The first edition of the Gadz'innov challenge took place on June 10, 11, and 12, 2024, at the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers Lille! It was a successful first edition, bringing together 120 students, eight companies, and one laboratory for the occasion. Let's take a look back at this colorful event!
Gadz'Innov, a successful first edition on the Lille campus!
Innovation, ethics, creativity, transition: four key words that brought together 120 students last June to tackle 12 real-world challenges set by eight companies and the LISPEN Lille laboratory.
The Gadz'innov challenge was an opportunity for students divided into 22 teams to express their creativity and ingenuity in providing relevant answers to the topics presented, but also to receive advice on how to defend their solutions in a professional manner.
Among the topics proposed:
- Designing furniture for a more sustainable city
- Energy efficiency
- Responsible packaging / reduction of packaging
- Second life / collaborative repair
- Responsible innovations
A formative experience
Over the course of these three days, a real ecosystem developed around the participants, enabling them to work effectively and boost their creativity while asking themselves the right questions.
In addition to the speakers who were present throughout the challenge to assist the teams in their deliberations on the issues raised, numerous professionals came to coach the students during workshops in the following areas:
- eco-design
- design thinking
- business model creation
- the art of pitching
- etc.
The objective: To offer students a formative and enriching experience during these accelerated training courses.
An ethical dimension
Four student ambassadors, Aya Laghouane, Julien Vandewiele, Clément Chédor, and Jules Souletie, who had a cross-disciplinary perspective on all the topics covered, provided ethical guidance to the teams throughout the event.
To help them, Laurent Steveny, professor of economics and ethics at the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers Lille, and Catherine Sabatier, 2Tonnes facilitator, were on hand to assist the various groups.
The objective: For each of the proposed solutions, support the teams with kindness and encourage them to take the necessary step back to make decisions that are in line with environmental and societal issues.
This approach proved successful, as each team took CSR into account and incorporated it into their response to the issues presented.
A springboard for innovation
Beyond the challenge itself, several players involved in innovation agreed to join the students during the three-day challenge to offer entrepreneurs support solutions for their personal projects:
Enactus, an organization that supports and assists start-ups committed to developing societal and environmental issues, was represented by Pauline Bonnel, regional manager of the Enactus student program.
Pépites Hauts-de-France, an organization that supports students with business creation projects, also ran an information stand.
An event co-created with students
In addition to the 120 students motivated to challenge themselves on business issues, the organizing team demonstrated professionalism in coordinating the entire event in collaboration with the campus staff leading the project.
In fact, to foster cohesion, the students took charge of organizing three of the six meals planned. All participants were thus able to bond by eating together at lunchtime and in the evenings.
In addition, numerous activities were planned to facilitate dialogue between students and professionals, such as:
- The famous game "Werewolf" revisited in the image of Gadz'Arts
- The dance initiation led by Raphaël Pile, lecturer and researcher at LISPEN
- The giant Shi Fu Mi, initiated by EDF!
All of these events flowed smoothly thanks to the students who ensured timing and communication throughout the challenge, based on the progress made along the way.
Congratulations to the team of student volunteers who organized the event, who also rose to the challenge brilliantly by getting involved at the heart of the event.
The event will be organized by AMJE starting next year!
A festive awards ceremony, reflecting the spirit of the three-day event!
On Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m., more than 130 students gathered in the presence of industry representatives for the highlight of this extraordinary challenge: the awards ceremony!
Three prizes were awarded on this occasion:
- The Ethics Award, presented by the student ethics ambassadors, for the most responsible project, won by the Emmaüs Connect team for designing a test bench for the reuse of IT equipment.
- The innovation award, presented by manufacturers, was won by the Decathlon team for its redesign of outdoor equipment.
- The favorite prize, awarded by the students in charge of organizing the event, won by Le Gadz'Repair'Lab, a project that will also be selected for development and adoption on campus through a PJT 2A next year.
On the initiative of the students, a fourth prize was awarded to the team of students working on the development of digital embroidery (for Sylvie Thiriez), to highlight their exceptional involvement !
Thank you to all the companies and sponsors on campus who agreed to take part, and to the professionals who were there throughout the challenge to support the students!
Thank you to the 120 students who took part for their commitment over the three days of the challenge, despite the event being optional, and congratulations to the four winning teams!
Congratulations to the student organizing team, as well as Sylvain Bigot, Dorine Van Der Waals, Laurent Steveny, and Anthony Quenehen for their involvement in making this challenge a success!
Gadz'innov has thus become one of the must-attend events on the Lille campus, both for students and industry professionals, some of whom have already made plans to attend the next edition of the event, scheduled for June 2025!
Relive the event with the aftermovie!
Thanks to Lyna Djelal, a second-year student in the Grande Ecole Program, for creating this video!
This event was sponsored by several patrons of the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers Lille: EDF, JC Decaux, Hermès, L'Oréal, and Savencia. A big thank you to them for their support and presence during the challenge.
Thanks also to our event partners: Alstom, Decathlon, Emmaüs Connect, Novares, Oresys, Sylvie Thiriez.
