PorterShed x Gradignan
PorterShed Strengthens French Innovation Partnership with Visit to Gradignan and Bordeaux
Anthony Shaughnessy
Innovation Manager | PorterShed
PorterShed has continued to build its international partnership with La Canopée in Gradignan following a recent visit to the Bordeaux region.
The visit formed part of the ongoing partnership between PorterShed and La Canopée, designed to create practical links between the Galway and French innovation ecosystems. The partnership includes a passport system between both hubs, allowing member companies to access workspace, introductions and local ecosystem support when exploring new markets.
Through the agreement, PorterShed member companies can use La Canopée as a working base in France, while French start-ups exploring Ireland can access PorterShed as a landing point in Galway.
The visiting group included PorterShed CEO Mary Rodgers, members of the PorterShed team Anthony Shaughnessy and Aoife Cheung, and Professor John Breslin of University of Galway. The group was welcomed by Mayor Michel Labardin, Deputy Mayor Claire Rivenc, Marion Séna of La Canopée, and Renaud Delbru of SIREN, a PorterShed member company with strong links between Galway and Bordeaux.
Strengthening Regional Innovation Links
The visit began at La Canopée, where the group received an overview of the coworking space, local enterprise activity and the wider Gradignan region. The programme also included visits to the Château de l’Ermitage and the Prieuré de Cayac.
La Canopée plays an important role in supporting entrepreneurship in Gradignan, providing workspace, business supports, events and local connections for entrepreneurs and early-stage companies.
For PorterShed, the partnership creates a practical route for Galway-based companies interested in exploring the French market. It gives member companies the opportunity to spend time in the region, work from La Canopée, and access introductions that can help them better understand the French ecosystem.
The La Canopée and Gradignan teams developed a detailed programme focused on education, technology, entrepreneurship and regional innovation.
Technical Education and Future Skills
The team visited the GEII department at IUT de Bordeaux, part of the University of Bordeaux, where Timothée Levi and Sarah Reverdy presented the department’s work in robotics, automation, energy and telecommunications.
A key focus of the visit was the practical, project-based approach to technical education. Students at IUT de Bordeaux work directly on applied engineering projects, developing skills aligned with future workforce needs across energy, manufacturing, communications and automation.
One of the major highlights was the “Mission: Sophie” project, where students helped develop an automated orbital tracking station used to connect local school students with French ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot aboard the International Space Station.
The project involved the construction of a large telecommunications antenna system on campus and gave more than 1,500 students from the Bordeaux education district the opportunity to take part in a live exchange with the astronaut while the ISS passed overhead.
The visit also highlighted existing links with University of Galway, with technical students from IUT de Bordeaux currently based in Galway as part of their international programme
Digital Fabrication and Open-Source Prototyping
The programme also included a visit to Coh@bit FabLab in Gradignan, based at IUT de Bordeaux.
The space operates as an open, collaborative digital fabrication lab, supporting students, entrepreneurs and the wider community to move from idea to prototype using tools such as 3D printing, laser cutting and digital manufacturing equipment.
The team described it as closer to a “hacker lab” than a traditional workshop: a place for testing, repairing, building, experimenting and learning by doing.
One of the strongest parts of the model is its open-source culture. Projects created in the FabLab are documented and shared, allowing others to learn from them, adapt them and build on them.
The lab maintains a website with project documentation and a GitHub repository where different project files can be accessed and downloaded.
One of the most memorable projects shown during the visit was a digitally fabricated version of the serpent, a rare historic wind instrument dating back to the late 16th century.
Traditionally made from wood and often covered in leather, the serpent is difficult and expensive to produce. Coh@bit FabLab has worked on reproducing it using modern digital fabrication methods, including 3D printing.
The project shows why spaces like this matter. They can take something historically important, expensive and difficult to manufacture, and turn it into a shared learning project that others can study, improve and reuse.
Visit to Darwin Ecosystem
Darwin Écosystème in Bordeaux, is a former military barracks that has been transformed into a major innovation and community campus.
Set across more than three hectares, Darwin now includes coworking, green enterprise, retail, food, culture, events, urban sport and one of Bordeaux’s best-known skateparks. The space is a strong example of how historic and underused infrastructure can be reimagined for enterprise, community and sustainability.
During the visit, Christine Panteix of Les Premières Nouvelle-Aquitaine showed the group around Darwin and gave an overview of the local tech ecosystem, the role of Les Premières, and the types of start-up and founder activity taking place across the campus.
PorterShed CEO Mary Rodgers presented an overview of PorterShed and Galway’s technology ecosystem. Professor John Breslin also introduced University of Galway, the Galway tech and medtech ecosystems, and Bill Aulet’s Disciplined Entrepreneurship framework
The group also heard from local entrepreneurs, including My Veasytor and Mybreak+, and met Scientifilles, a start-up focused on addressing the underrepresentation of women in STEM.
Darwin was one of the clearest examples of how innovation spaces can sit within a wider community setting. It combines work, culture, food, retail, sport and public life in a way that gives people a reason to gather, stay and connect.
Supporting Women Entrepreneurs
Les Premières Nouvelle-Aquitaine is a regional incubator focused on supporting women entrepreneurs and mixed founding teams.
La Canopée works with Les Premières Nouvelle-Aquitaine to support women founders through advisory sessions, training, workshops and access to community. The wider Les Premières network supports women entrepreneurs across France, with 25 locations and more than 1,300 women entrepreneurs supported each year.
The model provides a strong example of how local innovation spaces can become access points into entrepreneurship, particularly for founders who benefit from structured support, confidence-building, peer networks and practical guidance.
The group also met with La French Tech Bordeaux, gaining further insight into the city’s wider start-up and innovation network.
Agriculture, Technology and Sustainability
On the second day, the programme continued at Bordeaux Sciences Agro in Gradignan, a public higher education and agricultural research institute focused on agronomy, food, environment, viticulture and sustainable development.
The visit highlighted the role of practical learning in preparing students for future challenges across agriculture, climate, food systems and technology. Students work directly with land, sensors, agricultural systems and applied testing environments to explore new methods of production and sustainability.
This was particularly relevant to PorterShed’s continued interest in the intersection of technology, climate, food systems, sustainability and regional enterprise.
Creating Practical Routes for Start-Ups
The value of the visit was practical. It helped turn the partnership between PorterShed and La Canopée into a clearer route for start-ups exploring new markets.
Through the partnership passport system, PorterShed member companies can access La Canopée as a working base in France, with local introductions and ecosystem insight across the Bordeaux region. French start-ups exploring Ireland can access PorterShed in Galway through the same model.
For founders, entering a new market is rarely about workspace alone. It is about knowing who to meet, where to start, what support exists and how to build trust quickly.
The PorterShed and La Canopée partnership is designed to make that process easier.
PorterShed extends its sincere thanks to the team in Gradignan for the welcome, planning and continued partnership. Particular thanks to Mayor Michel Labardin, Deputy Mayor Claire Rivenc, Marion Séna of La Canopée, Renaud Delbru of SIREN, and everyone across the Gradignan and Bordeaux ecosystem who gave their time, insight and support throughout the visit.
