“French touch” in digital design in and around Lille

FRANCE: Mobile phone applications, special effects, video games, touch pads, 3D animation, serious game, … digital design is now all around us! If the “French touch” is known and recognised across the globe for the expertise and creativity that it brings to the industry, it is thanks to Lille and the surrounding region in the north of France.

Lille stands out in terms of digital design thanks to its state-of-the-art training programmes, its technoparks dedicated to companies that work in this field, and the dynamics of an industry boosted by a regional cluster devoted to image technology, the “Pôle Images”.

Schools recognised as far away as India for their excellence
The Lille region boasts of a number of internationally renowned institutes in the digital sector like Supinfocom, Supinfogame, Higher Institute of Design and so on. Today, this cluster of schools trains some 1,200 students in animation, video games and industrial design. On finishing their studies, the young professionals are immediately snapped up by major animation studios like PIXAR and DREAMWORK or by games companies of international repute such as GAMELOFT, UBISOFT and HYDRAVISION.

Supinfogroup’s reputation now reaches as far as India, where the group of schools has been selected by private investors to set up a campus dedicated to multimedia and video games at Pune, near Mumbai. Pune, presented as the Oxford of South-East Asia, attracts students from across the world. Built and financed by an Indian real estate magnate, the brand-new campus has already welcomed 350 students. The investors were particularly impressed by the quality of films presented by the students and by the prizes that they have won at several international festivals, a resounding endorsement for Supinfogroup’s expertise and excellence!

Two unique sites that contribute to the excellence of Pôle Images
However, the ambitions of the Lille region are not limited to training the digital elite. The area also intends to develop highly innovative projects across a region that is blessed with exceptional sites for just this purpose.

From “Plaine Images” in the town of Tourcoing...
The Plaine Images business park has its roots in the desire to promote the development of a world-class centre of excellence dedicated to images and to support the convergence of expertise, businesses, screens and formats.

Housed in a group of buildings occupying a exceptionally restored former industrial site of 5 hectares, Plaine Images promotes the development of its on-site businesses and the synergies between the different sectors of the images industry. In order to create links between artistic projects, companies and research laboratories, Plaine Images is home to a business incubator and nursery that means that it can host up to 50 companies and 1,000 employees.

One of the most notable new ventures on this site dedicated to images is the Imaginarium, a platform where businesses, artists, training structures and research teams can meet and collaborate to boost their creativity and generate new content. At the end of 2012 the Imaginarium will become home to a research-innovation-development space that will be unique in France and Europe. It will be backed by the University of Lille and CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research) and will concentrate on the field of Visual Studies. It will provide state-of-the-art equipment such as a virtual-visit platform, a perception/action laboratory and workshops for artistic experimentation.

..to the “Serre Numérique”- “Digital Greenhouse”- in Valenciennes
In September 2013 the schools in the Supinfogroup will move to the “Serre Numérique” which is structured around a simple idea: “Digital design in all its forms”. Occupying 15,000m², the Serre Numérique will bring together business leaders, designers, researchers, teachers, students and artists with the aim of embracing every area of digital design: video games, animation, virtual worlds, industrial simulation, urban design and product design, 3D, etc. and, in particular, serious games. It will be a place where training, finance and research will create a stimulating environment for carrying out projects with high added value.

The Images Pole: backbone of the digital region
The regional Images Pole cluster is made up of 120 companies, 27 specialised training schemes and schools, 22 research bodies and 9 professional associations. Its role is to stimulate growth in the sector by facilitating partnerships between businesses, training centres and researchers who operate in the field of images. It is developing a European perspective by establishing cross-border links as well as encouraging synergies for generating creative content. All in all, enough to give the Lille region the resources to match its ambitions.