Jean-François Abramatic was appointed President of the INRIA Alumni association in October. This world-renowned researcher in computer science and pioneer of the Internet served as Chairman of the W3C from 1996 to 2001. He then joined Ilog as Senior Vice President for R&D before taking up his current position as Chief Product Officer at IBM/Ilog.

Interview with Jean-François Abramatic, President of the INRIA Alumni association.

INRIA: Tell us about INRIA Alumni

Jean-François Abramatic: INRIA Alumni is both an alumni association and a professional network. Its members include former and current scientists (both young and experienced), as well as research support professionals (engineers and technicians). The aim is to develop working relationships between members and bring together representatives from the worlds of research, higher education and industry in France and beyond.

INRIA: How can people join?

Jean-François Abramatic: To join, you simply need to have worked at INRIA for at least six months. We welcome everyone, from the young to the not-so-young. Young scientists – doctoral students and R&D engineers – will be particularly interested in using the INRIA Alumni network to help them in their careers, but they will also be the lifeblood of the network’s activity!

INRIA: Why join?

Jean-François Abramatic: INRIA Alumni is not only a great way of keeping in touch with old friends and colleagues, but also an opportunity to meet new people and build new relationships. It also gives you a chance to share your own professional experience for the benefit of others. Lastly, the association is an ideal platform for developing new projects. To be effective, our network must be active and provide access to useful services. This is why INRIA Alumni is launching its own website. In addition to information on the association and its activities, the site will eventually incorporate a job advertisements service and a forum for members. It will also include a directory of members in the very near future. The association will be organising regular meetings of its members to help them build strong relationships with each other. An inaugural "Jam Session" will be held in Paris on 26 November to launch the association. Further events will subsequently be held throughout France.

INRIA: A more personal question now: why did you agree to become President of INRIA Alumni?

Jean-François Abramatic: Jean-François Abramatic: I am at a point in my career where I want to spend more time passing on the benefit of the experience I have gained at INRIA. I also want to share the benefits of the Institute’s original model. The men and women who helped design that model and put it into practice are part of a community. This community should get together and make a contribution to the thought and debate that is required if the Institute is to continue to evolve and tackle the challenges of tomorrow.