Dear founders, dear partners, dear teams, and everyone,
First of all, allow me to wish you all a very Happy New Year, which I am sure will resound with the echoes of creativity, innovation and success in your projects.
For SystemX, the year 2016 was initially marked by the triennial audit carried out on all IRTs in France by the Commissariat Général à l’Investissement (CGI, national investment monitoring body). After seeing the results of the audit, Louis Schweitzer observed that our activity had been successful in terms of research, innovation, education and industrial involvement. The results confirm that our model is appropriate, that Open Innovation has been a successful gamble, that we are in the right position in strategic areas, that we have completed our insertion into local territory, and that we have undertaken effective collaboration with other players in innovation.
2016 also enabled SystemX to write a new page in the story of the association of French Institutes of Technology (FIT), when it hosted the fourth edition of the IRT Forum at Plateau de Saclay. 350 people, major players in French innovation, were present to witness the success of the IRTs, new tools for excellence.
The IRT is to regroup its actions around three main development topics by 2020: consolidating our work in collaboration with the main research organizations, adapting our model the better to assist SMEs and startups, and enhancing our visibility in international activities.
To illustrate this, allow me to express my satisfaction at the launching of the first Chair at SystemX: the Anthropolis Chair, which was set up in association with CentraleSupélec and has consolidated our strategy in partnership with academic research.
Secondly, I am delighted with the creation of START@SystemX, an original initiative directed at innovative startups wishing to benefit from our R&D projects and join large technology groups and suppliers in building tomorrow’s new services.
Finally, I would like to highlight several tangible consolidated figures for this year. 15 technological transfers to industry, 46 patent applications and software, and 106 scientific articles have resulted from our seven completed projects this year. In line with our wish to provide scientific and technological solutions to industrial problems, five new projects have been launched on forward-looking subjects such as blockchain, the cloud, cyber security in intelligent transport, tomorrow’s mobility and transport system performances.
As of 2017, we will be continuing our efforts, giving priority first to structuring impacts for our partners in industry, secondly by building up our base of scientific knowledge and skills in each project, and finally, by demonstrating how useful our technological platforms are.
It is thanks to you, our founding members, academic and industrial partners, and all our collaborators, that we have been able to produce these results. Your help and involvement in our Institute will continue to ensure our success.
With my best wishes,
Pascal Cléré
CEO, IRT SystemX
