{"id":2985,"date":"2017-03-30T10:56:00","date_gmt":"2017-03-30T10:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abg.asso.fr\/2017\/03\/30\/vivien-badaut-phd-innovation-consultant\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T10:17:39","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T10:17:39","slug":"vivien-badaut-phd-innovation-consultant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abg.asso.fr\/en\/2017\/03\/30\/vivien-badaut-phd-innovation-consultant\/","title":{"rendered":"Vivien Badaut, PhD, innovation consultant"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why did you choose in the first place an academic career?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vivien Badaut<\/strong>: My interest for
\nscience started when I was a child. I visited many scientific exhibitions with
\nmy parents and I couldn\u2019t stop reading Isaac Asimov\u2019s books. That\u2019s probably
\nwhat led me to choose science. During my studies, I was more attracted to lab
\nwork and I decided to go for a polytechnic degree (\u201cDUT\u201d) in chemistry. But
\nquite soon, technique proved not to be fulfilling enough, hence the need of a more
\nintellectual stimulation. At the time I did my Master\u2019s in 2005, the energy
\ntransition and the nuclear part were already a hot topic. Beyond its technicity,
\nthis field was also involving strong challenges for the society and some controversial
\nelements: that\u2019s why I chose it. I decided to get in touch with researchers
\nfrom CEA<\/a> (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission) in Saclay
\nfor my first research internships in order to get a more realistic view on
\nnuclear industry.<\/p>\n

I was lucky to do a PhD
\nwhich was a mix of lab work, theoretical chemistry and experimentation with
\nlarge instruments. It may be surprising but despite my passion for technique, I
\nfell in love with theory and more specifically with the numerical modelisation!
\nAfter my thesis defense, my wife and I had the plan to go to Japan: my
\nobjective was to find a postdoctoral position in an institute where I could
\nkeep working on this theoretical research project. I contacted a Japanese
\nresearcher at RIKEN<\/a> who accepted to work with me, while searching
\nfor a funding. I joined a laboratory of theoretical physics where I was the
\nonly chemist!<\/p>\n

The link between research and consultancy is not obvious. How did you
\nmake the transition?<\/strong><\/p>\n

VB<\/strong>: Many different
\nevents occurred for me to think about my future in academic research. First,
\nthere was Fukushima, which led me to consider differently the economic growth
\nof nuclear sector. Back to France in 2012, I was also wondering if the time for
\ndoing academic research was really consistent with my personality: I am indeed
\nsomeone who likes focusing on a subject for a few months and then moves forward
\nto another project. Industrial research was also appealing for me but I didn\u2019t
\nknow back then how I could market my experiences.<\/p>\n

In December 2012, I took
\npart in Postdoctoriales<\/a> from ABG. During this training
\nsession, I became aware of how important networking is for career development.
\nIt is not very natural for me but I learned a few techniques to be a good
\nnetworker which helped me a lot. I tested them a few days after the session and
\nlisted all the contacts I had at this time. It was an opportunity to revive an
\nold friendship: a friend of mine who had just started his own business as a
\nfinance consultant for start-ups. He told me that he was lacking a technical
\nexpertise and that\u2019s how I got the idea of starting a freelance consultant
\nactivity.<\/p>\n

Why were you interested in this opportunity?<\/strong><\/p>\n

VB<\/strong>: In the industry,
\nmost of significant innovations come from start-ups and I am very interested in
\nthis process: I needed to learn more on how to create innovation. There is
\noften an engineer or a PhD among the founders of high-tech start-ups. As a
\ntechnical consultant, you can discuss directly with them, the same way you do
\nwhen you go and see a scientist to discover what he is doing in his laboratory.
\nI started my freelance activity in 2013. Then, when I moved to England, I
\ncreated my own consultancy office, DRIAD<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How did you feel during the transition from academia to consultancy?<\/strong><\/p>\n

VB<\/strong>: Though resulting of a
\npersonal choice, the transition from academia to industry is still difficult on
\na personal level. As a researcher, we are very often moved by the desire and
\nthe hope to contribute significantly to the society and it can be felt as a
\nfrustration not to be part of this peculiar world anymore. That\u2019s why it is
\nvery important to spend time preparing the next career step, especially if it
\nlands you outside academia.<\/p>\n

Why did you choose to create your own business, instead of joining an
\nalready established consultancy office?<\/strong><\/p>\n

VB<\/strong>: For the flexibility.
\nMy current activity enables me to work from any places around the world. In the
\nbig innovation consultancy offices, as a junior consultant, you spend most of
\nyour time writing reports. It can reach up to 80% of your working time, even if
\nit changes when you get more responsibilities. I couldn\u2019t imagine myself
\nworking without any contacts with the founders of a company or with the
\nclients\u2019 techniques. Writing reports represents currently about 30% of my time.<\/p>\n

What are the key aspects in your job as innovation consultant?<\/strong><\/p>\n

VB<\/strong>: Every two weeks, I
\nget a new mission from a company and topics are various: fin-tech, big data,
\nonline advertisement, medical devices\u2026 Knowing how to write funding\u00a0 proposals is essential but you need to keep
\nin mind that the job of innovation consultant is above all social and requires
\nvery good interpersonal skills. Trust is rule number one.<\/p>\n

For the technological
\nwatch, I use LinkedIn and Twitter, which are the tools used most frequently for
\nstart-ups to disseminate their information, and other resources like news,
\nchambers of trade, funding bodies\u2026 The coworking place in which I work plays a
\nbig part in my job: many digital professionals are here and that\u2019s the place to
\nbe if you want to learn about the newest information in the field or to better
\nunderstand the social and economic context. I strongly recommend such places to
\nall people interested in working as a freelancer.<\/p>\n

What is the most fulfilling aspect in your job?<\/strong><\/p>\n

VB<\/strong>: I really love the
\nfact that I keep learning in every mission I get and the opportunity to
\ninteract with entrepreneurs. I love discussing with people and that\u2019s a real
\nenrichment for my job: you won\u2019t find twice the same entrepreneur profile.<\/p>\n

After 4 years, I have
\nthe chance to keep learning and exploring new topics almost every day, to have
\naccess to projects in progress, before they have an impact on society. That\u2019s awesome
\nfor a curious mind like mine.<\/p>\n

Why is a PhD an asset for your job of innovation consultant?<\/strong><\/p>\n

VB<\/strong>: Innovation
\nconsultancy is a great field for young PhDs: more and more start-ups are
\nhigh-tech (energy, biotech, infrastructures also known as deep tech) and are
\nreaching their maturity point. France is one the countries with the best resources
\nto help them to grow: skills, modern infrastructures, public support\u2026 It means
\nthey will need a strong support for the technical part, the same goes for the
\nconsultancy offices they get advice from, specifically for funding.<\/p>\n

The added value of PhDs
\nis sure: understanding complex topics, analytical thinking, autonomy, writing
\nskills\u2026 For my part, as a PhD, my confidence in learning new things quickly
\nenables me to answer a client for which I can\u2019t give elements immediately:
\n\u201cright now, I don\u2019t know, but I come back to you within a week\u201d.<\/p>\n

\n

\nABG is a French non-profit organization. Our missions are :<\/strong><\/p>\n