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Science Explorers program to help young people discover the world of entrepreneurship

Information updated on 30/05/23

Thirty students at the Les Garrigues middle school in Montpellier’s La Mosson district met with 5 Montpellier BIC companies as part of the Science Explorers program. This original idea is intended to help them learn about entrepreneurship.

In the morning of March 17, 2023, Isabelle Prévot, Director of the Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole BIC startup incubator, along with several companies, welcomed thirty 8th grade students from the Les Garrigues middle school in the La Mosson district at the La Halle de l’Innovation (Innovation Hall).
 
The morning event was organized by the association Les Petits Débrouillards d’Occitanie, in collaboration with Montpellier BIC and Gonzalo Ruiz, Director of Drop Of Curiosity, as part of the Science Explorers program.

Within the broader la Cité Éducative program, the purpose of this event is to demystify science and technology for young people by stimulating their critical thinking and giving them insight into the world of work to inspire career paths.

Program highlights

During the morning session, the 30 middle school students had the chance to meet with directors from five startups:
  • Vigdis Morisse Herrera, director of Globe Speaker, a company that offers an innovative method for learning foreign languages - https://globespeaker.com/
  • Eva Muringer, director of Flavi, which is building the leading network of independent and qualified in-home caregivers - https://flavi.fr/
  • Romain Peroux, director of InzPocket, https://www.inzpocket.com/, a parental control tool for online purchasing.
  • Arthur Capon, director of La Brigade de Véro, https://labrigadedevero.com/, offering well-balanced cooked dishes delivered in meal boxes.
  • Gonzalo Ruiz, director of Drop Of Curiosity, https://dropofcuriosity.fr/, which helps students learn how to work more effectively and also provides services to explain science to the general public.

Montpellier Méditérranée Métropole BIC

Established in 1987, Montpellier BIC - Business and Innovation Centre - has already assisted over 850 startups. Those that are still in activity represent more than 10,000 direct jobs today.

Regularly ranked among the top five incubators worldwide by Ubi Global, Montpellier BIC currently hosts a community of nearly 170 entrepreneurs, for which it provides consulting and training services, in addition to office space at its four sites (Halle de l’Innovation, Cap Alpha, Cap Omega, and MIBI).
Montpellier BIC has been a catalyst for the emergence of local “tech champions” such as Swile, Medtech-Zimmer, Teads, Medincell, and Pradeo.
 
For the past several years, the incubator has also assisted a number of highly successful video game studios, notably Alt Shift, DigixArt, and Scimob (now part of Webedia).

The long-term survival rate of BIC graduate startups is much higher than the national average: 90.5% after 3 years and 81.5% after 5 years (compared to 75% and 61% respectively for the national average –  reference: Insee).