Yliès Falcone : " Partnerships with the industrial world confront our research with problems of society "

Yliès Falcone chose his field of research because he likes the rigorous nature of the methods developed in it and their applications in technologies that impact our everyday lives. He is currently pursuing post-doctoral research at the Inria Rennes - Bretagne Atlantique centre as part of the VERTECS team, which is undoubtedly a springboard for this ambitious young researcher.
"At Inria there is strong willingness to form partnerships with industry in order to ensure that our research helps to solve societal issues that form part of our daily lives. I really like this philosophy and it gives meaning to my research"

What was your background prior to joining Inria?

I completed a Master's in information science and technology at the University of Grenoble, specialising in the validation of critical systems. The fields of application are usually embedded systems (avionics, mobile phones, etc.). I did my doctoral thesis entitled "The study and implementation of run-time validation techniques" straight afterwards and at the same laboratory, Verimag. I wanted to work at Inria due to its international reputation and because I had met Thierry Jéron - a member of my PhD committee - while working together on a project for the ANR (French National Research Agency), it was entirely natural for me to join his team, VERTECS, in December 2009.

What are your impressions after your one-year visit at Inria?

At Inria there is strong willingness to form partnerships with industry in order to ensure that our research helps to solve societal issues that form part of our daily lives. I really like this philosophy and it gives meaning to my research. It's in line with the Institute's reputation and how it operates on well-defined projects. I'm also putting together an application for a junior research scientist position and this visit provides me with the right conditions to further my expertise in run-time verification and validation. If I'm recruited, I plan to create a project-team within 5 to 10 years.

As a post-doctoral researcher, can you describe to us the competition process for becoming a junior research scientist at Inria?

The competitions are open right at the beginning of the year, with the official announcement of available positions at Inria taking place at the end of January. The competition takes place in two phases. First of all you're asked to prepare an application that describes your previous work and your research programme, and which sets out your research topics and objectives for the next 5 to 10 years. It's very important for you to be well suited to the team that you want to join. A selection committee then looks at the applications and chooses those that will go through to the next stage, then classifies them and submits them for management approval. If you're recruited, you take up your position on October 1 during the year of the competition.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to carry out their post-doctoral research at Inria?

Post-doctoral research is a period during which you outline your career and need to be continually dynamic. Inria provides the resources and it's up to the post-doctoral researcher to make the most of them. Whether you're applying for the Explorateur grant or entering the junior research scientist competition, you need to take the initiative. A lot of people apply and not many are chosen. In your team, you have to make your contribution to the whole by unhesitatingly submitting new ideas that you personally believe in and by taking part in the work under way in the team. Post-doctoral research gives you an opportunity to reflect on your career: what institute do you want to go to, what topic do you want to work on, do you want to teach or not? It's the time when you have to be bold and think ahead.

Keywords: Inria Rennes Project team VERTECS Post-doctoral researcher Ylies Falcone