Official creation of the CEPyA association
CEPyA, the Cluster des Entreprises des PYrénées Adour, or "Pyrénées Adour Enterprise Cluster", began on November 24, 2016, in the presence of industrial leaders and representatives of local governement, with the goal of solidifying their relationships with UPPA. The goal of CEPyA is to build public-private partnerships that build on the skills and resources of the area, thus boosting competivity and stimulating the economy.
On February 2nd, 2017, UPPA's industrial and public partners met to officially define CEPyA, giving it a legal status with a governing board and by-laws. They also continued to exchange ideas on the organisation's future initiatives.
CEPyA's governing board consists of business leaders. The president, Christian Aubart, is the CEO of La Manufacture Pyrénéenne, vice-president of the Entrepreneurship and Growth arms of the MEDEF. He was previously the president of the MEDEF Aquitaine et Béarn et Soule. Christian Aubart is a strong partisan of bridging the distance between the private sector and the world of education and research. He was the chairman of the board of directors of the Pays de l'Adour Technology Institute (IUT) and has been the origin many initiatives in favor of developing an entrepreneuring culture: "Business week" in high schools, assistance for former military personnel who wish to create their own businesses, technologly transfer...
The members of CEPyA believe that a full-fledged university is a crucial element for the economy of the entire area. Their goal is to make UPPA's skills and tools available to all the professionals of the region who are engaged in research, education, both intial and continuing, and entrepreneurship, and to create networks and partnerships with all of the area's economic actors. A roadmap will be presented at the coming General Assembly. It will define a number of actions to promote the development of ties between businesses and UPPA's research labs and the instrumentation platform, to assist UPPA graduates in their entry into the job market and to begin an evaluation of the area's needs in terms of education.
