On Thursday, June 4, 2026, IMM and IM2B concluded the IMMpulse series with a day dedicated to entrepreneurship. Held in the Desnuelle Amphitheater on the Joseph Aiguier campus, this event brought together doctoral students, researchers, and innovation leaders to explore opportunities for transforming research findings into entrepreneurial projects.
The morning session, focused on entrepreneurship as a career path after completing a dissertation, highlighted the support programs available to doctoral students and recent PhD graduates. This session began with a presentation of the Pépite Provence program, emphasizing the importance of early exposure to entrepreneurship. Yasmina Bouzariouh’s (IMM/BIP) testimonial provided a concrete illustration of this journey, from the Bootcamp PhD Provence to the goal of commercializing a tool developed as part of her research. Other initiatives were presented, such as the i-PhD program, which supports project leaders from the initial idea through to market launch, illustrated by the experience of Maximilien Fil, CEO of ChromaPeaks, a startup incubated by the inter-university incubator Impulse. The PhDiscovery program led by CNRS Innovation was also presented, as were the initiatives carried out by the CCI and Rising Sud to support entrepreneurs in developing their businesses.
The afternoon session, titled “Support for Business Creation Among Research Staff: An Opportunity to Leverage Research,” broadened the discussion to include the opportunities available to researchers and research staff wishing to pursue entrepreneurship. Support mechanisms were presented by several key players: the RISE program from CNRS Innovation, the Magellan program from the CEA, support offered by SATT-SE and the Impulse incubator, as well as initiatives led by the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis under the Innov Provence brand and those carried out by the Eurobiomed competitiveness cluster. Testimonials from Anne Lomascolo (BBF), founder of the startup Oléoinnov, Sandy Payan (BIAM), and Christophe Lachaud (CRCM)—all of whom are on an entrepreneurial journey—illustrated the richness of these experiences, which are above all human adventures, as well as the contributions and complementary nature of the various support mechanisms available in our region.
As the culmination of the IMMpulse cycle, this event highlighted the richness and diversity of the innovation ecosystem available to researchers. It demonstrated that entrepreneurship is a credible and accessible pathway for commercializing research. IMMpulse #3 thus marks a key milestone in establishing a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship within the IM2B community.
