The research park will welcome July 4th, the American Independence Day, the seven Californian trainees who will work in companies and research centers of Sophia Antipolis.
The date has not been set at random: July 4th, the American Independence Day, the Telecom Valley association will welcome the first trainees from Stanford. The event which will take place from 5.00 pm in Compaq premises (Les Templiers – 950, route des Colles – Sophia Antipolis), will be the first tangible evidence of the agreement signed between the PACA region and the Silicon Valley.
An agreement, signed March 5th 2001, which gathers five partners together. As for California, we find the Pluridisciplinary Institute of French Studies of Standford and the Mission for Science and Technology of the General French Consulate at San Francisco. As for the French Riviera, we find the Sophia Antipolis Foundation, the Telecom Valley Association and the PERSAN club.
Seven students from the Silicon Valley have been selected by companies and research and high education centers, members of the Telecom Valley and which took part in this first exchange: INRIA (2 trainees), INRIA-Laboratoire I3S (1), Eurecom Institute (1), Amadeus (2) and Avisto (1). In the same time, five students from the Riviera will go for six month long training period and work for Californian companies.
The agreement will not only deal with student exchanges. This cooperation program also aims at organizing a mutual and progressive discovery of both sites, and especially series of short stays of Californian professionals in Sophia Antipolis, invited professors and research grants.