Another victory for ENSTA at INNOV’NIGHT

Company, Innovation, Student Life Digital Science & Engineering
From left to right, Foucault de Jerphanion, Aurélien Gilles, Ambrine Pujo, Thomas Carpentier, and Théotime Galmiche, winners at INNOV’NIGHT 2026

While an ENSTA team had already distinguished itself at the previous edition, Foucault de Jerphanion, Aurélien Gilles, Ambrine Pujo, Thomas Carpentier, and Théotime Galmiche successfully rose to the challenge of designing an innovative solution to a concrete industrial problem in just one night. An experience that could well lead to the creation of a startup.

At the heart of this success lies the practical insight and experience of two team members, Ambrine Pujo and Thomas Carpentier, who are currently working in industry as part of a work-study program.

As Ambrine, the team captain, explains, “My experience as a work-study student in an industrial group where the machines are highly specialized gave us a solid starting point: to find a solution to optimize the corrective maintenance of these machines, where even the slightest breakdown can halt all production.”

This solution took the form of an AI agent, JARVIS, developed in record time thanks to the talent and experience of Thomas Carpentier, himself a work-study student training as a digital simulation software development engineer.

Before that, however, it was necessary to determine the right value proposition—that is, the advantages the developed solution would have over the competition. On this point, the contribution of Foucault de Jerphanion, a work-study financial auditor, was decisive.

To coordinate all these efforts, never lose sight of the objective, and adhere to the methodology, Aurélien Gilles very effectively supported Ambrine Pujo, particularly in the middle of the night, when fatigue sets in and doubts about the chosen path arise.

Finally, Théotime Galmiche served as an excellent ambassador for the project throughout the night, clearly presenting the progress to the team of coaches and effectively and accurately gathering and relaying their feedback and advice.
 

Intense brainstorming in the dead of night

At dawn came the crucial moment to “pitch” the project to the jury, a decisive moment during which everyone managed to stay alert enough to maintain their persuasive power and win over the jury.

The five friends, most of whom had met through TAEP, ENSTA’s student-run enterprise, got fully into the spirit of the competition and, encouraged by the jury’s praise, are now planning to bring the startup project—which took shape during that spring night—to life.

“INNOV’NIGHT is an excellent experience to share with friends, during which you learn a great deal and gain insight into what entrepreneurship is really about. It’s an extremely motivating challenge, and if the results of the last two editions are any indication, ENSTA students clearly have the right profile to excel at it!” concludes Ambrine Pujo.
 

From left to right: Jamal Atif, Vice President of Research and Innovation at IP Paris; Aurélien Gilles; Thomas Carpentier; Ambrine Pujo; Théotime Galmiche; Foucault de Jerphanion; and Paul Vachon, from the IP Paris Innovation Lab

Our latest news

Alumni | Training | Research
A thesis on characterizing the strength of a submerged textile structure

Noise pollution generated during the installation of offshore wind turbines is attracting increasing attention. An engineer trained at ENSTA in the specialty of “mechanical modeling of materials and structures,” Jeanne Cavoit wrote her thesis on the...

A thesis on characterizing the strength of a submerged textile structure

Noise pollution generated during the installation of offshore wind turbines is attracting increasing attention. An engineer trained at ENSTA in the specialty of “mechanical modeling of materials and structures,” Jeanne Cavoit wrote her thesis on the...

Alumni | Innovation
DeepFoil: Two ENSTA Graduates Are Reinventing Underwater Exploration

Graduates in architecture and naval hydrodynamics, Emillia Perdigon and Paul François have designed the DeepFoil, a flying underwater wing that allows for effortless movement underwater. Fueled by public enthusiasm and investor support, their project is...

DeepFoil: Two ENSTA Graduates Are Reinventing Underwater Exploration

Graduates in architecture and naval hydrodynamics, Emillia Perdigon and Paul François have designed the DeepFoil, a flying underwater wing that allows for effortless movement underwater. Fueled by public enthusiasm and investor support, their project is...

Innovation | Research
Gabriel Betton: Exploring the karst networks

Beneath our feet, in the darkness of the underground, a natural network spanning more than a third of France’s territory supplies drinking water to nearly 30 million people. But the quality of this vast freshwater reservoir is threatened by climate change...

Gabriel Betton: Exploring the karst networks

Beneath our feet, in the darkness of the underground, a natural network spanning more than a third of France’s territory supplies drinking water to nearly 30 million people. But the quality of this vast freshwater reservoir is threatened by climate change...

All news