Profile of the month : Profile of an innovative player in the Pays de la Loire

Tell us what led you to become the head of the Ecole des Mines de Nantes?

I used to be a mining engineer, and so I naturally started in regional administration. It's no accident that I took up my first post at the Pays de la Loire DRIRE (regional department of industry, research and the environment), because I was born in the region. My goal was to make contact with the players in the field, and get involved in industrial development. In 1990, the government decided to create the Ecole des Mines de Nantes. The DRIRE director of the time suggested that I change over to this project. It meant building it up from scratch, and I found that a really interesting idea. I joined the initial team as training manager, then as deputy director of the school. It was a very entrepreneurial experience. It meant doing everything, with the start of the first academic year in September 1991 as the deadline. I then left the region in 1995 to take over as head of the DRIRE in Lorraine. This was a major challenge, because I was appointed to a number one post in a region with a huge number of DRIRE activities. Lorraine was a region of industry, and industry undergoing redevelopment. What really struck me was the process for closing down iron and coal mines, already under way when I arrived. I met some very problematic situations relating to subsidence in mines, which led us to change the Mining Code. In 2001, I returned to the Pays de la Loire as director of the DRIRE and the Ecole des Mines. In 2009, when the DRIRE was merging with other State departments, I decided to stay on as director of the school, but now full-time. At that period we were giving a great deal of thought as to how to reconfigure the university, and discussing research and higher education clusters. So there were plenty of projects on the boil. After spending ten years as the head of the Ecole des Mines de Nantes, I've now decided to change my line of business.  

What were the main projects you oversaw during those ten years at the Ecole des Mines?

The school gained a great deal in terms of its visibility and reputation in most fields, particularly nuclear energy. This reputation in our fields of excellence was due to an increase in the school's range of research areas, based on our mixed research units, and also through a policy aimed at attracting top level researchers and promoting people with high potential. The second major achievement was the development of the search for partners with companies, competitiveness clusters and though the Institut Carnot Mines... Research contracts rose from 2 to 6 million euros per year in ten years! The third large-scale project concerned opening out research and training to the world, including through the introduction of international masters’ degrees. This is an offer that now covers all fields in the school, and is designed mainly for foreign students. With programs like the Erasmus Mundus scheme, the school is now known and recognized all over the world. For the last few years, we have been working on expanding our relationships with manufacturers. The idea is to build up industrial chairs and collaboration programs with these partners, so as to establish long-term relationships and consolidate the development of the school. Three industrial chairs have already been created and a fourth is on the way. Lastly, during the past two years we have been giving serious attention to the innovation and entrepreneurship aspect, with the creation of an innovation based resource center as part of managing relations with companies.  

What missions await you when you leave the Ecole des Mines?

For a number of months I considered three or four possibilities. In the end, I put the directorship of the Jules Verne IRT at the top of the list, and applied for the job. The Board of the IRT provisional steering group made its decision at the end of August to give it to me. It's a great honor, because it's an ambitious and complex project. So starting on 1 October, I will be taking on the post of general delegate of the IRT provisional steering group under the leadership of its President, Nicolas Orance, alongside Laurent Manach, two people I have a great liking for, and who considerably influenced my choice. This appointment is the first step on the road to taking over the general management of the IRT when the scientific cooperation foundation is officially set up.  

What led you to this choice?

The entrepreneurial and ambitious side of the project. I like a challenge, and I also like competition. I want to help make this IRT a major tool in the industrial and economic development of this region. I think we could make this IRT something unique in France - and maybe even beyond!  

How far have you been involved in future investment projects?

First of all, we had to provide information and assistance to players in order for the laboratories and initiators to compile dossiers for Equipex (equipment of excellence) and Labex (laboratories of excellence). My personal investment was greatest with the most formative projects; firstly the Jules Verne IRT, and secondly the Idex (initiative of excellence). In this type of project, it's not easy to coordinate all those involved and get their points of view to converge. As regards the IRT in particular, I oversaw a think-tank on qualifications, with the idea of having an overall approach ranging from Professional Baccalaureates to PhDs, and from education to professional development. I also contributed to thinking about the governance of the IRT. The Idex is the project I spent the most time and energy on. The idea is to unify all the skills and players on an international scale, to create a research and higher education cluster in Western France with strong visibility both within and outside France. A project that is by no means certain of success, because the competition is tough. But I'm convinced that we have built up a highly original project. And whatever transpires, this unifying project will be set up and show that the West is on the move. 

More information on the Ecole des Mines de Nantes 

Contact Atlanpole: Anne Guillemot