In partnership with the region's leading academic and scientific hub, Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris), the first edition of the Paris-Saclay Summit - Choose Science will bring together scientists, researchers, business leaders, academics, politicians, students and representatives of civil society on February 29 and March 1.
The initiative, placed under the high patronage of French President Emmanuel Macron, was born of a shared ambition between the weekly magazine Le Point, the Île-de-France region and the Communauté d'agglomération Paris-Saclay. Its aim is to highlight French excellence and the global reach of public and private research.
Key players in the world of science and innovation from France, Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Canada, Israel and South Africa will discuss health, artificial intelligence, the climate crisis, energy, biodiversity, safety, food...
In total, around 50 conferences will be held at EDF Lab Paris-Saclay. Experts will have the opportunity to present the current state of knowledge and questions on the challenges of tomorrow.
Among them are four major players from IP Paris, which groups together five prestigious French engineering schools: École polytechnique, ENSTA Paris, ENSAE Paris, Télécom Paris and Télécom SudParis.
Thierry Coulhon, acting Chairman of the Board of Directors of Institut Polytechnique de Paris. He will give the opening speech on March 1, highlighting the creation of world-class higher education, research and innovation clusters on the Saclay plateau.
Laura Chaubard, Acting President and Chairman of École Polytechnique, will be inviting young women to embark on scientific careers. Sylvie Retailleau, Minister of Higher Education and Research, will also take part in the debate.
Laurent Catoire, director of the UCP chemistry and processes unit, ENSTA Paris, IP Paris, will discuss the future of the hydrogen revolution.
Finally, Alain Aspect, winner of the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics and professor at the École polytechnique-IP Paris, will join physicist Etienne Klein in discussing the role of chance, hard work or genius in the origins of major scientific breakthroughs.
