Study Visit Europe – Speakers
Xavier Apolinarski
Président Paris Saclay SATT (Société d’Accélération de Transfert Technologique); Vice-President Innovation, Paris-Saclay University, FR
Xavier Apolinarski, who graduated from Poitiers Engineering School and Lille-I University, has been working for over twenty years in the field of technological innovation.
He joined the CEA (French Atomic Energy Commission) in 2004, first as “transport” project manager at CEA List (the CEA research institute working on digital intelligent systems) and then in 2009 as Deputy director of CEA List responsible for business development.
Xavier was also an expert for the French National Research Agency (ANR) in the field of embedded systems.
He was President of the Paris-Saclay SATT (the technology transfer acceleration company of Paris-Saclay, responsible for supporting and promoting projects developed by public research structures through to technology transfers) from 2014 to 2025.
Since March 2025, he is Vice-President for innovation at Paris-Saclay University.
Rémi Carminati
Director General, Institut d’Optique Graduate School, FR
Rémi Carminati graduated in engineering from École Centrale Paris (now CentraleSupélec) and led a research career in physics, during which he was appointed Fellow of the Optical Society of America and awarded the “Fabry-de-Gramont” prize of the French Optic Society.
He is professor at Paris Higher School of industrial physics and chemistry (ESPCI Paris – PSL) since 2007 and researcher at the Langevin Institute (ESPCI Paris – PSL/CNRS research centre in physics).
He was Deputy director of the Langevin Institute between 2009 and 2019, and then Director responsible for research activities at ESPCI Paris – PSL between 2015 and 2019.
Rémi was Vice-President for research at University PSL (“Paris Sciences Letters”) from 2021 to 2022.
Since 2022, he is Director of the Institut d’optique Graduate School – IOGS (“Institute of Optics”) in the Paris-Saclay University.
Claude Chappert
Director Campus Paris-Saclay Foundation, FR
Claude Chappert graduated from École normale supérieure (ENS) Saint-Cloud (now ENS Lyon) and University Paris-XI (now Paris-Saclay University) in physical sciences.
He joined the CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research) in 1980 and was appointed Research Director in 1994. He worked at the CNRS/Paris-Saclay University research centre for nanosciences and nanotechnologies (C2N), which he directed between 2010 and 2012 (formerly known as Institute for fundamental electronics). In 2000 he was awarded the CNRS silver medal for his research activities.
Alongside his research career, Claude Chappert was a major player in the development of the “Paris-Saclay” higher education and research project from its very beginning, as Chief executive officer of the Scientific Cooperation Foundation « Campus Paris-Saclay » from 2011 to 2018.
He was then Vice-President in charge of IDEX (the national programme “initiative for excellence”) of Paris-Saclay University from 2016 to 2018.
He is Emeritus CNRS Research Director since 2020.
Solange Chavel
CEO, Siris Academic, FR
Solange Chavel graduated in philosophy from Paris-Sorbonne University, École normale supérieure (ENS) Paris and Picardie Jules Verne University. She holds an “agrégation” diploma in philosophy and a PhD in philosophy (2009) from Picardie Jules Verne University. She is also a former Fullbright scholar from Princeton University (2010).
She began her career as associate professor in philosophy at Poitiers University in 2011.
Solange joined in 2010 the consultancy firm SIRIS Academic that specialises in strategic consulting for higher education and research institutions. She has been involved in the strategic planning of the “Paris-Saclay University” project.
She is chief executive officer of SIRIS Academic since 2018.
Isabelle Demachy
Vice-President, Academic affairs, Paris-Saclay University
Isabelle Demachy graduated from École normale supérieure (ENS) Paris and holds a PhD in chemistry from University Paris-XI (now Paris-Saclay University). She obtained her “HDR” (French Qualification to supervise research) in 2003 at University Paris-XI.
She joined University Paris-XI as associate professor (1994) and then full professor (2006) in chemical physics. She was then Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Sciences (2011-2016) and Vice-President in charge of pedagogical transformations (2016-2020).
Isabelle was elected Vice-President responsible for education and student life at Paris-Saclay University, from 2020 to 2024.
Since July 2024, she is Vice-President for Academic affairs at Paris-Saclay University.
Camille Galap
President, Paris-Saclay University, FR
Camille Galap holds a PhD in biology from Le Havre University. He joined Le Havre University as associate professor (1997) and then full professor (2012).
He was elected Vice-President for studies and student life of Le Havre University (2000-2005). He was then president of Le Havre University from 2005 to 2012. He was at that time also president of the commission for student life at France Universités (French national association of universities).
Between 2012 and 2014, he was deputy director of the Higher School for National Education (now I2HEF) – an organization resposnbiel for the training of National Education executives, and then director of the CNED (National Centre for Distance Learning) Rouen campus.
Between 2015 and 2018, Camille Galap was Rector of the Guadeloupe region, and then director of EPA Guadeloupe Formation (public organisation responsible for professional training in Guadeloupe).
He joined in 2019 the French Ministry for Higher Education and Research as “structures and institutions” advisor. He was twice appointed interim administrator of higher education institutions, first at Saint-Étienne University (2021) and then at ENS Paris-Saclay (2022).
From March to May 2024, he was appointed interim administrator of Paris-Saclay University. He was then elected in June 2024 President of Paris-Saclay University.
Jérémy Herve
Director of Innovation and Economic Development, EPA Paris-Saclay, FR
Jérémy Hervé, who graduated from Sciences Po Bordeaux, has been working for over fifteen years in the field of business development and project engineering.
He worked for seven years in Japan (2006-2013) as business and communication officer at the Tokyo office of Business France (French public agency supporting the international development of companies), then joined as business developer the Paris branch of Mitzuho Bank, one of the three largest Japanese banks.
Since 2017, he has been working at EPA Paris-Saclay (public organization in charge of regional development strategy in the Paris-Saclay area), first as “attraction and entrepreneurship” project manager.
He was then appointed in 2020 Head of innovation and economic development at EPA Paris-Saclay.
Sylvie Pommier
Doctoral coordinator for the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, FR
Sylvie Pommier holds an engineering degree from École Centrale de Lyon and also graduated from INSA Lyon (National Institute of Applied Sciences). She has a PhD in mechanics from École Centrale Paris (now CentraleSupélec) in collaboration with Safran Aircraft Engines. She obtained her “HDR” (French Qualification to supervise research) in 2002 at the University Paris-VI (now Sorbonne University).
She joins École Centrale Paris as associate professor in 1995 and then École normale supérieure (ENS) Cachan (now ENS Paris-Saclay) in 2003 as full professor. From 2005 to 2011, she created and directed the “MAGIS” (materials and engineering sciences) master programme.
From 2009 to 2012, she was Director of the ENS Cachan doctoral school, then Vice-President responsible for research and doctoral education (2012-2014). She has developed a thorough understanding of doctoral issues and was President of the French Council for doctoral education. She responsible for the creation of the Paris-Saclay University doctoral college, of which she has been Director since 2016.
Sylvie was Deputy Vice-President for doctoral research of Paris-Saclay University from 2020 to 2024.
She currently is Full Professor at ENS Paris-Saclay. In October 2024 she was appointed Coordinator for doctoral strategy at the French Ministry for Higher Education and Research.
Hervé Rivières
Director for Student Life, Paris, Saclay University, FR
Hervé Rivières began his career in the field of human resources. After almost five years as a consultant, he was appointed Director of human resources at Evry-Courcouronnes (city south of Ile-de-France) and then responsible for human resources at AMUE (shared-services public agency for higher education and research institutions) between 2012 and 2014.
He joined University Paris-XI in 2015 as Deputy director for human resources and became Director for studies and student life in 2017.
He is Director for student life at Paris-Saclay University since 2020.
Study Visit Europe – Facilitators
Nadine Burquel
Director General, HUMANE, BE
Nadine is the Director General of HUMANE. She works closely with the Chair and the governing bodies on HUMANE’s strategic developments. She manages the HUMANE Office to offer the membership an attractive portfolio of professional development and networking activities. She has been involved with HUMANE since its foundation in the mid-nineties, until December 2022 as Executive Director of the three residential schools (the Barcelona Winter School, the Berlin Summer School and the Asia School).
Nadine has extensive director level experience, having worked with multiple international non-profit organisations, university networks and international boards. She has wide knowledge of leadership, governance and management in higher education institutions, and the global trends in the higher education sector. As EFMD Director of Business School Services she was responsible for a wide portfolio of large global events and communities of practices, interacting with business schools and universities in the wider Europe, North and Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Australia, the Middle East, the Gulf, as well as North and South America. More recently in Maastricht University she was strategic adviser to the leadership of the School of Business and Economics, advising on international accreditation, the internationalisation strategy, and delivering societal impact.
She has significant experience with EU (higher) education policy and programmes since the early days of the Erasmus programme. She has a strong track record of EU projects, leading large EU-funded European university networks and providing technical assistance to the European Commission. She is high level EU policy expert, working at system level in Brussels and beyond, carrying out capacity building and evaluations of EU interventions, having worked with EU Delegations in many countries.
Alex Pellacani
President of HUMANE; Director General, University of Trento, IT
Alex Pellacani graduated in Economics in 1995, is certified chartered accountant since 2000 and has been appointed as member of the Board of HUMANE in June 2022.
He is currently the Managing Director of the University of Trento, a role he was appointed to in 2016. The University of Trento counts around 16,000 students, close to 1.600 employees, about equally divided in academic and non academic staff.
As Managing Director, he is responsible for the implementation of the strategies and objectives defined by the governing bodies of the University. He has the overall responsibility for the management and organisation of the support services.
Among his professional roles, Alex Pellacani held the position of Chief Financial Officer of the University of Trento from 2008 to 2015. He has broad experience in accounting and finance management processes. Based on his technical background, he has been involved as a national board member for the definition of the accounting and reporting principles in the Higher Education Sector established by the Italian Ministry of University and Research.
Prior to joining University of Trento, he worked for major multinational consulting firms, including Arthur Andersen, Deloitte and Accenture. In particular, in Accenture he was manager in the Global Business Solutions Division, responsible for consulting projects in the areas of administration, finance and management control.
Alex has served on the HUMANE Board of Directors since 2022 and has become its President in January of this year.