By Gilles Martin (CS 1986), founding CEO of Eurofins _ February 2, 2021
The CentraleSupélec Foundation has been funding the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and pedagogy at the School for several years, including start-up week. In addition to funding, each year the foundation offers a master class led by an alumni for CentraleSupélec students.
As part of CentraleSupélec’s start-up week, Genius, the Corporate Relations and Development Department, the Entrepreneurship team and the Foundation were pleased to welcome Gilles Martin, founding CEO of Eurofins and CentraleSupélec graduate (class of 1986), on Tuesday February 2, 2021.
A brilliant but discreet entrepreneur, Gilles Martin exceptionally agreed to speak to CentraleSupélec students. For nearly an hour, he shared with them his experience, his years at CentraleSupélec, his first steps in entrepreneurship alongside his studies, his successes, his failures, his doubts and especially the development of Eurofins.
More than 700 participants were able to benefit from Gilles Martin’s sound advice and he took the time to answer the audience’s many questions. The master class was mainly intended for first year students but also gathered a large number of employees and alumni of the school.
Eurofins is one of CentraleSupélec’s most loyal and committed partners. Highly invested in students, the company has been involved since 2020 in the Sébastienne Guyot scholarship program for young women (students at CS) with limited financial means.
Moreover, the school’s corporate partners have always been involved in the life of the school as full-fledged training actors and as partners of the Research Center: CentraleSupélec has 20 corporate and research chairs, and no less than 140 corporate partners.
Entrepreneurship has long been at the heart of CentraleSupélec’s teaching, and is even more so in the new engineering curriculum, which aims to train true “entrepreneurial engineers.
CentraleSupélec’s start-up week
Every year in February, CentraleSupélec organizes “start-up week” to introduce first-year engineering students to entrepreneurship. During this week, they are asked to think about, develop and present business creation ideas in a fairly advanced format encompassing all phases of development: from the ideation stage, through feasibility research, to bringing the project to market and its deployment.
Every year in February, CentraleSupélec organizes “start-up week” to introduce first-year engineering students to entrepreneurship. During this week, they are asked to think about, develop and present business creation ideas in a fairly advanced format encompassing all phases of development: from the ideation stage, through feasibility research, to bringing the project to market and its deployment.
While not all students will become entrepreneurs, it is important to make them aware of this opening. Start-up week is very popular with students who, in addition to creating a company, have the opportunity to meet and exchange with alumni and professionals who coach them throughout the week. It is a great moment of emulation very instructive and convivial. Finally, it is not uncommon for start-up week projects to become true entrepreneurial projects later on.
Start-up week is one of the main events of the year at CentraleSupélec. It mobilizes a large number of people from the School, including the teaching staff, the Entrepreneurship team and the Foundation. Several other departments of the School are also involved in support functions. Thanks to the Corporate Relations and Development Department (DREV), the School can mobilize coaches from partner companies who accompany students in their start-up project. A great opportunity for the company and the school to materialize their partnership with the students.
