Every year, the Challenge Projet d’Entreprendre (Entrepreneurship Project Challenge) invites students from Institut Mines-Télécom Business School, Télécom SudParis, and ENSIIE to take part in an exercise in creating a start-up. For its 26th edition in 2025, the event took place during the week of November 3, followed by the grand finale on November 12.
What is the Challenge Projet d’Entreprendre?
Organized by IMT Starter, this event immerses students from the three schools in the world of start-ups. Divided into groups, they have five days to devise and build a business project, which they then present to an audience of students, teachers, and staff from the three schools.
There are many benefits to this exercise: the teams are supervised by professionals (teachers, alumni, or incubator representatives), and the hybridization of skills between schools is a major asset. The groups bring together a variety of profiles, from engineers to future managers. Everyone can contribute their vision and knowledge, making the project more comprehensive and enriching.
Students who wish to go further can develop their ideas through various programs offered by the schools, including the Summer School, which offers a month of intensive support from IMT Starter during the summer. They can also choose the IDEE (Innovation, Design, and Committed Entrepreneurship) major in the third year of the Grande École Program.
25th anniversary, 26th edition
For the 26th edition, the projects were each more innovative and varied than the last. The ten winners addressed topics ranging from health (with TSApp, an app for families of children with autism spectrum disorders, and Hippocrate, AI-based medical pre-consultation software) to the automation of wood resale (with the Excedentis project).
The winners focused on a platform combining artificial intelligence and ecology: with their What2Wear project, they offered the public a personalized styling service combining AI and the expertise of stylists. By focusing on second-hand and rental, the platform makes fashion more sustainable, practical, and accessible.
But What2Wear wasn’t the only winner. A new feature was introduced this year: the audience favorite award. The first to receive this award was Alive, an AI-optimized video player project that aims to improve image quality while reducing data consumption by up to 75%.
Each of the 10 winning groups received an award to congratulate them on their work and ideas.
IMT Starter, origin of the Challenge Projet d’Entreprendre
The three schools can count on a unifying and stimulating event every year thanks to IMT Starter, the joint incubator founded in 1999 and co-financed by the European Union. Attached to Institut Mines-Télécom Business School, Télécom SudParis, and ENSIIE, it supports the creation and development of young companies, whether they emerge within the schools or outside them.
To date, IMT Starter has helped more than 300 companies get off the ground. They provide strategic support as well as assistance with financing, office space, and international development.
By bringing together hundreds of students each year around a common goal—turning an idea into a concrete project—the Challenge Projet d’Entreprendre confirms its role as an accelerator of innovation and creativity. Thanks to the involvement of the three schools and the essential support of IMT Starter, the event helps to develop the entrepreneurial spirit of future graduates, while revealing promising solutions to meet the economic, technological, and societal challenges of tomorrow.
The 2025 edition, rich in ideas and commitments, once again illustrates the vitality of this ecosystem and offers promising prospects for the winning projects.