During its back-to-school press briefing, Jacques Fayolle, Director of Mines Saint-Étienne, addressed current developments, upcoming projects and the School’s strategic directions. The objective: to consolidate the public–private model to strengthen French sovereignty through research and innovation.
At the start of the 2026 academic year, Mines Saint-Étienne is accelerating its transformation towards a public–private model. The School is forging closer partnerships with companies, stepping up its research output and adapting its Academics offering to align with the needs of industry and the healthcare sector of the future.
Accelerating industrial sovereignty
The creation of the Development Directorate in September 2025 enabled Mines Saint-Étienne to strengthen its ties with the business community and involve companies more closely in its missions in Academics, research and innovation. Here are a few examples.
- The academic–industrial partnership programme brings together large groups, SMEs and start-ups. Backed by DIWII, Mines Saint-Étienne’s innovation platform dedicated to the industry of the future, it received €700,000 in investment over three years to roll out innovations with societal impact.
- The new TWIN platform will open to companies at the end of 2026. They will be able to test additive manufacturing, automation and digital processes to reshore certain tasks and reduce their dependence on foreign technologies or suppliers.
Other initiatives are further driving this momentum, such as the creation of the Laboratoire Informatique et Mathématiques de Mines Saint-Étienne (LIMMSE) to strengthen French expertise in AI, mathematical modelling and decision sciences.
Lastly, the School is introducing the Accès Campus offer to bring companies closer to future graduates. Airbus is the first partner to join the scheme.
Enhancing international attractiveness
Mines Saint-Étienne is committed to attracting and training scientific talent, as well as showcasing its areas of excellence. In particular, it has signed a partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras and is developing exchanges with the Hanoi University of Mining on the interaction between AI and process engineering to accelerate decarbonisation.
In addition, the summer schools enabled nearly 130 European and American students to train in cybersecurity, health engineering and the use of critical resources for sustainable development.
Listening to the expectations of industry and healthcare
The Academics offering is expanding to respond more swiftly to the skills needs of the industrial and healthcare sectors:
- Micro-credentials focused on healthcare, aimed at professionals.
- Work-study specialised engineering programmes: 3i, Intégration des Innovations dans l’Industrie, and TECTO, Transition Écologique et Climatique des Territoires et des Organisations.
Mines Saint-Étienne is also evolving on campus, with the launch of the design phase for the Campus du Futur. This project includes the renovation of 25,000 m2 of the historic site, notably with the creation of a GrandLab’ dedicated to experimentation. The Campus du Futur will improve accessibility and reduce energy consumption, with a target of -60% by 2050.
