Joséphine R. - Co-founder of the startup "StepUp Air"

MINI PORTRAIT

I come from Le Havre and completed the first part of my engineering studies in Lille. The multidisciplinary nature of Centrale courses attracted me since I did not really know at the time what I wanted to specialise in. This kept a lot of doors open for me. The reputation of Centrale was also a key factor.
A Centrale Nantes, I was strongly involved in student clubs: president of Centrale Image photography club, and member of the drama, improvisation and radio clubs. The choice of clubs is vast and I tried my hand at lots of things! In the second year, I followed a semester programme entitled "Web Strategies and Development" taught in English. For my third year, I decided to go abroad for a double degree, which was, in my opinion, the best option to have a first international experience and learn a language. So, I joined the DTU on the master "Digital Media Engineering" and I specialized in "User Experience" (design of mobile applications and web) and machine learning. After 18 months of courses, I completed a 6-month internship in a record company. At DTU, I met a student from Centrale Lille who had an idea for a start-up and I embarked on the adventure with him!

YOUR CURRENT POSITION

We have been working full time on our project for 6 months now. StepUp Air is a fitness tracker that measures breathing as well as the usual parameters (speed, distance, heart rate). What’s new is that a sensor measures the expansion of the ribcage and thus the volume of air breathed in. After processing the data the tracker can say when the body begins to saturate and produce lactic acid which is not good for the muscles. We are initially targeting professional athletes to refine the product, the public will then be approached via a crowdfunding campaign.
We are lucky to have been accepted onto a national program in Denmark that provides a year of funding and tutoring to help us move the project forward start-up. As a co-founder, I do a bit of everything: administration, business plan, marketing, recruitment ... and that's what I enjoy. Otherwise, my role is mainly the design of the application and the website, I also deal with communication.

WHAT DID YOU ENJOY AT CENTRALE NANTES?

I really loved the clubs and activities, which were much richer than at DTU. With multiple communities involved in these activities, it was possible to meet many different people and be exposed to other subjects outside the school.

ADVICE FOR PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS

The Centrale network is really important: the network is very strong among the students of the 5 Centrale Schools and it is simple to use in order to find an internship for example. In Nantes, university partnerships are very numerous, it is really easy to follow a double-degree internationally, we are helped and advised internally. The multidisciplinary training offers many opportunities.

CENTRALE NANTES IN THREE WORDS

Community, multidisciplinary, opportunities