Encouraging entrepreneurship
The Emerging Entrepreneurship Program
Raising awareness
Raising awareness of entrepreneurship plays a key role in motivating engineering students to launch their entrepreneurial projects.
The aim is to improve understanding of what it means to be an entrepreneur, challenge stereotypes, and build bridges between education, training projects, and research.
Contact: catherine.psilakis@entpe.fr
Engagement opportunities
Entrepreneurship Evening
Four inspiring speakers, alumni of Lyon Saint-Étienne Engineering Alliance, will share their experiences, challenges, successes and, above all, their desire to be entrepreneurs and make an impact. Objective: impactful entrepreneurship in the service of decarbonisation and the circular economy. + More information about the Entrepreneurship Evening on 12 February 2026.
Participation in Campus Création with the Lyon Saint-Étienne Entrepreneurship Centre (CELSE)
This format offers a possibility to work as a multidisciplinary, mixed, and multi-institutional team on an innovative idea while being supported by CELSE in partnership with INSA Lyon, ENTPE, Centrale Lyon and École des Mines de Saint-Étienne. The synergy between the teams from INSA Lyon, ENTPE and Centrale Lyon that participated in the incubator in 2024–2025 and 2025–2026 beautifully illustrates the inter-institutional dynamic emerging thanks to Campus Création. The 2025 winners list reflects the success of these collaborations: of the 10 finalist teams, 5 were from ENTPE and INSA Lyon. Among them, 4 teams from INSA Lyon and 1 from ENTPE received awards. See the winners list.
Joint event participation of engineering students from the four schools
Leading engineering schools regularly organise events focused on promoting entrepreneurship and innovation. The students from Lyon Saint-Étienne Engineering Alliance are regularly invited to take part in these gatherings. Find out more about “One night to innovate”, organised by ENPC.
Training engineer-entrepreneurs who will drive transitions
During their final year of studies, students wishing to start their careers as entrepreneurs can join one of the entrepreneurship support programmes offered by the schools of Lyon Saint-Étienne Engineering Alliance.
At INSA Lyon, the Student Entrepreneur Track offers entrepreneurship training aimed at developing a robust, ready for deployment project in line with the academic ecosystem and the school’s values. A notable feature of the programme is that the entry selection is based on a student’s profile and entrepreneurial aspiration, without the requirement of having a precise project.
At Centrale Lyon, students may enter the Entrepreneur Track or Intrapreneur Track. These programmes are open to students from all schools of Lyon Saint-Étienne Engineering Alliance via final-year exchanges. These Tracks provide training in entrepreneurship or innovation and offer the option to validate the final year through the mentored Graduation Project dedicated to creating a business.
Contact: entreprendre@insa-lyon.fr
Objectives
Develop an entrepreneurial mindset (leadership, creativity, managing uncertainty) Master innovation methods (Design Thinking, Lean Startup, etc.) Understand contemporary challenges (climate, social justice, ethical digital technology) Collaborate within an interdisciplinary and inter-institutional framework Develop a robust entrepreneurial project
Active learning
First term is focused on teaching modules, workshops, meetings, and prototyping. Individual coaching, tutoring, and mentoring is available for emerging projects. The programme gives right to 30 ECTS credits with the possibility of obtaining a diploma.
Career opportunities
Continue developing the project in an incubator Recruitment in the innovation sector. Build a solid foundation for future entrepreneurship
Mutual support hub: resources for projects at advanced stages of development
To support the most advanced entrepreneurial projects, the four schools of Lyon Saint-Étienne Engineering Alliance mobilise relevant resources:
- Access to technical and technological infrastructure
- Promotion of research labs and platforms
- Contracts and collaboration opportunities for project leaders
This initiative is an addition to the PUI programme “Objective: Research Lab” which takes place on the annual basis.
Enpr&inte: Entrepreneurship & Innovation for transitions
This training programme is open to candidates who dream of entrepreneurship or careers in the innovation sector. The syllabus is centred around immersive training-practice approach where academic learning goes closely with experimental work. This allows developing key competences necessary for entrepreneurship, responsible innovation and project management.
Enpr&inte is designed to assist executives seeking a career change or professional development in the sectors oh high societal and ecological impact. It is structured around four key phases:
- Transform: understand socio-ecological challenges and transformation levers
- Emerge: come up with an idea and long-term opportunities
- Structure: develop the initial idea into a viable and impactful project
- Consolidate: reinforce and deploy your project in an incubator or in an organisation
Contact: clement.allard@insa-lyon.fr
Dedicated support
To acquire real skills in innovation and transformation.
Go further with continuing education for executives undergoing career change
“Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Transitions” is a training program currently in development. Its goal will be to foster high-impact entrepreneurial or intrapreneurial projects, even without an initial idea.
Aimed at executives undergoing career change and seeking meaning, or companies wishing to revisit their business model, the training will take place in three phases:
- Emerge: Acculturation to transitions, creativity.
- Structure: Business model, strategy, financing.
- Catalyze: Incubation, internship, acceleration support.
Stay tuned for more information coming soon about the terms and conditions, dates, and opportunities available at the College of Engineering!