SMAU Paris 2026 | Interview with Vincent Viollain, Sorbonne University

At SMAU Paris 2026 we interviewed Vincent Viollain, Global Head of Corporate Relations, Partnerhips & Development, Sorbonne University and we asked him what is the role of Universities in the emergence of innovation and what are the key factors of success for collaboration of Universities and innovative actors: “I think we definitely have four rules, four very specific rules. The first one is in research. We definitely have a role in research with either corporates or public actors. The second, of course, is in education. We have a role innovating in education because it's key for the next generation. Third one is in employment because we definitely have to connect innovation and employment in this area of Paris, for instance, in that case of Sorbonne University. And the fourth one is impact. We definitely need to have more, by designing impact projects in innovation. So tips about universities regarding collaborations in innovation, I would say the first one is to build a good ecosystem. You have to find the right team and be able to find, for instance, in research, if you want to find a good student, you also have to find a good researcher, good teachers, a good corporate partner. That's what I call an ecosystem. You have to find it. It's very important. The second one is also to identify what is your timeline. It's very important to understand that academics and corporates, for instance, they don't always have the same timeline. They do not fit on that. So you have to talk about it with your partners and to identify the right timeline. And the third one is really simple is to have a house, a common house. For instance, at Sorbonne, we will launch this year Innovation Center, where all the people that are in innovation will be together in that building”.