Context

Equality between women and men is one of the priorities of the French Presidency of the G7 with 3 main objectives: the protection of women against violence, girls' access to education and women's entrepreneurship. To meet this last objective, Université Paris-Saclay wanted to develop an action to promote women's entrepreneurship, particularly among female students and recent graduates of the university.

In September 2019, before Covid, Professor Sylvie Retailleau, then President of the University of Paris-Saclay, travelled to Boston for the first Paris-Boston Women's Forum, organized by the Consulate General of France in Boston. As the health context now makes it possible to set up actions internationally, Université Paris-Saclay and the Consulate General of France in Boston relaunched events related to entrepreneurship.

The Paris-Saclay-Boston Women's Entrepreneurship Class 2023

Intended for female students and recent graduates engaged in entrepreneurship, the Paris-Saclay-Boston Women's Entrepreneurship Class is a powerful tool to encourage and promote women's careers in start-up creation.

These projects leaders from the “French Silicon Valley” accelerated their projects during a few days. Challenged by mentors, they participated in workshops, coaching and training sessions. After a great final pitch session, 10 projects have been selected to be ambassadors of Université Paris-Saclay and to participate to an immersive program in Boston.

From March 15th to 22nd, 2023, 10 women will travel to meet you, keen to share their vision of an innovative future across the Atlantic. Come and connect with 10 entrepreneurs, committed to innovation, who will talk about healthtechs, biotechs, agrotechs, digital platforms…
You will also meet a team from Université Paris-Saclay whose mission is to support entrepreneurs and help them make their project a reality.

The event is organised by Université Paris-Saclay and the Consulate General of France in Boston, in partnership with Northeastern University and FACCNE, and sponsored by Servier, Sanofi, Veolia, Ipsen, and Seqens.

Selected projects and start-ups for 2023

• Brainigma
• Buddi Flashcards
• CryoTransplant
• DNTech
• L'officine du monde
• LSC Technologies
• Mona Lina
• OFFMED
• STH BIOTECH
• URBAnatura

This event is organised by Université Paris-Saclay and Consulate General of France in Boston. In partnership with Northeastern University and FACCNE. Sponsored by Servier, Sanofi, Veolia, Ipsen, and Seqens.

Day 1 - Wednesday, March 15th 2023

The Delegation arrived at the Logan International Airport (Boston) at 4:30 p.m. (local time). The female students and young graduates who were selected for this program then worked on their pitch. A great day awaits them tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. : Cambridge Innovation Center, Servier, Residence de France...

Day 2 - Thursday, March 16th 2023

On the morning, female students of Université Paris-Saclay were received at the CIC - Cambridge Innovation Center - a global leader in building and operating innovation campuses that support the growth of entrepreneurs and startups. After a tour of the CIC and a presentation of the Boston innovation ecosystem, students were invited to a networking event led by the French Women in Business Network (FWBN).

Then, Servier, one of the sponsors of the Paris-Saclay-Boston Women's Entrepreneurship Week 2023, organized a big event for the gender equity. First, students were welcomed from Servier’s David Lee, Claude Bertrand, and French Consul General, Mustafa Soykurt. They networked during lunch. And then, they attended a gender equity panel led by The Boston Women’s Club. Students were interested in the profiles and testimonials of the women. A great discussion and so many questions! Brief remarks from Deniz Razon to introduce "She is Servier".

At the end of the day, students walked to Servier R&D Center.