IP Paris Doctoral Call for Projects 2026: Give Your PhD a New Dimension

Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris) is launching the first edition of its Doctoral Call for Projects, a new annual program led by the IP Paris Innovation Lab. Its purpose is to support doctoral candidates who wish to explore the applicative and societal potential of their research work.

Complementary to the existing Prématuration Call, which aims to support research projects that have reached an initial level of technological maturity, this new call intervenes earlier, during the 2nd year of the PhD. It reinforces IP Paris’s ambitious innovation strategy.

The Doctoral Call for Projects offers you the opportunity to follow a support program that, through a projection-based approach, will help you expand your disciplinary perspective by developing a systemic understanding of external factors and societal implications that influence your field.

By giving your thesis a new dimension, you will be able to build a short-, medium- and long-term vision for your future, your technology, and your laboratory.

This program, included in the training catalog of your doctoral school, provides a privileged framework to:

• Imagine the societal impact of your thesis (in connection with your thesis supervisor).

• Explore the promises and transformations enabled by technology by mobilizing knowledge and imagination.

• Build a systemic, coherent, and meaningful vision, empowering you to shape your professional project while continuing your thesis.

• Understand the breadth and diversity of possible career opportunities by gaining an accurate perspective on the often underestimated value of doctoral work among economic stakeholders in France and abroad.

Each selected project will receive funding of €15,000 (excluding management fees), transferred to the institution employing and/or hosting the PhD candidate. This funding covers an extension of the doctoral contract for up to 3 months, project-related missions, and operating expenses.

Selected projects will receive individual support provided by the Innovation Lab and the SATT Paris-Saclay.
The program spans 30 days distributed over several months and includes autonomous work time, individual workshops, milestone reviews, and personalized follow-ups every two weeks.

It is structured around three major phases:

Phase 1 — Your Technology Today:

• Understand its positioning

• Establish a comprehensive overview of the topic

Phase 2 — Your Technology Tomorrow:

• Imagine possible futures

• Explore several future deployment scenarios

• Identify barriers, levers, impacts, and risks

Phase 3 — From Vision to Action:

• Define a trajectory

• Transform the chosen vision into a realistic and structured action plan

Projects must demonstrate technological or societal innovation potential.

All topics and fields are eligible; however, the call is open to:

• PhD candidates in their 2nd year, enrolled in a doctoral school affiliated with IP Paris and working within an IP Paris laboratory

• 1st-year PhD candidates may apply on a case-by-case basis, depending on project maturity and candidate motivation

⚠️Not eligible: PhD candidates funded through industrial partnerships (e.g., CIFRE theses or theses under collaboration agreements with companies holding exploitation rights).

• Opening of applications: December 1, 2025

• Application deadline: February 15, 2026

• Announcement of pre-selected applications: March 9, 2026

• In-person pitch before a jury (Palaiseau campus): mid-March 2026

• Announcement of awardees: March 30, 2026

• Project start: April 2026

• End of support: early October 2026

Before submitting an application, candidates are strongly encouraged to contact their school’s valorization unit and/or the Innovation Lab team for an exploratory meeting to address any questions and share potential challenges.

The application file (download link below) must be submitted no later than February 15, 2026, following the procedures outlined in the guidelines, and must include:

• Signature of the thesis supervisor (for approval)

• Support letter from your school’s valorization unit

Applications may be written in either French or English.

Toutes les questions relatives à cet appel à candidature sont à adresser à votre structure de valorisation et/ou à :

Delphine MARCILLAC, Ph.D.
Head of Innovation for IP Paris
Head of the Innovation Lab
delphine.marcillac@ip-paris.fr

Valentine PERRIN
Designer - Innovation Lab
valentine.perrin@ip-paris.fr