Frédéric Claude Denis Dreyer
Innovation & Ecosystem Manager
EPFL VPI ILO
QIJ 1 117.08 (EPFL Innovation Park J)
Station 22
1015 Lausanne
+41 21 693 89 43
Office:
QIJ 1 117.08
EPFL
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Web site: Web site: https://go.epfl.ch/gent
Mission
WHO I AM?
My leitmotiv is: “BEING AT THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME”
SERENDIPITY IS MY LIFE: Keeping a high level of attention for the unexpected and being able to come up with a relevant yet creative interpretation makes me an out-of-the-box and impactful Innovation Leader.
I stand where you don’t expect me to be.
PASSION IS THE KEY: Being passionate is my key to unlock the full potential of innovation that resides in each organization.
These are my passions…
- INDISCIPLINARITY: Crossing disciplinary boundaries to better catch the arising opportunities- COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE: Maximizing serendipity and indisciplinarity by empowering each team member and getting their full commitment.- TECHNOLOGY: Investigating the unknown to understand the added-value it can bring. - TECHNICS: Sublimating exceptional products and technologies by leveraging a deep knowledge of materials, industrial processes, and innovation management.
VISIONNARY & HUMAN: Conveying a strong & relevant vision based on the human factor has always led to faster and smoother transformation.
Thanks to a strong academic background as a PhD in computational and materials sciences at EPFL,
And 10 years in industries in technology transfer and development with international academies and industries.
As innovation and ecosystem partnership manager at EPFL, I’m responsible for developing and implementing strategies that foster innovation and promote collaboration between the university and various external stakeholders. As:
- Developing and implementing strategies to promote innovation: This may involve identifying emerging trends and technologies that can be leveraged to drive innovation within the university and its partners, as well as developing programs and initiatives to support innovation and entrepreneurship.
- Building and managing partnerships : be responsible for building relationships with external partners, including startups, established companies, investors, and government organizations. This will involve identifying potential partners, establishing partnerships, and managing ongoing relationships to ensure mutual benefit.
- Identifying and pursuing funding opportunities: be responsible for identifying and pursuing funding opportunities to support innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives. This may involve applying for grants, managing relationships with investors, and identifying other sources of funding.
- Facilitating collaboration: be responsible for facilitating collaboration between the university and its partners, including organizing events, workshops, and other activities that bring stakeholders together to share ideas and work towards common goals.
- Managing programs and initiatives: be responsible for managing programs and initiatives related to innovation and entrepreneurship, including developing program goals, managing budgets, and overseeing program implementation.
Overall, my role is to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, and to foster collaboration and partnerships with external stakeholders to drive positive outcomes for our school and its partners.
Since September 2020, I have the privilege of serving as an Innovation and Ecosystem Partnership Manager at EPFL at the heard of its Faculty ENAC, School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering. In this role, I have been responsible for developing and implementing strategies to promote innovation and collaboration between the university and its external partners. I have successfully identified emerging trends and technologies, built partnerships, pursued funding opportunities, and managed programs and initiatives related to innovation and entrepreneurship. My ultimate goal has been to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship and drive positive outcomes for the university and its partners.
Previously, as director of the OPI – Office de la promotion des industries et technologies, a private foundation subsidized by the state of Geneva. The OPI is an organization whose role is to support SMEs in their 4.0 transition at different levels:
Organizational (lean management), technological (industry 4.0), sustainable development and human transition.
Through collective intelligence projects with academics, SMEs, multinational companies and NGOs, we created in the last year 5 community working groups on digital transition : Machine Vision (machine learning) for autonomous control in watchmaking, aeronautics, electronics, food and beverage (Innosuisse project with university and start-ups as Cogito); blockchain in order to leverage and transparency through the value chain of SMEs (as quality control, certifications for compliance, …), employability and future of jobs (Innosuisse project with UNIGE on brain plasticity and soft skills development): BIM and data management (with SITG, HUG, WHO…), Business intelligence for SMEs.
Moreover, my office is project leader on:
- European project as taxi drone for Switzerland, project with academics, NGOs, governmental agencies and industries.
- Interreg projects in autonomous vehicules, new techs for medtechs and training/education (HES-SO –University Savoie-Mont-Blanc).
In parallel of my director position I was in charge at ad-interim, of the digital intercantonal cluster AlpICT and our office OPI was in charge of the Geneva canton antenna Platinn, both are programs of the CDEPSO – Chef de Département de l’Economie Publique de Suisse Occidentale, these programs are pillars of swiss governmental of the digital transition of industries.
Last but lost least, I’m an Innosuisse Mentor and Business dev Platinn Coach to lead start-ups and companies to build the bridge between academics and industries applications and also leading their organizational, digital transformation and change management.
One of my play role is to be the ambassador of the Geneva Canton and Economic department (DDE /DGDERI département general de l’économie de la recherche et innovation) in Switzerland and abroad (CES, Global Tech events…).
Current work
As innovation and ecosystem partnership manager I’m responsible for developing and implementing strategies that foster innovation and promote collaboration between the university and various external stakeholders. As:
- Developing and implementing strategies to promote innovation: This may involve identifying emerging trends and technologies that can be leveraged to drive innovation within the university and its partners, as well as developing programs and initiatives to support innovation and entrepreneurship.
- Building and managing partnerships : be responsible for building relationships with external partners, including startups, established companies, investors, and government organizations. This will involve identifying potential partners, establishing partnerships, and managing ongoing relationships to ensure mutual benefit.
- Identifying and pursuing funding opportunities: be responsible for identifying and pursuing funding opportunities to support innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives. This may involve applying for grants, managing relationships with investors, and identifying other sources of funding.
- Facilitating collaboration: be responsible for facilitating collaboration between the university and its partners, including organizing events, workshops, and other activities that bring stakeholders together to share ideas and work towards common goals.
- Managing programs and initiatives: be responsible for managing programs and initiatives related to innovation and entrepreneurship, including developing program goals, managing budgets, and overseeing program implementation.
Overall, my role is to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, and to foster collaboration and partnerships with external stakeholders to drive positive outcomes for our school and its partners.
Member of EPFL School Assembly- The EPFL Assembly (AE) ensures the proper functioning of the faculty councils and the smooth running of the consultations organized by the EPFL Management.
Composed of 16 members representing the four bodies of the School, it submits proposals to the management. It also decides on the annual activity report of the President of the School.
As a joint body, the AE has the right to make proposals on all normative acts of the ETH Board, on the budget and planning, on the creation or deletion of teaching and research units and on participation structures.
The EPFL Assembly (AE) is responsible for appointing employee representatives to the joint body of the ETH Domain’s pension fund. - The EPFL Assembly (AE) ensures the proper functioning of the faculty councils and the smooth running of the consultations organized by the EPFL Management. Composed of 16 members representing the four bodies of the School, it submits proposals to the management. It also decides on the annual activity report of the President of the School. As a joint body, the AE has the right to make proposals on all normative acts of the ETH Board, on the budget and planning, on the creation or deletion of teaching and research units and on participation structures. The EPFL Assembly (AE) is responsible for appointing employee representatives to the joint body of the ETH Domain’s pension fund.
- The EPFL Assembly (AE) ensures the proper functioning of the faculty councils and the smooth running of the consultations organized by the EPFL Management.
- Digitalization of infrastructure and cities Sustainable Territories clusters manager
- As cluster “Digitalization of Infrastructures and cities” and "sustainable territories" manager, we will try to embrace challenges linked to the rapid changes to our planet’s environment, driven by urban population growth, resources scarcity and climate change… with increasingly evident ramification that will unfold in the upcoming decades.
Moreover Cities have intertwined stocks and flows of energy, information, materials, goods, and people. They generate 80% of the world’s GDP and CO2 emissions and consume 75% of its resources. The emergence of the sharing economy, the quest for a decent quality of life, and the ubiquity of technologies are profoundly transforming the structure, organization, composition, and needs of modern cities. Contemporary urbanization spurs a unique set of challenges that suits EPFL ENAC’s faculty DNA and creates major opportunities for improving urban sustainability. EPFL ENAC faculty will adopt a system-of-systems approach; it will account for all interdependencies between mobility, logistics, energy production and efficiency, urbanism, urban ecology, urban metabolism, and well-being.
This context invokes myriad opportunities to explore the scientific, cultural and human dimensions in our relationship with the rapidly changing environment. - As cluster “Digitalization of Infrastructures and cities” and "sustainable territories" manager, we will try to embrace challenges linked to the rapid changes to our planet’s environment, driven by urban population growth, resources scarcity and climate change… with increasingly evident ramification that will unfold in the upcoming decades. Moreover Cities have intertwined stocks and flows of energy, information, materials, goods, and people. They generate 80% of the world’s GDP and CO2 emissions and consume 75% of its resources. The emergence of the sharing economy, the quest for a decent quality of life, and the ubiquity of technologies are profoundly transforming the structure, organization, composition, and needs of modern cities. Contemporary urbanization spurs a unique set of challenges that suits EPFL ENAC’s faculty DNA and creates major opportunities for improving urban sustainability. EPFL ENAC faculty will adopt a system-of-systems approach; it will account for all interdependencies between mobility, logistics, energy production and efficiency, urbanism, urban ecology, urban metabolism, and well-being. This context invokes myriad opportunities to explore the scientific, cultural and human dimensions in our relationship with the rapidly changing environment.
- As cluster “Digitalization of Infrastructures and cities” and "sustainable territories" manager, we will try to embrace challenges linked to the rapid changes to our planet’s environment, driven by urban population growth, resources scarcity and climate change… with increasingly evident ramification that will unfold in the upcoming decades.
- INNOSUISSE
- Innovation Mentor - Be Connected
- Innovation mentors know the Swiss innovation scene like the back of their hand and can introduce you to a range of funding instruments. They can make it easier for you to access technology and research and help you to launch an innovation project together with a public-sector research partner.
Bridging academic to industry.
Personnal Scopes : Material Sciences, Tribology (as thin films coating), Production Processes, IP strategy, Scalability. - Innovation mentors know the Swiss innovation scene like the back of their hand and can introduce you to a range of funding instruments. They can make it easier for you to access technology and research and help you to launch an innovation project together with a public-sector research partner. Bridging academic to industry. Personnal Scopes : Material Sciences, Tribology (as thin films coating), Production Processes, IP strategy, Scalability.
- Get support for your innovation projectGet support for your innovation project
- Our innovation mentors help you kick-start your innovation project. They know the Swiss innovation scene like the back of their hand. Take advantage of this free service for SMEs.Our innovation mentors help you kick-start your innovation project. They know the Swiss innovation scene like the back of their hand. Take advantage of this free service for SMEs.
- Innovation mentors know the Swiss innovation scene like the back of their hand and can introduce you to a range of funding instruments. They can make it easier for you to access technology and research and help you to launch an innovation project together with a public-sector research partner.
- FUSTIC
- FUSTIC (FUture Sustainable Territories Infrastructures and Cities) association Founder & VP
- Future Sustainable Territories, Infrastructure and Cities (FUSTIC) was founded by EPFL and ENAC to promote the societal and ecological transition by championing research in digital technology and sustainable cities, regions and infrastructure.
Through a broad range of initiatives – spanning awareness-raising, inspiration, support, education, promotion and awards – the association seeks to put innovative ideas to work for the benefit of citizens, businesses, policymakers, NGOs and researchers.
FUSTIC operates as a research and innovation network, connecting members in Switzerland with peers elsewhere in the world. Its projects are currently housed within our EPFL ENAC Faculty Clusters and EPFL’s research centers. - Future Sustainable Territories, Infrastructure and Cities (FUSTIC) was founded by EPFL and ENAC to promote the societal and ecological transition by championing research in digital technology and sustainable cities, regions and infrastructure. Through a broad range of initiatives – spanning awareness-raising, inspiration, support, education, promotion and awards – the association seeks to put innovative ideas to work for the benefit of citizens, businesses, policymakers, NGOs and researchers. FUSTIC operates as a research and innovation network, connecting members in Switzerland with peers elsewhere in the world. Its projects are currently housed within our EPFL ENAC Faculty Clusters and EPFL’s research centers.
- Future Sustainable Territories, Infrastructure and Cities (FUSTIC) was founded by EPFL and ENAC to promote the societal and ecological transition by championing research in digital technology and sustainable cities, regions and infrastructure.
- SWISSINSPECT
- Co-Founder - Advisory Board Member - Business/Finance
- Co-Founder - Advisory Board Member - Business/Finance
- SwissInspect · Part-timeSwissInspect · Part-time
- Jun 2021 - Present · 2 yrs 7 mosJun 2021 - Present · 2 yrs 7 mos
- Lausanne, Vaud, SwitzerlandLausanne, Vaud, Switzerland
- The World is experiencing an infrastructure crisis. Many of our infrastructures, such as bridges and tunnels are nearing the end of their design life. If we do not take appropriate action, dramatic events like the Genova bridge collapse in Italy in 2018 until undoubtedly become more common.
SWISSINSPECT provides artificial intelligence-based solutions that will use images as input to detect various types of structural defects and create numerical physics-based models that allow predicting the updated infrastructure response and scenario-based planning of maintenance interventions.
https://swissinspect.io/
- The World is experiencing an infrastructure crisis. Many of our infrastructures, such as bridges and tunnels are nearing the end of their design life. If we do not take appropriate action, dramatic events like the Genova bridge collapse in Italy in 2018 until undoubtedly become more common.