Science & Business
L-up is a consulting agency specialised in national and European R&D funding programmes.
Since 2001, we have been advising companies – from SMEs to large enterprises – as well as research bodies. We accompany complex projects, building on the vast experience of our experts and our excellent network.
Develop your projects with the support of our science & business experts
L-up’s core team of nine senior consultants
combines multidisciplinary scientific and business backgrounds with longstanding expertise in innovation project management.
Our unique network of 80 senior S&T experts
covers industry and research, primarily in the sectors of transport, ICT, energy, materials, health, biotechnology, and circular economy.
Our approach is characterised
by the ability to listen and to rapidly integrate with existing teams, while furnishing vast expertise and a useful toolbox for managing complex projects.
20 years of experience
L-up was established in 2001 by Philippe Bellier.
Striving for excellence, Philippe’s objective was to create a highly flexible, human-centred working environment, characterised by trust and appreciation, allowing L-up’s “field-proven” senior consultants to entirely focus on the client and on the quality of L-up’s contribution to each mission.
Phillipe’s approach was totally avant-garde in 2001 and still is incredibly progressive today.
But his vision reaches beyond: It places critical collective reviewing of projects, processes, or business models at the core of L-up’s unique modus operandi, thus allowing to capture different opinions and to promote exchange as well as individual and organisational learning.
Why “L-up”?
For the curious among you:
L-up is derived from the Roman numeral for 50 and refers to the fact that L-up’s senior experts do not only carry the title “senior consultant” but actually DO have up to 30 years of professional experience and thus are around 50. We don’t claim that 50 is the new 40 – it’s the NEW 50, mature, dynamic, eager to share our knowledge, and able to move things forward.
SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
Dual-cultural competencies and expertise underpin project success
Expertise is the core of our services: Our consultants combine professional know-how in specific S&T fields with longstanding experience in managing and auditing complex international projects.
70% of L-up’s consultants hold a second citizenship in addition to the French and have lived and worked abroad, from Finland, Italy, the Netherlands to Poland and from Germany to the United Kingdom and Bangladesh!
OUR TEAM
Founder and chairman of L-up
Philippe Bellier
Consultant
Dominika Behrendt
Chief Operating Officer / Expert
Peggy Favier
Business Developer / Expert
Céline Germain
Senior Consultant / Expert
Jetta Keranen
Senior Consultant
Julie Chupin
Founder and chairman of L-up
Philippe Bellier
Dipl. Eng. SUPELEC, Master in Physics, MBA (HEC), CPA
Philippe holds an engineering degree (Dipl. Eng.) from Centrale Supélec (a highly reputed university in Paris), a Master of Physics and an MBA from HEC (School of Management, Paris); he also graduated from CPA (Centre de perfectionnement aux affaires / Paris, France).
Philippe started his career at the Thales Group in 1977 as Technical Department Manager, then Director of Complex Projects in France and Abroad (Thales, Sintra-Alcatel, Sagem), Quality Director (Thales) and Senior Consultant (Thales Consulting). In over 25 years he gathered vast expertise in managing complex projects, including ten years of R&D in radar technology, making him a renowned expert in this field.
In 1979, Philippe published a book on microprocessors to make this technology popular.
Philippe currently teaches Project and Quality Management as well as Design and Management of European Projects at the University of Cergy-Pontoise near Paris. In former missions, he lectured in project and quality management, certification processes, implementation of continuous improvement approaches and lean management in companies (Thales, Air France) and at universities (Enset Cachan, Centrale Supélec, Technological University of Compiègne, INRIA (French national research institute for digital sciences and technologies) and Ecole doctorale Paris-Sacla (university for doctoral studies in Paris).
Philippe is our S&T expert for Information Technology.
Consultant
Dominika Behrendt
Bachelor in Geography; Master in European Studies and International Relations
Dominika enrolled in a bachelor programme in geography at the University of Adam Mickiewicz in Poznan, Poland. In 2008, she participated in the Erasmus students’ exchange programme and continued her studies at the University CY Cergy Paris, France. She holds a Master’s Degree in European Studies and International Relations with a strong focus on research and innovation.
Dominika joined L-up in 2011. Since then, she has acquired experience in EU R&D programmes in terms of proposal preparation, grant agreement preparation, project management, communication, and dissemination. She has been leading management and dissemination tasks and work packages in several projects starting from the Framework Programme 7 (FP7).
Dominika has been involved in more than ten EU-funded projects: SSL4EU, HYSOP and AFLoNext (funded under FP7), as well as AIRMES, Be-Smart, ECO-COMPASS, FIBRE4YARDS, INREP, MADELEINE, SENS4ICE and SuCoHS (funded under Horizon 2020).
Dominika is experienced in the administration of large international project consortia with up to 40 partners and important budgets ranging from €6 to €37 million. Two of Dominika’s projects even involved partners from China, Brazil, Russia, and the USA.
Dominika is our expert for Circular Economy and Communication/Dissemination.
Joined L-up:in 2011
Chief Operating Officer / Expert
Peggy Favier
Engineer ENSMM (Mechanics & Microtechnology; post-graduate degree in Structural Mechanics / Tribology)
Peggy graduated as Dipl. Eng. in Mechanical Sciences & Microtechnologies from ENSMM (French top-level engineering school for mechanics and microtechnology) and obtained a post-graduate degree in Structural Mechanics / Tribology from Franche-Comté University.
Peggy took her first career steps in aeronautics and energy, working in R&D at AIRBUS and EDF (departments of acoustics and vibration mechanics; dismantling of the SuperPhoenix Nuclear plant, Creymalville). It was during this initial career phase that she discovered her taste for international collaborative projects and decided to switch to a consultancy role for European R&D projects.
Today, Peggy can look back on 21 years of experience in setting up and managing complex EU projects and large consortia. Peggy orchestrated the preparation of more than 140 project applications (particularly in the areas of aeronautics, space, materials, and security) under the European FP5 framework programme (mainly on collaborative research with up to 60 partners and €40 million funding), and supported project management and communication/dissemination activities in more than 10 projects under FP6 and H2020, the most recent ones being AFLoNext, IMOTHEP, and GreAT. She was project coordinator of two collaborative research projects under FP6 (IPROMES) and a CSA in FP7 (MEFISTO), both in the aeronautics sector.
Another important aspect of Peggy’s work is hosting training courses on the Management of EU Projects, e. g. for EDF, ONERA, THALES, ADP, and ERTICO.
Since 2018, Peggy has been appointed as an Expert Evaluator by the European Commission for projects in the Transport Unit and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research and Innovation Staff Exchange Unit (RISE).
The Clean Sky programme is a focal point in Peggy’s work. She is our Chief Operating Officer and expert in Transport.
Joined L-up:in 2006
Business Developer / Expert
Céline Germain
International Business Management; Master in Molecular and Cellular Biology; Master in Structural Biology.
Céline holds a research-oriented master’s degree in molecular and cellular biology from the University Joseph Fourier of Grenoble (UJF) in France. After graduating, she participated in a one-year research programme in the renowned LEDSS- UJF laboratory and earned a second master’s degree in structural biology. Subsequently, she enrolled in a one-year programme at IAE – Grenoble Management School to develop her management skills.
As a young graduate, Céline worked in a pharmaceutical company in the area of diagnosing allergic and auto-immune diseases for three years. In 2000 she became a consultant – specialised in the health sector – for national and European RD&I funding programmes. She has been involved in setting up 20 national and FP5 / FP6 projects as a junior consultant and 80 national and FP6 / FP7 projects as a senior consultant.
Today, Céline can look back on 21 years of experience in national and European funding programmes. She advises L-up’s customers in terms of matching existing and emerging calls with project ideas and performs pre-audits to assess the funding potential of project ideas. She is also an expert in the field of funding instruments dedicated to SMEs (H2020 SME Instrument, EIC Accelerator, SME Innovation Associate, FTI, Eurostars, …) and has been involved in the preparation of more than 40 proposals for SMEs under H2020.
She is also in charge of L-up’s business development.
Céline is our expert in national (Bpifrance, PIA, ANR) and European R&D framework programmes (FP), and in the health sector.
Joined L-up:in 2015
Senior Consultant / Expert
Jetta Keranen
PhD in Materials Sciences, certified PMP® project management professional
Jetta holds a PhD in material science and is a certified PMP® Project Management Professional.
For over 15 years, Jetta has been involved in innovation financing consultancy, from evaluating first ideas to preparing project applications and finally managing granted projects.
She has accompanied the setting-up of more than 80 projects, notably within the European framework programmes (FP6, FP7, HORIZON 2020, Erasmus+, FEDER), but also within transnational (Eureka / Eurostars) and national (ANR, ADEME, Bpifrance, …) schemes, covering a large range of technology readiness levels and sectors, from materials science, energy and environment to aeronautics.
Her fields of expertise and interests especially encompass:
– Strategic consulting and training
– Engineering of innovative projects, setting-up of strategic business partnerships
– Establishing institutional and professional relations
– Project management in more than 20 European projects.
Jetta is also an Expert Evaluator mandated by the European Commission (MSCA & Science with and for Society).
Jetta is our Materials Sciences expert.
Joined L-up:in 2019
Senior Consultant
Julie Chupin
Master’s degree in Foreign Languages and an advanced degree in Management and Business Administration
Julie is experienced in the administration of large international projects consortia with up to 30 partners and important budgets ranging from 3 to 29 million Euros, through the 5th, 6th and 7th Framework programme, H2020 and Horizon Europe.
Julie is also experience in the administration of national projects (FEDER and FUI).
Through all her career, Julie has acquired experience in EU R&D programmes in terms of proposal preparation, grant agreement preparation, project management, communication, and dissemination.
Jule is our expert for project administration and financial control.
Joined L-up:in 2023
ASSOCIATED PARTNERS
Expert
Michiel Selier
Expert
BenoÎt Vettier
Expert
Michiel Selier
Dipl. Eng. MSc Aerospace
Michiel has a strong background in R&D and vast experience in securing innovation funding and programme management. He also is an active entrepreneur, focusing on business development in the aerospace sector by bringing innovative concepts to the market.
He graduated from Delft University of Technology (Netherlands) with an MSc in Aerospace Engineering. His career spans 20 years as (senior) R&D engineer, proposal/bid manager, programme manager (mainly at NLR), consultant, business developer, and entrepreneur (Transinnovate).
Michiel has been very successful in developing B2B relationships in the global aerospace supply chain, both civil and defence. In 2019, the European Commission has appointed Michiel as expert evaluator for the SESAR programme.
Michiel is our expert for Transport.
External associate of L-up:since 2015
Expert
BenoÎt Vettier
PhD, Engineer
Benoît holds a Master of Mathematics and Computer Science Engineering (ENSIMAG) and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Grenoble Alpes (France).
After initial work experiences in software development, Benoît decided to do a PhD in the area of AI, with a focus on healthcare applications.
He then co-founded and led a medical device start-up in the field of computer-assisted surgery and participated in several other MedTech entrepreneurial projects. He now works as a consultant specializing in deep-tech innovation, strategy, and financing.
External associate of L-up:since 2017