On February 1, 2018, I-SITE Université Lille Nord-Europe (ULNE) closed its first round of calls for projects. With this initial budget of more than €3.5 million and the proactive support of the European Metropolis of Lille (MEL), it is sustaining the excellence of Lille's research, expanding its scope, and promoting its value.
In response to the first three calls for projects—Sustain, Expand, and Prematuration—launched on September 25, 2017, 112 applications were submitted by founding and partner institutions.
Selecting the best projects with the support of experts
With a clear focus on excellence and transparency, more than 150 independent specialists were mobilized in France and internationally to evaluate the quality of the applications and select the best ones based on the project's key themes: Health, Environment, and Digital World. As a key player in regional development, SATT Nord was heavily involved in evaluating early-stage projects: the aim was to identify emerging projects with high innovation potential that it could subsequently finance as part of its maturation process with a view to transferring them to the socio-economic world.
Twenty-three projects were selected. By highlighting and reinforcing the strengths of local research and its strong potential for innovation, they will contribute to the development of the city and the region around key, interconnected areas of expertise, ranging from research on chronic diseases to digital modeling and ecology.
The winners will be invited to present their projects on April 19 at the Cité des Echanges.
