The FabSpace 2.0 Startech program transposed to the UNIVERSEH project

Initiated in 2012 by WSL (Europe’s leading technology incubator) in Belgium, the Startech program aims to develop the entrepreneurial skills of engineering school students. Josiane Mothe, from the SIG team (Data Management Department), professor at INSP2 and Jean-Jaurès University in Toulouse, has transposed this training program to the field of Earth observation as part of the European FabSpace 2.0 project. It is a program that collaborates with InnEO’Space_PhD, on which the SIG team works. The first week of October 2021, the Startech program has been adapted in the framework of UNIVERSEH, whose goal is to build a European university consortium for the space domain.

Observing the Earth

The objective of the InnEO’Space_PhD project is to develop the spirit of innovation of thesis students and young researchers. It targets an interdisciplinary audience, ranging from scientific disciplines to humanities. This project is based on Earth observation, applied to the environment and climate change. Deployed over a period of thirty months, the goal of InnEO’Space_PhD is to accompany students in the handling of innovation circuits. The aim is to enable them to build an innovative and concrete project from their initial idea. InnEO’Space_PhD aims at academic excellence in any field related to Earth observation.

FabSpace 2.0 is an innovation network focused on the exploitation of geo-spatial data in universities. It aims to bring together PhD students and young researchers with various skills around the use of geo-data. The FabSpace aims to make universities dynamic and innovative centers for projects that implement ideas and services derived from the use of geo-data. Students and young researchers benefit from resources and support for entrepreneurship, particularly in the context of StarTech actions. FabSpace 2.0 explains that “the use of spatial data, especially from Earth observations, is an important growth lever for the development of services in areas such as transportation, agriculture and land use planning.“

UNIVERSEH, an ambitious European project

UNIVERSEH is a European project (Grant Agreement N°101035795) that aims to create a European university focused on the space sector, for the Earth and humanity. The project is described as an alliance of five young and mature universities from five European countries, including the Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées. Created in November 2020, its goal is to develop a new mode of collaboration in the field of space, within the new initiative “European Universities” promoted by the European Commission. UNIVERSEH wishes to contribute to education in the European space, as well as to the growth of employment and industry. This project aims to make the space sector more sustainable, so that the EU remains a world leader in the space field. To solve the societal challenges related to these issues, various fields are covered such as science, engineering, economics, business, social sciences and humanities, patenting and innovation, entrepreneurship, science and medicine, art and culture.

Enabling students to innovate

At the beginning of October 2021, the Startech UNIVERSEH brought together about 20 students from various fields and levels, from Master 1 to PhD, from the different partner universities. The objective of the training week was to prepare students for their career by allowing them to develop practical and transversal skills related to entrepreneurship. Josiane MOTHE, professor at IRIT and Colette Schenker, consultant at Catalyser, University of Toulouse, led the workshops. Academic and industrial experts from several European countries played the roles of either potential customers or investors. The goal of the program is to develop skills that can be re-invested in the implementation of new projects, from research direction to start-up creation.