date 1 for CNRS Informatics to receive applications: February 26^th 2021
Deadline date 2 for CNRS Informatics to receive applications: April 30^th 2021
Deadline date 3 for CNRS Informatics to receive applications: June 25^th 2021
Deadline date 4 for CNRS Informatics to receive applications: October 1^st 2021

The evaluation process for submitted projects has 3 phases:

Phase 1: the submitted projects are evaluated by the Institute;
Phase 2: projects which are pre-selected by the Institute are evaluated by a CNRS Scientific Committee;
Phase 3: projects selected by the scientific committee are then submitted to a steering committee made up of representatives from the CNRS and the socio-economic sphere which interviews the project leaders. All projects which are finally selected will receive funding and will be launched straight afterwards.

Laboratories jointly run with companies

In the same way as other joint research structures like CNRS/Companies Joint Research Units (UMR) or International Research Laboratories (IRL), associated research laboratories take traditional partnerships further in the form of collaboration contracts. They go beyond classic short-term research projects with objectives that are regularly updated through ad hoc governance. Associated research laboratories operate on the basis of collaboration contracts that provide a framework to structure projects with high scientific and industrial stakes. These generally involve one or more research team(s) and an industrial concern working together on a shared medium- or long-term research programme.

Innovation

Innovation at CNRS Informatics