Interview with Yves Caseau, Deputy Director General of Technologies, Foresight and Innovation at Bouygues Telecom
You have just been appointed President of the Scientific and Technological Council of the IRT SystemX. Can you tell us more about the role of this new body?
First, I must confess that I am very touched and proud to have the opportunity to fulfill this new role in addition to my many other activities that occupy me today, including being the Deputy Director General in charge of Technologies, Foresight and Innovation at Bouygues Telecom Group. As such, the topics addressed at SystemX concern me especially as they aim to build the future of our country and of our children, both in terms of innovation and competitiveness.
Obviously, I am not alone to make that commitment in this new body. I am fortunate to be surrounded by eleven other high-level personalities, from the transversal industrial and academic organizations and two invited members from the Systematic Paris-Region competitiveness cluster and the Paris-Saclay Campus Foundation. All these people have accepted to offer their time to the IRT SystemX in order to develop and appraise its scientific orientations. This new body, by its composition, will be able to promote the national, European and international reputation of the Institute.
As its name suggests, the Scientific and Technological Council of the IRT SystemX is an advisory body – as much as to the Board of Directors, where I have the honor to be invited on a permanent basis, then to the operational management team to whom we will present an informed expertise on the major scientific orientations chosen. Twice a year, we will debate and exchange on the technological challenges that the Institute wishes to tackle and share our expertise to contribute to the successful deployment of the R&D projects at the heart of digital engineering of complex systems. Our wish is to have a scientific council capable of guiding both upstream of projects (scientific guidance, core competencies in systems) and downstream as a “business angel” would do (skills on the main business areas as well as the implementation of complex projects).
You mentioned the quality and diversity of the members of the Scientific and Technological Council. Can you tell us more about this?
The Scientific and Technological Council includes very diverse and highly complementary skills in areas such as systems engineering, computer science, applied mathematics, mechanical engineering, high performance computing, modeling of complex systems. It is composed of six people from the academic world and six people from the industrial world, including myself, with a strong European component. All are recognized in their fields by the scientific and industrial communities. Another strong component of our board: the presence of three women scientists who are role models for future generations of young researchers and engineers.
In what way is your background close to the activities of the IRT SystemX?
I started my career as a researcher in the field of software engineering and computer programming languages. This allows me to have a good general culture and theoretical approach that in turn allows me to approach the themes of the IRT SystemX and lead meaningful reflections on systems engineering – all in close coordination with all the skills grouped within the Scientific and Technological Council. In addition, a word about my experience at Bouygues Telecom first as Director of Information Systems (DSI) and then as Director of Innovation and interest for the SystemX Institute: in my role as manager, I am confronted daily with professional skills and also interact daily with clients directly. From this point of view, my expertise both upstream and downstream of R&D projects can only be beneficial to the IRT.
What prospects do you give the IRT SystemX 10 years?
The IRT SystemX must become THE scientific reference in the field of complex systems. This is a place of excellence where the best skills are combined. The more R&D is successful and allows technology transfers to the industry, the more people will get in line to have their projects hosted at Institute. Moreover, contributions through hands on practice of digital engineering of complex industrial systems will turn the Institute into a French brand of excellence recognized the world over.
