High-level scientific expertise: a key factor in resilience and competitiveness

To meet the biggest technological and environmental challenges, VINCI Energies is emphasising research and bringing postgraduate students into its business units. We visit Actemium Paris Transport, where this collaboration has taken a particularly operational turn.

For many years, VINCI Energies has maintained close links with academia and the world of research. This collaboration has gradually intensified over time, driven by the conviction that innovation arises from interaction between scientific expertise, real-world now-how and corporate vision.

Today, this is reflected in the growing numbers of postgraduate students being welcomed into the Group’s business units, in particular through the CIFRE programme, which unites businesses, laboratories and doctoral students around a shared scientific project.

Preparing for the future

In the face of major challenges such as low-carbon construction and transport systems, the energy transition, and the rise of digital and artificial intelligence, the VINCI Group sees research as a key lever for self-renewal and standing out from the crowd. Clarisse Angelier, Delegate General of ANRT (the French national research and technology association), emphasises that “The challenges facing humankind almost all boil down to a scientific question.”

For businesses, the ability to mobilise high-level scientific expertise therefore becomes a key factor in their resilience and competitiveness.

This conviction has now coalesced into an unprecedented strategy: the VINCI Group is now home to some 30 doctoral students and plans to further increase this number. Beyond the obvious boost to R&D, the objective is clear: to open the way for people from the world of research to integrate fully with the business, including in operational and managerial roles.

Doctoral students are seen as formidable accelerators of innovation, but also a means of enriching teams and bringing new perspectives to projects.

A decisive contribution

At VINCI Energies, Actemium Paris Transport perfectly illustrates the benefits of this collaboration between business and research. Its general manager, Emmanuel Jolly, has for many years spoken in favour of recruiting postgraduate students, and highlights their decisive contribution to many projects.

“Our doctoral students are firmly grounded in the reality and practicality of our projects, thanks to their CIFRE theses,” he explains. “Whether it’s their technical expertise, ability to analyse complex problems or scientific perspective, their contribution is decisive. They bring not only advanced expertise, but also a rare ability to understand complex environments.”

“Our doctoral students are firmly grounded in the reality and practicality of our projects.”

Far from the stereotypical researchers working solo behind computers, Emmanuel Jolly emphasises their interpersonal skills. “Our postgraduate students, by developing their ability to make their doctoral theses accessible to non-experts, ease their integration into the teams and can provide an effective link between laboratory and business unit.” This versatility opens the way to various career paths beyond the technical: to project management, or more commercial or managerial roles. Several doctoral students recruited by Actemium Paris Transport now occupy directly customer-facing operational management roles.

Between scientific exploration and operational reality

One of these young researchers working at Actemium Paris Transport, Axel Duché, talks about his experience with his CIFRE thesis. His research work relates to the application of machine learning to analysis of compressed video streams, bringing artificial intelligence to bear on mobility issues. The aim is to develop models capable of detecting objects (vehicles and people), monitoring their movement, estimating their speed, and detecting any incursion into sensitive areas.

This work is made possible largely due to privileged access to the real-world data essential to training effective AI models. “In a startup, it would be impossible to gain access to so many cameras,” he says. “At VINCI Energies, I have many camera flows I can annotate and analyse.”

In addition to the technical means, Axel Duché highlights the stimulating environment the business unit offers: a network of experts, regular interactions with professionals in the field, and a culture that promotes innovation. He believes that this collaboration also benefits customers. “Having its own research activities demonstrates that VINCI Energies is capable of evolving its solutions and creating new ones.”

A win-win approach

For VINCI Energies, welcoming researchers is part of a strategy of creating shared value. The business gains advanced scientific awareness, a renewed capacity for innovation, and access to the whole academic ecosystem. The laboratories gain from CIFRE theses an opportunity to promote their work and align with industry issues.

The doctoral students gain the opportunity to evolve within a professional environment, working on real-world problems, which considerably enhances their employability.

The example of Actemium Paris Transport, through the joint experiences of Emmanuel Jolly and Axel Duché, illustrates this virtuous circle and the way VINCI Energies hopes to build the future: building solid bridges between the scientifical and operational domains with a focus on emerging talents, and by placing research at the heart of its innovation strategy.

04/10/2026