GRENOBLE & SERVICES

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Industry

 
 Grenoble-Isère: Attracting businesses from around the globe
 

Grenoble, the capital of the French Alps, is located in a beautiful mountain valley. Stendhal once wrote that in Grenoble there is “a mountain at the end of every street.” The city and surrounding area offer breathtaking alpine landscapes, sunshine, and snow, making it a popular tourist destination.

The city is also a major hub for scientific research, and is known as the place where the Silicon and SOI Valleys meet. Were Stendhal alive today, he might say that there is a research or high-tech facility at the foot of each mountain!
The greater Grenoble area is home to a number of advanced R&D centers and leading semiconductor fabs. Application-oriented research is thriving, fuelled by a dense network of laboratories dedicated to basic research. World-class institutes like the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, CEA, and the ILL neutron reactor anchor a vast community of smaller, yet equally-outstanding university and CNRS laboratories.

Grenoble is one of France’s major college towns with over 68,000 students—that’s about 15% of the greater Grenoble area’s total population. Grenoble is understandably proud of its academic and scientific environment, with a long tradition of partnership between research and industry.
 

 
 Grenoble-Isère: A leading center for research and development

A solid industrial network of international corporations and start-ups combined with an outstanding scientific and technological environment make Grenoble a leading global hub for R&D in fields like electronics and ICTs (information and communication technologies). Grenoble is perhaps best known for its solid network of cooperation between academia, research, and industry.

Grenoble is located in the Rhône-Alpes region, France’s second-largest regional economy and center for scientific research. With 500 companies and 38,500 jobs, ICTs have enjoyed spectacular growth here over the last 15 years, becoming a major source of economic activity. World-class clusters like MINATEC and Minalogic have helped make Grenoble-Isère a leader in Europe and beyond.
 

 
  • Micro and nanotechnology:

Grenoble-Isère is Europe’s leading center for microelectronics. The city’s history illustrates how vibrant and diverse the microelectronics industry is here.

1992: STMicroelectronics, CEA- Léti, and France Telecom R&D pool their deep sub-micronic technology research resources, with prototyping and production facilities located at the STMicroelectronics campus in Crolles.
2002: Freescale (Motorola) joins the Philips–STMicroelectronics R&D alliance for 90- to 32-nm processes for 300-mm wafers at the Crolles II campus. The project is the largest industrial investment in France in 12 years.
2003: A new 300 mm wafer fab opens at STMicroelectronics in Crolles.
2003: SOITEC carves out a position as world leader in the fabrication of SOI wafers thanks to its revolutionary Smart Cut™ technology.
2006: MINATEC is inaugurated on June 1. The innovation campus sets out to become Europe’s leading center for innovation and expertise in micro and nanotechnology. It is one of the few places in the world to possess the scientific, technological, and industrial resources needed to reach this goal. MINATEC plans to build networks and strategic alliances with other similar centers in France and beyond. 
2005: The Interministerial Committee for Regional Development (CIADT), chaired by the prime minister, approves the Minalogic project on July 12. The project obtains global competitive cluster status, bolstering the Grenoble area’s international profile and attractiveness. Minalogic aims to become Europe’s leading center for smart miniaturized solutions, pooling resources from industry, research, and education in two key fields: micro and nanotechnology, and systems-on-chip (SoC).
2008–present: International cooperation is today a major feature of research in Grenoble-Isère. CEA-Léti has built European partnerships with the Dresden Nanotechnology Centre and Imec in Belgium. The institute also collaborates with CSEM in Switzerland, the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft in Germany, and Finland’s VTT Technical Research Centre. In 2008 CEA-Léti entered into a partnership with Caltech to form the Alliance for Nanosystems VLSI. Private-sector research is now more dynamic than ever, with groundbreaking projects like the STMicroelectronics–IBM Alliance and the Nano 2012 project.
 

Videos: Discover Micro & Nanotechnologies in Grenoble-Isere:

Hear what leaders from research and industry have to say about Grenoble-Isère (AEPI web site)
 

  • IT and software
     

Grenoble is home to a vibrant IT and software industry, and is also home to a number of network and telecommunications specialists. The community has attracted major corporations, numerous dynamic start-ups, and several important research centers run by HP, Bull, CapGemini, Sun Microsystems, Xerox Research Centre Europe, INRIA, as well as university labs operated by Grenoble Institute of Technology and UJF.
The city has made considerable advances in multimedia and knowledge servers, dedicated technologies for mobile computing, and software development.
 

  •  Electronics

Grenoble stands out in three fields: 
 - Automation and industrial control systems
 - The passive components industry: coaxial connectors and cables, components for fiber-optic networks; surface-mounted components
 - Tubes and screens

Grenoble university laboratories have developed numerous industrial partnerships in all of this fields.
For more information, visit the website of the Grenoble-Isère Economic Development Agency: AEPI

 

Tourist information

Grenoble’s history has been marked by figures such as novelist Stendhal of The Red and the Black fame, Egyptologist and Rosetta-stone decipherer Champollion, and Vaucanson, the inventor of the modern day robot.

Admirers have documented the beauty of the area’s mountains and lakes dating back to Roman times. The winter season is a delight for skiers of all kinds, while summer and fall offer a variety of outdoor activities and sports like hiking, biking, rafting, canoeing, golf, and tennis. In 1968, Grenoble hosted the Winter Olympics, and in 1992 the Olympics were organized just 30 minutes away in Albertville.
The local arts and culture scene is also active, and the remarkable museum of fine arts is well worth a visit. For those ready to travel a bit farther afield, Grenoble offers a wealth of opportunities for day trips and weekend excursions, with Switzerland, Chamonix Mont Blanc, Italy, and the French Riviera well within reach. The outstanding vineyards of the Côtes du Rhône, Burgundy and Beaujolais are also nearby. 
 

Ressources:

 

Hotel bookings

Grenoble and the vicinity offer a variety of lodging options. However, we recommend that you book well in advance in order to avoid the rush in the spring. You may also prefer hotels located close to tramway line B, also conveniently near the train station and city center. Hotel rates generally include a continental breakfast. A per-night tourist tax also generally applies.
The Grenoble Tourist Office web site is a great place to start your hotel search.
 


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