Participating in the 2021 International Cybersecurity Forum (FIC) in Lille, France, Cilex took this opportunity to highlight North American expertise in cybersecurity and to learn more about French business incubation practises.
Held from September 7th to 9th, the FIC is the benchmark European event in security and digital confidence. It brings together more than 450 cybersecurity experts and attracts between 10,000 and 15,000 members of the general public each year.
Martin A. Roy, general director of Cilex, and Antoine Normand, chairman of Cilex and In-Sec-M, were onsite and set up numerous meetings with European specialists. They generated interest for the Outaouais region by promoting Connexité, the Gatineau innovation zone project, which will act as a hub specializing in cybersecurity, digital identity and digital health.
“We opened the door to future collaborations,” says Martin A. Roy. “Obviously, we want cybersecurity companies from everywhere in the world to come and set up shop in the innovation zone. We had the opportunity to talk with people from Airbus Cybersecurity, Terranova Security, Yogosha and many others.”
As a FIC 2021 guest, Antoine Normand was also one of the experts hosting the panel Découvrez la cybersécurité au Canada : un écosystème riche et innovant, hosted by Invest in Canada.
Next stop, Station F!
Martin A. Roy also had the chance to visit Station F, a campus of sector-specific startup incubators. Launched on June 29, 2017, the campus spreads over 13,000 square metres and is located in an old train station. The project was developed by the private sector along with businessman Xavier Niel. It could serve as a model for the renovation of the La Fonderie building for the future innovation zone of Gatineau, Connexité.
“We can’t even fathom how big it is,” exclaims Martin A. Roy. “Paris benefits from a vast market of incubators and accelerators. Startups projects chosen by the incubators can access substantial financial support from the Paris Economic Council. It’s a very impressive scene.”
Martin A. Roy and Antoine Normand also had great exchanges at Station F with Jean-Yves Plu, the VP, Digital Eco-system of Thales. He told them about the creation of École 42, a school where students assess other students, all with the goal of training new developers. Big businesses looking to hire developers and programmers frequently recruit at École 42, proving how successful this system can be.
The FIC proved to be an extremely rewarding experience, according to Cilex’s director, pushing the Connexité innovation zone project even further than before.
The Cilex team invites you to follow Connexité on LinkedIn, to stay in the loop of the most recent developments regarding the Gatineau innovation zone project.