Success for the first edition of the Seas and Ocean Forum

Training, Innovation, Research Défense & Sécurité, Sustainable Energy, Marine Engineering, Digital, Transport et mobilité
PhD students' pitches at the first Seas and Ocean Forum

On Tuesday, January 13, ENSTA's Paris-Saclay campus hosted the first edition of the Institut Polytechnique de Paris's Seas and Ocean Forum, which is part of the activities of the Interdisciplinary Seas and Ocean Center (CIMO). This unifying event brought together a large audience of teachers, researchers, institutional representatives, industrialists, and students, marking the commitment of an entire community to the issue of the ocean and its challenges.

Just one year after the creation of this seventh interdisciplinary center at the Institut Polytechnique de Paris, the first edition of the Forum was an opportunity to take stock of the many projects and collaborations underway, with stakeholders presenting their progress reports. It also led to the official signing of the agreement between IFREMER and the Institut Polytechnique de Paris to create the center.

Margot Provost presenting the CIMO Forum

The Forum, moderated by Margot Provost, Chief Operating Officer of CIMO, began with a welcome address by Estelle Iacona, Director General of ENSTA. During her speech, she emphasized that, with its two campuses in Paris-Saclay and Brest, ENSTA is more than ever a key player in the industrial sectors of sovereignty related to the maritime field. She also pointed out that this strong maritime dimension was no accident of history, as it dates back to the founding of one of the school's roots in 1741 as a school for royal shipbuilding engineers.

Estelle Iacona during her welcome speech at the CIMO Forum

Thierry Coulhon, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Institut Polytechnique de Paris, took the podium next to remind the audience that the merger of the two ENSTA schools in Paris-Saclay and Brest had played a decisive role in the dynamic creation of CIMO.

He also emphasized that the scientific excellence concentrated within the seven interdisciplinary centers of the Institut Polytechnique de Paris proved its added value on a daily basis to the business world, whose support was widely represented at the Forum.

Thierry Coulhon at the first edition of the CIMO Forum

Jean-Marc Daniel, Deputy Director General of IFREMER in charge of strategy, took the floor to express his delight at seeing such a large community gathered to discuss ocean issues. He also emphasized the importance of the ocean for the national community, pointing out that, between territorial waters and the exclusive economic zone, 95% of the territory under French sovereignty was in fact made up of maritime areas.

Jean-Marc Daniel at the first edition of the CIMO Forum

Catherine Chabaud, Minister Delegate to the Minister for Ecological Transition, Biodiversity, and International Climate and Nature Negotiations, responsible for the Sea and Fisheries, addressed the audience via video message. She emphasized how the ocean is our future, providing half of the oxygen we breathe, enabling the transport of goods and resources, and developing new sources of energy. She also mentioned the 10,000 Boats for the Ocean project, which will provide real-time data to the global ocean observation system.

Video message from Catherine Chabaud, Minister Delegate to the Minister for Ecological Transition, Biodiversity, and International Climate and Nature Negotiations, responsible for the Sea and Fisheries.

Laurent Mortier, Scientific Director of CIMO, concluded this first institutional part by presenting an overview of CIMO's main areas of activity: decarbonization of transport, ocean modeling, and marine renewable energies.

Laurent Mortier, Scientific Director of CIMO
Signing of the partnership agreement between IFREMER and the Institut Polytechnique de Paris

Following his speech, the official signing of the agreement between IFREMER and the Institut Polytechnique de Paris to create the center took place, sealing the cooperation for the years to come.

The rest of the morning saw a series of three inaugural presentations on the major challenges facing CIMO:

- Shipbuilding & Maritime Innovation by Carine Tramier, outgoing president of CORIMER, France 2030 ambassador for the deep sea and transport.

- Ocean observation and digital twins by Adeline Souf, Head of Prospective and European Relations, Executive Secretary of the IHO-EU Working Group, Shom.

- Marine renewable energies by Vincent De Laleu, former MRE project manager at EDF.

The morning ended with a double focus on the major challenges presented by Frédéric Renaudeau, advisor on defense, strategy, seabed, France 2030 at Pôle Mer Bretagne Atlantique, who provided an overview of promising areas of innovation, and Jean Marc Astorg, advisor to the CEO of CNES, who presented an international coalition of space and maritime players determined to better coordinate their actions in favor of ocean preservation.

Immediately after these presentations, CIMO doctoral students were honored with an exhibition of their posters and the opportunity to present their research work to the public.

Pitch des doctorants du CIMO

The afternoon was devoted to three symposiums, each focusing on one of CIMO's main areas of activity: maritime engineering for sustainable ships, ocean observation for the benefit of society, and resource management, coastal development, and the environment.

This well-attended event provided a real opportunity for dialogue, promoting exchanges between fundamental research and industrial innovation, while comparing operational needs with the advances and potential offered by scientific research. The scientific presentations from the three afternoon symposiums highlighted CIMO's interdisciplinary nature through the contributions of researchers from the Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Ifremer, and other experts in the field.

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