Entrepreneurship, our solutions
Innovation, Creation and Entrepreneurship dedicated to the farming and food sectors
For more than 15 years, we have firmly believed here at Isara that every engineer must have a strong background to be able to carry out complex projects in an uncertain environment within the company. In other words, we believe that every student must be trained in innovation and entrepreneurship during their curriculum.
Innovation
Innovation, many times theorized, always sought after, is the result of a structured innovation process, based on open ecosystems (idea of open-innovation). It is now to be heard, especially in our sectors, as a response to an unmet or poorly met need.
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship, strictly speaking, consists in developing a project by creating a specific legal structure. At Isara, when we speak about entrepreneurship, we mean developing a Foodtech project (innovative, from pitchfork to fork), unifying, multi-stakeholder and with a high business impact. This type of project can be carried out within an organization (intrapreneurship) as well as outside an organization (entrepreneurship).
If today all engineering schools speak about entrepreneurship and innovation, few are experimenting with it in real life. At Isara, not only do we experiment with it, but we are in complete synchronization with on-field reality, allowing us to update our teaching methods in real time.
Fostering and entrepreneurial spirit
Towards the end of the last two years of their academic syllabus, Isara’s student-engineers can choose to follow electives specifically focused on innovation and entrepreneurship.
During this period of specialisation, the students have the opportunity to develop an innovative food product with the ultimate aim of participating in ECOTROPHELIA, a European-wide competition promoting the creation, innovation and development of new, ecologically-friendly food products by teams of graduate-level science students.
Since 2007, the outstanding track record of ISARA students reflects the quality of the electives as regards the teaching of an intra and entrepreneurial approach as well as the final production of innovative projects
Foodshaker by ISARA
The number One Foodtech incubator in the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes
It was set up to assist and accompany project initiators seeking to create an innovative company on one segment of the value chain, from production through to consumption via processing and distribution.
Assistance can take many different forms thanks to a whole set of resources, both material (food pilot plant, offices, etc) and skill-based: within Isara and, more broadly, on the AGRAPOLE site, there is a large pool of expertise available.
Over 10 years, the incubator has accompanied 47 projects giving rise to the creation of 35 new companies. Together, in 2018, their achievements in figures were a collective turnover of €12,6M and the creation of 195 stable jobs. These results contribute to the overall competitivity of the industry, particularly in sectors such as the production of ingredients, food processing, new methods of distribution and out-of-home catering, to name but a few.
Foodshaker inspired the creation of FOODTECH LYON AURA, a food-oriented network which, as part of the French Tech start-up initiative, aims to detect innovative projects in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, help them become market-ready, then accompany their growth.
