Working for oneself and being one’s own boss is the most interesting career choice for 52% of those under 30, according to the results of a study conducted by Agence France Entrepreneur. This same study reveals that the number of businesses created by young people in general increased by 208% between 2002 and 2014, and by 143% among those under 30. This trend is notably justified by various national and local measures aimed at encouraging business creation and takeovers. Mines Saint-Étienne is fully part of this dynamic and is strongly committed to youth entrepreneurship through several actions aimed specifically at supporting young business creators.
Team@Mines Saint-Étienne: A catalyst for talent
Team@Mines Saint-Étienne is a scientific and technological support and guidance system for innovation and entrepreneurship projects. It enables a mutual exchange between project leaders, the laboratories of Mines Saint-Étienne, and students. This business creation support system relies on various internal and external partners to address challenges related to innovation and youth entrepreneurship in a cross-disciplinary manner. In addition to support, Team@Mines Saint-Étienne aims to facilitate the integration of project leaders into their ecosystem. Furthermore, this system plays a key role in transferring research results from Mines Saint-Étienne to local, regional, and national economic stakeholders. Finally, it should be noted that companies supported by Team@Mines Saint-Étienne have successfully raised over 11 million euros in funding. This success story testifies to the clarity and effectiveness of the general policy and actions of the system, which are coordinated by the Research and Innovation Department (DRI).
Mines Saint-Étienne supports innovative projects
Novathings and PanaXium joined the startups hosted by Mines Saint-Étienne on the Georges Charpak Provence Campus in May 2016. Their innovative projects are at the heart of the school’s areas of excellence. Novathings, specialized in the design and production of connected objects for individuals and SMEs, developed Helixee, the first consumer connected object that simplifies and automates personal data backup and integrates a private, secure social network. By joining Mines Saint-Étienne, the startup aims to strengthen its links with research and higher education circles to continue developing its innovative projects. For its part, the startup PanaXium relies on the expertise of the Flexible Electronics (FED) and Bioelectronics (BEL) Departments of the Campus to market innovative products designed to improve the performance of medical electronics. The startup notably plans to hire graduates with solid experience gained through technical collaboration with world-renowned researchers, particularly in the field of organic bioelectronics.
The PÉPITES
To support young project leaders and encourage “intentionnistes” (a category of French people who intend to create or take over a business, according to the French Entrepreneurial Index) to take action, Mines Saint-Étienne fully adheres to the student entrepreneurship policy, which draws its strength from partnership logic between higher education institutions, local authorities, and business creation stakeholders. The widespread implementation in each territory of PÉPITE centers involving all these stakeholders is part of this approach, which aims to identify and support business creation projects led by students and young graduates.
These Student Hubs for Innovation, Transfer, and Entrepreneurship were created by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research and are distributed throughout France. At Mines Saint-Étienne, students and young graduates can rely on the support of a dedicated contact person within the PÉPITE Beelys framework, who answers all their questions and helps them turn their ideas into reality.
In 2016, Mines Saint-Étienne joined Pépite Paca Ouest, which allows every student in Western PACA to access the information and support they need to realize their business creation project. Since 2014, the PEPITE Hub has provided students determined to embark on an entrepreneurial path with effective monitoring and tools, including dedicated events, training modules, specific documentation, and a network of advisors.
