25 Research and Technology Organisations in the Neo-Aquitaine region join their forces to form ACTENA.

ACTENA, the Association of Research and Technology Organisations in Nouvelle-Aquitaine was born on Tuesday March 19h, 2024, following a Constitutive General Meeting, bringing together no fewer than 25 organizations from all fields of activity and spread throughout the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region.

Research and Technology Organisations act as a link between the academic and industrials world, each with its own specific ecosystem. Their role is to accelerate innovation to support local partners in different application fields such as health, environment, industry, digital technology, construction, and social innovation.

The Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region is known for the variety and the performance of its Research and Technology Organisations. There are now 25 ACTENA members, of all sizes, spread throughout the region.

The Constitutive General Meeting of this association took place on Tuesday, March 19th, 2024, at the Institut d'Optique d'Aquitaine in Talence, France.

Julien SZABLA, General Manager, Nobatek/INEF4 was elected Chairman ; Anne DE LA SAYETTE, General Manager, CRITT Horticole and Nicolas CHEVALIER, General Manager, CRT CISTEME were elected Vice-Chairman ; Martine CREPIN, General Manager, Agir was elected Secreatery and Benoît APPERT-COLLIN, General Manager, ALPhANOV, Treasurer. Together, the RTOs based in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region represents over 1,200 employees and a turnover of around 120M€.

"The diversity of our fields of action represents a wealth of potential for collaboration. ACTENA will enable us to develop new projects, share our resources and ultimately enhance our impact for the benefit of companies and laboratories we support. Great initiatives can emerge from this group to answer the global challenges facing our societes. ACTENA will be a privileged interlocutor for representing the interests of our structures front public authorities." Julien SZABLA, Chairman of ACTENA.

While the idea of sharing some ressources is already a reality, there is no question of merging the organizations. The key word is sharing. Each member remains independent, and its size has no influence on its weight in the association. One member, one vote.

The organizations that make up this association vary in size and experience, some of them operating nationally and others internationally.

As Julien SZABLA assures : "Our aim is to ensure that all Research and Technology Organisations and that all the players in the regional ecosystem are able to join and contribute to ACTENA's orientations. We are involving the association to a process of co-constructing its own roadmap."

Several members of the Conseil Régional de la Nouvelle-Aquitaine (honorary member of the association), including Gérard BLANCHARD, Vice-President in charge of Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche, were present to witness this creation and bring their support.

About the RTOs members and our business sectors: