Innovation Promoting the Defence and Aerospace sectors in the Bordeaux region Promoting the Defence and Aerospace sectors in the Bordeaux region
Sciences Po Bordeaux, one of the nine Institutes of Political Studies in France, has established a "Defence and Aerospace" academic chair supported by the Bordeaux University foundation. Bordeaux University boasts tremendous potential in terms of multidimensional teaching and research and is capable of delivering knowledge and insight into issues related to the aerospace and defence sectors
What is the objective of this academic chair?
This academic chair aims to develop constructive and innovative momentum for training and research as well as for leveraging know-how in the defence and aerospace sectors. The uniqueness of the approach lies in its interdisciplinary character and its collaborative logic, which seeks to bring together professionals from various related domains and to facilitate exchange.
Although based in Bordeaux, the academic chair’s scope will be national and even international, as it will work in close conjunction with other Bordeaux university players as well as national and international partners.
Who is involved in the academic chair?
The governance of the academic chair is jointly handled by a steering committee and an educational committee. These committees are comprised of representatives of industrial players such as Dassault Aviation, Safran and Thales as well as Sciences Po Bordeaux and Bordeaux University.
The objective is, as within the framework of any project carried by the Bordeaux University foundation, to create value-added actions by developing innovative means of collaboration.
What are the stakes for Thales?
They are of two kinds: in a period when there is a real hunt for talent, it is important that Thales can emphasize its specificities and the excellence of our jobs among the generations arriving on the job market.
At local level, this type of initiative is a means of further anchoring Thales’s footprint in the local environment. It serves as a reminder that Thales is not only a leading industrial economic player locally, notably through employment and innovation, but also a player on the university scene in Bordeaux. This local presence is an essential component of the Group’s image on a national dimension.
What future projects are set to be developed within this framework?
The academic chair has already had the chance to hold a panel discussion around major national, European and international security and defence stakes, chaired by Patricia Adam, president of the French parliament’s National Defence commission. The academic chair’s educational committee and steering committee will be meeting shortly to precisely define and approve the programme for the next three years.
