Happy New Year 2025: a few words from ABG Chairman Jean-Luc BEYLAT

Dear ABG partners and friends

Dear collaborators,

As we turn the page on a hectic year, it is with enthusiasm and ambition that I wish you, on behalf of the entire Bernard Gregory Association, the very best for 2025.

The past year marks a turning point in the recent history of the ABG. In order to respond better to the changes in our various professions, we have adapted to maintain our central role in the training of researchers and we have consolidated our recruitment activity. In addition, the arrival of new staff and our move to more modern, eco-responsible premises at the same address have brought a new boost to our association.

It was also the year in which Vincent MIGNOTTE, Director of the ABG for 12 years, chose to refocus his activities on training and coaching senior researchers. Many thanks to him for all the work he has accomplished, and in particular for having diversified the ABG's missions and transformed its economic model.
We are pursuing the search for our new CEO in 2025.

For the past three years, we have been strongly committed to a major national plan to promote the doctoral degree: a collective ambition that resonates beyond our association. This dynamic has inspired the mobilisation of all the actors in the French research ecosystem, leading to a major government initiative that we applaud: the Pommier-Lazarus mission. Their report, published in November, puts forward ten recommendations to enhance the recognition and promotion of doctorates in business and society. It should be pointed out that this long-awaited report comes at a time when the global and national context cannot leave anyone indifferent:

• the alarming decline in the number of doctoral students in France, which contrasts with the trend in superpowers such as China and India, where the numbers are rising steadily;
• the doctoral and engineering schools are considering ways of encouraging more students to enter the PhD programmes in order to overcome this decline;
• uncertainties regarding support for the recruitment of young PhDs under the Research Tax Credit (CIR-Crédit Impôt Recherche), which could jeopardise the vital link between research and innovation in our companies.

In 2025, the ABG plans to take a leading position in implementing the recommendations of the Pommier-Lazarus report, while continuing to fulfil the missions it has been carrying out for more than 40 years:

• promote doctoral studies and improve their image both in France and internationally: because they are an essential way of attracting talents and stimulating the economy through innovation;
• to strengthen the position of PhDs in companies and change the way they are perceived beyond the academic field, so that they are recognised as key players in economic, social and environmental transition.

These commitments are in line with a broader ambition: to contribute to the competitiveness of French research and its capacity to respond to the major challenges of our times.

Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to:

• the ABG team, whose commitment, quality of work and good spirit are the driving force behind our day-to-day activities;
• our subscribers, clients and partners, for their continued confidence, without whom the ABG would not be what it is today.

By working together, we can contribute to the development of knowledge and the French economy, where the doctorate is seen as a strategic asset for our society. I wish you all a year full of success and fruitful collaborations in 2025.

With all my gratitude,

Jean-Luc Beylat

President of the ABG - Association Bernard Gregory