The doctoral students of the 2016 class took part, on the 15th and 16th of June 2018, in the first “Triple-I” weekend of the INSPIRE project, organized in Reims.
This weekend, dedicated to interdisciplinarity, intersectorality and international, allowed doctoral students to discover different facets of the economic, scientific and historical heritage of the territory of Reims.
CEBB – Scientific innovation et local ressources
On the 15th of June, the weekend started by the visit of an high-level scientific cluster, the CEBB – Centre Européen de Biotechnologies et de bioéconomie – located on the site of the bio-refinery of Bazancourt-Pomacle.
Its positioning, between industrial complexes and academic research center, has enabled PhD students to understand the different links between scientific innovation and industrial application.
The CEBB, which hosts chairs from AgroParisTech, CentraleSupélec, Néoma Business School and the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, has opened the doors of its laboratories to us, providing to the doctoral students a concrete look at the research conducted by the A.B.I. Chair.
PhD students, whatever their field of study, were particularly sensitive to the various cutting-edge equipment presented by Mrs Mathilde Grandchamp, Laboratory Engineer.
Incubator Innov’act: The action of public authorities in the service of entrepreneurial initiative
Leaving the laboratory and the agricultural parcels, the Inspire group reached Innov’Act, Grand Reims incubator, in order to meet its manager, Mrs Cécile Oudiette, and Mr Bertrand Rigal, Head of the economic development, higher education and international relations office of the Grand Reims authority.
Firstly, Mr Rigal present to the PhD students, most of whom were unfamiliar with the objectives of such a structure, the actions of the Grand Reims concerning the scientific research – and the CEBB – and the initiatives aiming at developing the innovation, especially with the incubator.
This presentation allow the PhD students to have a concrete view on the action of a public authority, in collaboration with the academics and private partners, on a local or European scale.
Visiting the incubator gave us more insights on the difficulties and challenges that can be met during the creation and the development of private companies, fully in line with the weekend’s intersectoral objective.
Champagne and Reims Cathedral: the international reputation of a historical heritage.
Eager to discover the back stages of this internationally famous product, the student had the opportunity, thanks to the winemaker Mr Jullion-Rigaut, to discover the making process of Champagne, from the wineyards to the bottling, passing by all the stages of fermentation and winemaking.
Experiencing the heritage of a centuries-old know-how and the advanced equipment of the winegrowers’ cooperative, this visit showed the technological requirement necessary for the elaboration of Champagne, taking advantage of Mr Jullion-Rigaut’s expertise and passion.
Finally, through the visit of the cathedral of Reims, the doctoral students were able to come back on 800 years of history of France, and Europe, discovering also the place of the Franco-German reconciliation in 1962, prefiguring the European construction.
In conclusion, this weekend was a great opportunity for doctoral students to discover new sectors of activity and to sharpen their knowledge of French heritage, in a friendly setting.
These visits allowed numerous exchanges between the doctoral students and the various people they met, demonstrating the importance of such moments, which complete and enrich their doctorate, in parallel with their research work.