FORTHEM ‘Research meets entrepreneurship’ meeting in Dijon

From 25 to 27 March 2025, the FORTHEM department at Burgundy Europe University welcomed researchers and entrepreneurs from five partner regions of the FORTHEM Alliance. The three days were devoted to networking, exchanging ideas and promoting research, with a particular focus on innovation and entrepreneurship.

Highlighting the potential for innovation in Burgundy-Franche-Comté

The aim of the event was to enable participants to discover the dynamism of the region’s research and innovation ecosystem. As part of this, they attended LADYj.Tech 2025, a key event organised by the Metropole of Dijon to celebrate women innovators and entrepreneurs in Burgundy-Franche-Comté.

This event enabled European researchers and entrepreneurs to gain a better understanding of the specific features of the French innovation support model, while meeting key players in the sector. The importance of encouraging meeting places and opportunities for young women in the fields of entrepreneurship and research was stressed on several occasions.

Perspectives on innovation and the international scene

Two renowned speakers gave their personal accounts at the round tables devoted to the international scene:

• Eva Catherine Skuthe, co-founder and CEO of the start-up Oripach (Agder County, Norway), shared her experience of developing an innovative company and the challenges of the European market.
• Ivana Pibiri, a researcher at the University of Palermo (Italy) and winner of the ITWIIN 2023 prize for the best female innovator in Italy, described her career in medical research, with a particular focus on the treatment of rare genetic diseases.

Their presentations highlighted the bridges between the academic world and entrepreneurship, illustrating the opportunities offered by a collaborative and transnational approach to innovation.

A springboard for future collaborations

By creating connections between European researchers and entrepreneurs, this event organised by the UBE’s FORTHEM department is part of a wider dynamic of international cooperation. It demonstrates once again that innovation knows no borders and that synergies between research and entrepreneurship are essential to meeting tomorrow’s challenges.

These enriching encounters could lead to new collaborations, strengthening the European innovation and research ecosystem.