Training innovative engineers: ISAE-SUPAERO’s programmes inspired by entrepreneurial spirit

Eight weeks of immersion in an ecosystem of start-ups, with a project to be pitched at the end to convince investors. No, we’re not talking about the content of a business school course, but an optional module available in the 2nd year of the ISAE-SUPAERO Ingénieur programme. This year, ten students set their sights on this business creation internship. They were given two months to set up an entrepreneurial project in the data field, at IoT Valley. With the possibility of transforming it into a start-up at InnovSpace, the Institute’s incubator.

As a research and training institute, ISAE-SUPAERO made innovation its third pillar two years ago. InnovSpace, the Institute’s fablab, has been transformed into an incubator for entrepreneurial projects led by its community. At the same time, ISAE-SUPAERO has integrated training modules dedicated to innovation and entrepreneurship into its curricula. The elective module "Setting Up a Business Creation Project" is one of them.

This development is in line with market aspirations: “Companies in our ecosystem are looking to recruit engineers who are committed, creative, autonomous and have a ’market’ approach”, explains Romain Buquet, professor in charge of innovation and entrepreneurship at ISAE-SUPAERO. “As for our students, they have a real appetite for innovation.”

Born into a family of engineers, but with a background in business, this former creator of high-impact start-ups has been leading courses in entrepreneurship and innovation for the past two years. His credo: an innovative pedagogical approach. Simulation of the Qui Veut Être Mon Associé? ("Who wants to be my partner?") TV show, with a real coach and a jury from the M6 show, pitches to (fake) investors with (fake) money... any idea is good enough to pass on to engineering students his taste for entrepreneurship.
 

An entrepreneurial mini-adventure in First Year

This year marked a new milestone, with the integration of an entrepreneurial challenge called "Problem Solvers" into the core curriculum of the Ingénieur programme, starting in the first year. In groups of four, the 217 engineering students had four weeks to create a business project based on a problem raised by an alumnus. “The problems were not necessarily related to aerospace, and they had to go and interview professionals to put together a credible project”, says Romain Buquet.

Throughout their mini-entrepreneurial adventure, the students benefited from coaching and met inspiring speakers. To achieve this, Romain Buquet mobilized both the Institute’s alumni community and speakers from a wide range of backgrounds. “No fewer than 105 different professionals took part in the challenge”, he notes.

His objective? For the students to have fun! And they did. The winners received a trip to Paris to meet investors and, why not, continue their entrepreneurial adventure.
 

An Advanced Master to “train transformative leaders”

From the start of the 2024-2025 academic year, Romain Buquet will also be in charge of the new IEM (Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Management)* Advanced Master’s programme. This course is accessible after a Master’s degree, and is open to profiles other than engineers, even though it has a strong technological dimension. “The unique proposition of this program is to train transformative leaders capable of understanding both the market and the technology”, he explains. “That is, to master the technology and know the industry like an engineer, and at the same time demonstrate the business acumen and capacity for innovation typical of entrepreneurs.”

And Romain Buquet recalls ISAE-SUPAERO’s expertise and uniqueness in this field: “Among the four French industrial start-ups with unicorn status - those valued at over $1 billion - three were created by alumni of the Institute.”

* The Advanced Master IEM replaces the Advanced Master MGPIE (Management of Innovative Projects & Entrepreneurship).