BrazilCapgemini backs new AI and data science center in Paris
Hi! Paris is being set up as a European pioneer of education, research and innovation in the artificial intelligence (AI) and data science space. Capgemini is among an illustrious set of founding sponsors for the institute.
Business school HEC Paris and Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris) have come together to set up an interdisciplinary centre – Hi! Paris – that brings together 300 researchers in AI and data science to drive education and innovation. The goal is to become the leading global expert on AI-driven digital transformation in business and society over the next half a decade.
More than 30 new professors will reportedly be brought on board alongside 150 world leading PhD candidates to “exploit the full potential of AI.” Alongside conducting research, the new professionals will “train the future generation of engineers and managers who will build AI applications for all domains, while in the process doubling the number of students trained in this field within five years,” according to Professor Eric Moulines of IP Paris.
Funding will be key to achieving this, and Hi! Paris is set up on a sponsorship business model. Businesses and academic institutions with a stake in advancing AI research and innovation all have the opportunity to finance the project, and five “founding sponsors” have already come on board.
In the mix is global digital services giant Capgemini – a firm that has established itself as an innovation leader in the European data landscape. Having consolidated and grown its digital operations in recent years, the firm has now become a trusted data partner for many organisations – including the European Commission.
Other founding sponsors for Hi! Paris include consumer products company L’Oréal, oil company Total, luxury goods firm Kering and electrical supplies firm Rexel. The five business leaders – and presumably more in the future – will offer their financial backing and “disruptive vision” where required to take Hi! Paris to its full potential.
According to the President of IP Paris, Eric Labaye, the objective of Hi! Paris is to “create a world leader in the fields of artificial intelligence and data science. Hi! PARIS will contribute to the development of a digital sovereignty of France and Europe, guaranteeing the competitiveness of its enterprises, the efficiency of its administrations, and the quality of life of its citizens,” he said.
This is not the first collaboration between HEC Paris and IP Paris. The two institutions share a doctoral school, and operate a joint Masters programme. According to the Dean of HEC Paris Peter Todd, the mix of business and science that the pair bring to the table positions Hi! Paris at the heart of global digital transformations.
“The success of our project is founded on the gamble on multidisciplinarity at the very highest level, relying on the combination of complementary and recognised fields of expertise of HEC Paris and Institut Polytechnique de Paris, but also on the support of major actors in the economic world. We hope that many companies will join Hi! PARIS, thus fashioning a new AI at the service of a durable economy and a fairer society,” he said.
For more information on Hi! Paris, watch the below video:
