#JustDrawIt - When Linxens innovation meets creativity

As today is the World Creativity and Innovation Day, we asked Pierre-Francois Peltier-Veiler , VP Group Communication at Linxens, his vision of the #JustDrawIt Challenge, but also the interest of partnering with a design school to create the first generation of water sensor and bring a new innovative perspective for Linxens. ??

Why this contest?

Pierre-Fran?ois Peltier-Veiler: Linxens is evolving and changing. Our history began 40 years ago and we have developed in parallel with the expansion of #smartcards in everyday life. Today, new challenges are opening up for us to accompany the development of new revolutions for everyone's life, especially in the field of #iotsolution and #connectedhealth. This competition allows us to show Linxens' ability to open up to new disciplines and knowledge. It also allows us to promote our brand in a different way and to reach out to audiences who probably didn't know us before, even though 80% of the world's population uses at least one Linxens product every day.

Why design?

PFPV: Clearly, the most obvious choice was industrial engineering, but that limited us to our field of expertise. By approaching L'école de design Nantes Atlantique , we wanted to focus not only on our product but also on its transformation and final use. Linxens is a pioneer: our job is to bring the technical solution that allows to transform an idea into a technical and functional product. We thought it would be interesting to practice imagining what comes next, and it might be an opportunity for us to think about how to accompany our customers even further: from the technical solution to its integration into the final product.

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What does this bring to you?

PFPV: If I limit myself to my own area, communication, it is an opportunity for us to present the brand in a different light. To let people know who Linxens is but also what we can offer and how rich our activities are. To our own employees, it is also a way to affirm our ability to go further: we are not just a manufacturer of #electroniccomponents , we are a provider of solutions and for that we must learn to open up to other fields. It's also proof that our businesses are attractive, that our solutions can give ideas to others, and that our pioneering spirit is more alive than ever!

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Are you satisfied with the result?

PFPV: The project is still in progress, so we won't be able to draw up a full report right away! But I must admit that I am already impressed by the results. I had the chance to see the projects proposed by the students and it goes far beyond what I would have imagined. I am struck by their creativity, their ability to project themselves and submit iconoclastic but realistic ideas with, for many, a deep desire to make these things useful. We're not into gadgets, we're really into the idea of contributing to improve people's lives and this is basically the whole philosophy of Linxens since its creation.

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A last word?

PFPV: First, I would like to thank the teaching staff of L'école de design Nantes Atlantique , for believing in this project and accepting to integrate it in the students' curriculum.

Also a friendly greeting to Nicolas de Guillebon , Director of Innovation at Linxens , who immediately followed my lead in this project, without really knowing what he was getting into, but who has been involved since the first day to define the subject and accompany the students, and without whom all this could not have seen the light.

Finally, a big congratulations to the students of L'école de design Nantes Atlantique , at this time we do not know yet which project will be selected but, considering the quality of the projects presented, they are already all winners!

I am particularly proud of this project and more than ever #proudtobeLinxens !