May 17, 2024 marked the start of construction on this future campus of which the Department is a leading partner. With its expansion into sustainable and geo-sourced materials, iXcampus will welcome in 2025 nearly 2,000 students, teacher-researchers, engineers and technicians dedicated to innovative so-called disruptive technologies (DeepTech) such as quantum or photonic technologies.
Through innovative training, particularly in science and design, a world-class research program, the presence of leading industrial players and an ambitious incubation program, iXcampus aims to facilitate and accelerate the emergence of disruptive technologies driven by committed and responsible industrial companies.
The construction of this center of excellence has just been launched with laying the first stone by Pierre Bédier, President of the Department, Julien Lalanne, General Director of iXcampus, Arnaud Péricard, Mayor of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Valérie Pécresse, President of the Ile-de-France Region and in the presence of Laurent Gatineau, President from CY Cergy Paris University. Many elected officials from the Saint-Germain Boucle de la Seine agglomeration community were present.
Laying of the first stone of the iXcampus, May 17, 2024 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye ©CD78
For Pierre Bédier, iXcampus combines both
“ a vision so that the department is harmonious, so that it does not become a dormitory department”; a method “based on partnership and beliefs very strong in favor of regional planning and entrepreneurial projects.
A mecca for future technologies
Labeled Major Places of Innovation and Territories of Industry since 2019the 40,000 m2 of iXcampus will be dedicated to “DeepTech”: optics, photonics, quantum, microelectronics, Artificial Intelligence and cybersecurity.
“This ambitious project is made possible thanks to the Department of Yvelines. More than financial support, he is a loyal partner who has provided his expertise in several aspects of the program’s development.”
declares Julien Lalanne, general manager of iXcampus. The Department invested €30 million in this project with a total cost of €95 million.
“We are ready to take on major societal, political and environmental challenges. By allowing academic and industrial players to work on the same campus and by providing access to cutting-edge technical platforms to young start-ups, we are facilitating the emergence of disruptive technologies and their scaling up to an industrial scale,” explains Julien. Lalanne.
Together they will form an ecosystem of learning and exploration but also a crucible of diversity and inclusion. The campus will particularly welcome students from the CY Cergy Paris University design school and photonics training courses carried out in partnership with the Institut d’Optique Graduate School, a component of Paris Saclay University.
Saint-Germain-en-Laye and the knowledge campus
iXcampus will be located on the Château Saint-Léger site a stone’s throw from the Lycée International and the Sciences-Po Saint-Germain campus.
As Arnaud Péricard recalled:
“with the Lycée international, the Sciences-Po campus and the future iXcampus, we are creating a knowledge campus which would not have seen the light of day without the help of the Department. Here all the collective intelligences that will work in the service of the general interest come together.”
