Portrait

They make the Université de Lyon: Marie Eyquem

On The April 21, 2021

Crédits : Ksenia V.
Crédits : Ksenia V.

The Université de Lyon met with Marie Eyquem, director of the Lyon Saint-Étienne Entrepreneurship Center and coordinator of the Arqus “Entrepreneurial University and Regional Engagement” Action Line.

Could you tell us about your role in Arqus?

Given its entrepreneurial expertise, it's only natural that the Université de Lyon (via the Lyon Saint-Étienne Entrepreneurship Center) is leading the Arqus “Entrepreneurial University and Regional Engagement” Action Line. I am in charge of its coordination in my position as “chair”. Our goal is to encourage entrepreneurship and creativity throughout the entire university community, including students, academic and administrative staff. To achieve this, we are launching a number of initiatives with the aim of becoming an “entrepreneurial university” by promoting entrepreneurship, helping our students, doctoral students and staff to develop their entrepreneurial skills, working on students’ employment prospects, and much more.

How important is entrepreneurship to Arqus institutions?

Building an entrepreneurial university involves both the governing body, with strong political support, and the university staff, in order to successfully implement entrepreneurial training and other associated activities. It is therefore essential to integrate entrepreneurship into institutional strategy. We are currently working on a strategy to achieve this goal using a HEInnovate self-assessment tool for higher education institutions to explore their innovation potential.

What types of activities are developed as part of your entrepreneurship initiative?

In light of the 2020 pandemic, we began to think about how we can ensure the continuity of our actions by switching to a digital format. This allowed us to continue as planned! In particular, we have set up:As part of the Arqus Academy Week, which takes place from the May 3 to 7, we will soon be organizing a number of different activities:
  • From May 3 to 9 – Online voting will be launched for the second final of the Virtual Company Creation Challenge;
  • On May 4 at 2 PM – an entrepreneurship awareness session for doctoral students with testimonials from Arqus’ doctoral entrepreneurs;
  • On May 6 at 6 PM – a discussion on “Women entrepreneurs: barriers and drivers of financing their entrepreneurial project”, in close collaboration with the Arqus communications team;
  • Throughout the month of May – video presentations of doctor-entrepreneurs to promote this type of career path;
  • Late May/early June – Launch of the international internship guide with a focus on opportunities within start-ups and small businesses;
A wide range of activities to help promote entrepreneurship!

What are the benefits for students, researchers and administrative staff?

University stakeholders will benefit from the initiatives organized as part of our Action Line to learn more about entrepreneurial posture, innovation and creativity; to be provided with practical tools and support during the entrepreneurial process; to benefit from international mobility for an internship or to study a new market, and much more!