Hello, my name is Éric Henriet, I am 46 years old. Initially, I attended the Polytechnic School and then did a thesis in organic chemistry. Moreover I chose to do a thesis at that time because it is the only training exercise where we are equal with the teacher. We do not know the answer beforehand, and that is just real life. I then performed various and varied functions in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry for about twenty years, essentially in research at first then in production. I took on the task of revamping services, departments, small and large sites which were closing or were in a bad way. I then finished this part of my career in a great global pharmaceutical group, here I am in charge of its production. And I rejoined the public sector and the Saclay Plateau just over two years now, wearing three hats to date. I am in charge of the Fondation de l'Université Paris-Sud, I run the innovation, which used to relate with the companies of the Université Paris-Sud and, under this university, I have recently taken charge of a technological incubator called IncubAlliance, incubator of the Saclay plateau. Then, what are the scientific committees susceptible to be promoted on the economic level? Well, in fact, it is a one answer question: evidently all types of committees. If we come back on the subject of Paris-Sud University, there are around 120 laboratories. We have more or less all the committees there. In a few words, it is also the Orsay Science Fac, very well known for its Nobel Prizes and its Médailles Fields. It is the Faculté of medecine of Kremlin-Bicêtre as well and the hospitals which are coming out. It is the Chatenay-Malabry Faculté of chemistry. It is the Law Economy Management Faculté of Sceaux. It is the Sports Faculté, and there at Orsay research is also available. They are three IUT, Sceaux, Orsay and Cachan, Cachan, very well known for its activités of robotics. And it is a Polytechnic School of Engineering. So you can see, they are ten elements, it is very varied, it is around all possible research committees, in a caricature form, I would say, in the exception of literature, and maybe history. And once more, it is not completely true, there is a Science History part. Therefore, we have promoted a number of committees from the most fundamental mathematics to botanics without going through physics, chemistry, chemistry, pharmacy, a number of medicinal actions. So, there we are, truly, scientific committees likely to be promoted? Well the answer, is all as almost all of the laboratories who have contracts with indutrials, are likely to impact on society at short or middle term. When Professor Albert Fert finalised it, and this was the topic of his Nobel Prize, the magntoresistance, who would have guessed that it was going to be in pratically all mobile phones a few years later? So, between fundamental science and its applications, a few months or years can go by or some years or decades, however it is very rare, finally when we look down, to have a science which is purely fundamental which has never given results, even if it targeted another obvious objective. So, even the laboratory of astrophysics, I suggest the laboratory of astrophysics, it is not derogatory- we can tell ourselves, studying the sky, where are the industrial applications, has industrial benefit as it also looks after tools for that, to finalise satellites and for its expériences, and consequently also has an impact on the research in this area. Therefore, yes, there is valorisation in theory everywhere. The role of a service de valorisation, d'innovation, as the word is fashionable, but which historically, s'appelait le SAIC : Service des Activités Industrielles et Commerciales in an university, in a big university like Paris-Sud, it was in fact to help and contribute to the promotion, so in a sharp and stumbling way, the research made in our laboratories. Therefore, that said, it can take a several shapes and forms. First of all, I would say, you can find in this service a certain number of responsible for a mission which are in contact with researchers with which we try and have a discipline panel and of different CV as in fact it is difficult, nowadays, to have an Archimède capable to converse in all the committees and with everyone. Nevertheless, we don't want specialists in each area either, people able to communicate between the laboratories and socio-economical world after. And these responsible for a mission, then in a passive world when the workforce is not enough or when the University is very proactive in promoting itself, they welcome researchers who come to see them saying, I have a good idea, I would like to protect it, I would like to promote it, what needs to be done? So, here you are. And ideally it is something that we develop a lot, they must, in my eyes, give a part of their time getting around in the laboratories. Like I always say, to take a coffee, but especially to detect, to go to the researchers we are not normally in contact with, and who don't suspect that their work is worthwhile, going to coach young researchers who have a great amount to do, because a researcher, nowadays, as well as undertaking his research, and teach, is requested to also finance his laboratory, as well as being involved in various areas. Therefore, his time, in the end, spent on the promoting is weak if we don't give value to it ourselves by explaining how important it is. Therefore, there are both an attitude, I feel like saying, pull and an attitude push for this service. And concretely, then, when we detect the technologies which show a sign of potentially being productive, of providing services or promoting the already existing products or markets already existent, we protect them first of all. We protect them not because our policy is a diploma at all costs, an indicator there, I am going to go back in a minute, a diploma costs above all, but we protect them because before discussing with whoever, it is better to ensure that our information is shielded and our protections so that they don't get stolen. The first role of the service, is indeed to protect, so it often goes through diplomas essentially, but there are others ways to protect the data, to agree on security when one needs to talk with a third party or, and we will come back to this in a moment, to guide the researcher if they, themselves don't wish to particularly have contracts with third parties but develop themselves, eventually, their business and head towards a start-up or creating their own promotion of of the technologies with their teams. Also the role of these responsible for a mission, is to help the researchers, also, to get funding. There are a great deal of requests for projects, requests for general public projects, requests for projects sometimes private, requests for competitive divisions, some of these requests tend to be specifically towards the advanced TRL technologies, so not far from the markets, or in any case either prematured or maturing. Which also means that, one must make sure that we find these technologies, one must make sure that we think of their market, one must make sure to evaluate the market to also answer their requests, these requests which lead to money, which allow to continue then the maturation phase or the maturing of the products in the laboratory. There, so this is also a role for that service. Third role of this service, on the level of its promotion, it has other functions, it is of course to coach and accompany a researcher who wishes to form a company. So, first of all, it is to direct it in the jungle of regulations. it is to help it in the different possible company models. It is also, because it is an important point, to assist it in what we call commission of deontology which can be found in an University or a Grande Ecole, and which also allows for a researcher who develops public research with public funds and who would take part in a society and not find themselves in conflict of interests. So, they need authorisations, even simply because this researcher needs time to found their company, and that this time must be available to them and so there is a process to authorise this. They have to go in front of a commission and then, there are files to prepare as well in this way. Here you are. Then this service, obviously, talks to and assist the researcher, or talk with the industrials themselves, if it is about, for example, selling diplomas or undertake university diplomas. So we also assist in this negotiation, to eventual counterparties. There, there is not a specific model of counterparties. It is obvious that between a technology, of very small type, which could be on the market in six months, and a biotechnology process which is going to take 15 years, the promotion model towards the outside and the potential retribution towards the University will not be the same. The difficulty for a sciences University like Paris-Sud, with a large number of laboratories of fundamental sciences, is that a great amount of our researches are sill in a premature state, or barely. So, when we detect them, we are necessarily ready to be on the market, which means that, for future founders of companies who would launch themselves, there is still a prematuration phase maturation even. Fortunately, as far as France and the state are concerned, these last years we have started to answer to this need by putting into maturation a certain number of requests, the SATT, they are the Sociétés d'Accélération du Transfert de Technologie, whose role is help with the maturation phase, and the whole network of technological incubators available, in particular on the Saclay Plateau IncubAlliance, which also contribute itself to make sure that we don't throw away the empty boxes too soon without market or product, but that on the other hand we still help the one who wants to create this box in this process, and we coach him, and we allow him to do a thorough evaluation of the risks. So there we are. Therefore afterwards there is no particular process of maturation, but it is true that when one is sure of the technological maturation afer all, there are a certain number of proofs of the laboratory concept, one has to be reassured with experiences, to prove that it works, not only once, to prove that it is strong, to prove it is going to be industrialisable, even, to prove that we are going to be able to go from a small scale to an industrial one, it is called going through a trying phase. It all can take a lot of time and requires means, this time, which can be important and extremely expensive, as they are means of experience and equipment. To give one of several pieces of advice to young founders of companies, is a bit like interfering with affairs of the heart, There are only examples and counter-examples: is it a good idea to live with a husband or wife who we we work with, or not? Is it a good idea to become associated, or not? It is always a delicate matter, because when one gives advice in one way, the reasoning is done according to the experience, to the reading table and to the personal values, and if we have a little bit of objectivity, it is like those who tidy up their bedroom and those who leave it untidy, well the two types of students reunite. So I am not always keen to give advice in a general manner. What I think is important, and that is why the mention of the couple comes into account, is that it is necessary to share evenly all the same about the long term vision we have, and that a few exchanges on, I keep my analogy, do we want children or not, or do we want to create the future facebook and be the owners of it or do we want to sell our company quickly and take the cash, well it is not all to talk about it twice or three times and then believe that we agree and to launch ourselves in the company to realise five or six years later after one of the associates, or some collaborators, want its marbles back and that the other would like to be Zukerberg. I think that they are real discussions to have at the beginning, and that in any case, for those who have answers to these questions, or have wishes, which is not necessarily the case for everyone who embarks on, one has to have a plan a plan, a strategy behind, and in line with this response, here we are. So, then, the network is vast, to surround ourselves with It is clear all the same that in technological societies very often the carrier is himself an expert, I mean, or, by default experts, has a certain number of quality, of expertise and savoir-faire otherwise it wouldn't work, and is going to also to surround ourselves with people alike. So it is the former company manager who could give the piece of advice, there is a specific moment where, when we were ourselves catalyst researchers, and we become manager of the catalyst service and we employ brillant catalysts it is necessary to accept also they do the job, and not to be every two minutes explaining to them what to do, because first of all it is frustrating for them, and secondly, when you take the post of the manager you have other tasks that you must not neglect also. Actually, finding credits, starting a business, going to find clients, one wears multi hats, and the temptation for someone in the technology business it is also to remain an expert, the leader, It is even natural to feel this way, and to not automatically know how to make time. I always give advice to those who turn in there to reflect carefully at the fact that eventually, they will have to accept the idea of not systematically being both a great research leader any longer but to become also the company leader. Afterwards, keep another advice in a humble way, listen to what is interesting in the creation of a company, it is, as I mentioned earlier, there are only examples and counter-examples, and there is also a lot of luck. One minute we are launching, and then a month later the towers collapse in New York and the economic situation changes. This is not predictable. If we are always to imagine such a scenario we are doing anything, so one must want to, one must lauch oneself, it is important not too do anything, however it is an interesting adventure with a lot of good surprises on the way. To conclude, what is interesting when we look at the history of technologies in France, is that French people are very oftern starters of big global companies, on the other hand they have not necessarily industrialised and commercialised after, as opposed to populations like the Germans or the Japonese who, this time perform in this domain. I think there is maybe a strong card to play in the Saclay Plateau between the complentarities of an excellent research on one hand and perfectly capable people to help define well markets, economic models, and mostly to approach clients, the selling profession is not derogatory, Here it is, it the picture of a carpet seller in France, it it also necessary to break it it is important, and, the ecosystem we have and which is coming of course, I quote, from the SATT but not only, the services of different elements also of the technological incubator or incubators for students, according to the schools is a system which must contribute to facilitate meetings, to facilitate complementarity ways and, I hope, there to make sure that tomorrow France, and Europe in general, can receive the fruits of its work in the laboratories.
