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

The Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris) is launching the first edition of its PhD Call for Projects, a new annual program. Its goal is, to support — via the IP Paris Innovation Lab — PhD students who want to explore the applicative and societal potential of their research.

Complementary to the existing IP Paris Prematuration Call for Projects—which supports research projects that have reached an initial level of technological maturity and is targeting IP Paris students during the second year of their PhD. It is part of IP Paris' broader and ambitious innovation strategy.

This PhD Call for Projects offers you the opportunity to benefit from tailored support that will help you look beyond your core discipline. Through a structured prospective process, you will acquire a systemic understanding of external factors and societal implications that shape your field.

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

This program, included in the training catalogue of your doctoral school, provides an ideal framework to:

• Imagine the future societal impact of your thesis (in coordination with your thesis supervisor).
• Explore the promises and transformations enabled by technology, drawing on knowledge and imaginaries.
• Build a coherent, systemic and meaningful vision, enabling you to actively shape your professional project while continuing your thesis.
• Gain an accurate understanding of the breadth and diversity of potential career paths, acknowledging the often underestimated value that doctoral research holds for economic actors in France and abroad.

Each selected project will receive €15,000 in funding (excluding management fees) paid to the institution employing and/or hosting the thesis, covering the extension of the doctoral contract for up to three months, as well as project-related assignments and operating expenses.

Awardees will receive personalized support from the IP Paris Innovation Lab and SATT Paris-Saclay.
The program consists of 30 days distributed over several months. It features autonomous work, one-to-one workshops, milestone reviews and personalised follow-ups every two weeks.

The support will be structured around three main phases:

Phase 1 — Your technology today

• Understanding its positioning
• Establishing a comprehensive overview of the topic

Phase 2 — Your technology tomorrow

• Imagining possible futures
• Exploring several future deployment scenarios
• Identifying barriers, levers, impacts and risks

Phase 3 — From vision to action

• Defining a trajectory
• Turning the selected vision into a realistic and structured action plan.

Projects must have the potential for technological or societal innovation.

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

• Second year PhD students, enrolled in a doctoral school affiliated with IP Paris and wotking in an IP Paris laboratory
• First-year PhD students, on a case-by-case basis, depending on the project's maturity and the applicant's motivation.

⚠️ Not eligible: PhD students receiving funding from an industrial partner (e.g. CIFRE thesis or thesis under collaboration agreements with companies holding exploitation rights).

• Applications open: December 1, 2025
• Application deadline: February 15, 2026
• Pre-selection results (based on application): March 9, 2026
• In-person pitch in front of a jury (Palaiseau campus): mid-March 2026
• Announcement of awardees: March 30, 2026
• Project start: April 2026
• End of support: early October 2026

Before applying, PhD students are encouraged to contact the technology transfer office (TTO) of their school and/or the Innovation Lab team for an exploratory meeting. This first meeting aims at addressing questions and identifying potential challenges related to the application.

The application file (download link below) must be submitted by February 15, 2026 following the instructions outlined in the guidelines, and must include:

• The signed approval of the thesis supervisor
• The signed approval of your school’s valorisation unit

Applications may be submitted in French or English.

For any questions regarding this call for projects, please contact your valorisation structure and/or:

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

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