The DEC AltAc (Alternative to Academia) is a monthly seminar where individuals with a cognitive science background show researchers and students in cognitive science at the DEC the many ways their knowledge in cognitive science can be applied to the "real" (aka non-academic) world. 

This spring, the DECAltAc seminar and the Applied Cognitive Science seminar join forces to offer a common program.

ACSS

Seminar sessions will be held on Thursdays, from 5:15 pm to 6:15 pm CET time. 

The first session will be on February 9th.

Every month, there will be:

  • One online session, usually on the first Thursday of the month, where speakers will present one of their projects in-depth. This session will be held here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87808379666?pwd=NUVJL05LZ053QTVNVk54ZkQyckxxdz09

  • One offline session, usually on the third Thursday of the month, where speakers will present their career path and how they use cognitive science in their daily work. The discussion will informally continue after the talk around pastries and drinks. This session will be held at Salle Ribot, 29 rue d’Ulm.

Optional credit validation

Everyone is welcome to attend, but students can validate their participation in the seminar for the DENS (1 ECTS).  To do so, one needs to mandatorily attend the offline seminar sessions on the third Thursday of the month and ask at least one question during the session. 

Full PDF the program

Contact : laudine.carbuccia@ens.psl.eu 

Coming soon

Emile Servan Schreiber (School of Collective Intelligence, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University)
"Prediction Markets and the Science of Forecasting"

Thursday, May 11, 5:15pm, zoom

Mélusine Boon Falleur (ENS)
"Regroop : Turning climate activism into a daily habit"

Thursday, May 25, 5:15pm, room Ribot, 29 rue d’Ulm

MelusineMélusine started her career as an investor in the energy sector in New York. Working with leaders in the oil and gas industry, it became obvious that a transition to a zero carbon economy would not happen spontaneously. That led her to a master in economics at PSE to study environmental policy and understand the economic drivers of the ecological transition. There, she realized that even the best policies won't work unless they are aligned with our individual psychology. 
Therefore, she is now a PhD student in cognitive sciences at the ENS Paris, researching how evolution shaped our brain. 
In 2022, she co-founded Regroop to make climate activism accessible to all. Regroop is a social app that allows users to act daily for systemic change. Partnering with climate activists all around the world, regroop makes activism easy, social and impactful. 

Raj Choudhury (Harvard Business School)
"Remote Work"

Jeudi 15 juin, 17h15, zoom


Past events


Dr. Didier Bazalgette, Dr. Jean Langlois-Berthelot, Jan Stormann
"Cognitive Science:  an asset for the Ministry of Armed Forces applied R&D strategy"

September 26, 2022 

Dr. Didier Bazalgette holds a PhD in Physiology. He initially conducted research in Applied Biology and then coordinated Cognitive Sciences and Neurosciences for several years at the Directorate General of Armament. He has also worked for the European Union. For the last 3 years, he has been coordinating AI, Robotics and Social Sciences Programs of research (and R&D)  for the Defense Innovation Agency. He teaches at SciencesPo, ESSEC, IHEDN, CESD, CNRLT (French Presidency).

Jean LangloisDr. Jean Langlois-Berthelot holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics and several masters degrees, one of them being in Cognitive Sciences. He holds the Brevet Technique d'Etudes Militaires Supérieurs (civilian pathway). A former ethical hacker and executive advisor in security and defense, he has worked as a consultant for several R&D programs of the Defense Innovation Agency and the INRIA. Recently, he was also an expert for the ANR (Agence Nationale de la Recherche) for a project on applied complex systems and a "Strategic Anticipation Envoy" (Ecole Polytechnique/Defense Innovation Agency) to the Freeman Spogli Institute (Stanford University).

 

Jan StormannJan Stormann is an alumnus of the ENA, the LSE, SciencesPo and CELSA - Sorbonne. He also attended Cornell University and ETH Zürich and taught on Intelligence and Technology at SciencePo. He is a hybrid-threat specialist that has worked for the Centre d'Analyse Prospective et Stratégique of the French Ministry for Europe & Foreign Affairs and for the Austrian government and is a regular contributor with Chatham House's Common Futures Conversations. He has also worked as an expert consultant at Storyzy and interned with a project under the Defense Innovation Agency program in Applied Cognitive Sciences.
 

 

Josefina Gimenez, Artimon
"Applying cognitive science in a Research and Development department: The case of Artimon Perspectives, a research studio"
October 20, 2022

GimenezJosefina Gimenez holds degrees in Philosophy from the Ecole Normale Supérieure and Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, and in Public Policy from the London School of Economics. She created and directs Artimon Perspectives, the research and innovation department of Artimon. The activity of Artimon Perspectives is centered around the impact of new technologies in organizations, and its activity is organized around three axes: technological uses, scientific approach, and knowledge sharing. For more than 15 years, Josefina has been working on innovative topics from a societal point of view as well as on their economic impact and their integration in organizations. She also brings her expertise in transformation and innovation projects in the public and private sectors, strategic planning and project evaluation. She teaches strategy at ESCP and co-directs the AI in policy making seminar at Sciences Po Paris.

Charles de Dampierre, Bunka
"The Bunka project: how to build a new generation of Exploration Engine?"

November 24, 2022

CharlesCharles de Dampierre is a graduate of the Grande École of HEC Paris and holds a master's degree in cognitive sciences from the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Ulm. He is currently a Ph.D. student at the ENS, a Research Engineer at Medialab of Sciences Po and the CEO of Bunka. His work focuses on using Natural Language Processing & Visualization to study the cultural attractors of society and the different ways of mapping and searching information on the web. 

BUNKA is a software architecture project using recent research in cognitive science (leveraging collective intelligence and visualization) and computer science (automatic language processing and machine learning) to build the next generation of exploration engines: more transparent & with access to a wider picture of things.

https://www.bunka.ai/


Rémi Poivet from Ubisoft
"Cognitive science for game design: the study of hostility perception in video games"
Monday, December 12, 2022

Rémi PoivetRémi Poivet is a Ph.D. student at Sorbonne Université and cognitive science researcher at Ubisoft. The topic of his thesis focuses on studying players' perceptions of autonomous characters in video games to deliver a more user-centered design for game production.

Ubisoft is an international video games company based in Paris and all around the world.  



 

Valerie Shalin (Wright State University)
"Social Media : Inferring Breach and Community Membership Roles in Social Media Data"

February 9, 2023

Samah Karaki
"Using Cognitive Science to organize collective action"

February 23, 2023

SamahSamah Karaki is a Franco-Lebanese neuroscientist and a mental health expert working on research, tool and curricula development and capacity-building on Mental Health, Education and organisational culture in the MENA region and Europe. She is the founder and director of the Social Brain Institute, a Geneva-based NGO that draws on the cognitive and social sciences to develop strategies in order to enhance learning, organizational culture, and social and environmental justice. She is the author of “le travail en équipe”, Dunod editions, 2021, and “Le talent est une fiction” éditions JC Lattès, 2023. Samah Karaki holds a PhD. in Neuroscience and two masters degree in cognitive neurobiology and ecology.

Matthew Fisher (Southern Methodist University)
"Illusions of understanding : The metacognitive consequences of external assistance"

Thursday, March 2, 5:15pm, zoom

Nawal Abboub (RisingUp & ENS)
"Using Cognitive Science : Challenges and Opportunities"

Thursday, March 16, 5:15pm, room Ribot, 29 rue d’Ulm

NawalNawal Abboub is a scientist and an entrepreneur. She obtained a master's degree in neuroscience from Sorbonne University and a Ph.D. in cognitive science from university Paris Cité. After studying language acquisition during her Ph.D. and number perception at birth during her post doc, she co-founded Rising up, a company that creates training and programs for skills enhancement. With her team, she created a unique tool combining cognitive neuroscience and technology: the Core Skill Scan. 
Aside from her entrepreneurial activity, she is currently the director of the course “Cognitive Science and society” at Ecole Normale Supérieure-PSL. She also designed early intervention programs to fight inequalities. In 2022, she published her first book “La puissance des bébés” at Fayard Editions.

Annie Duke (Former World Champion in Poker, Cognitive Scientist)
"Decision making under uncertainty : Quit : The power of knowing when to walk away"

Thursday, April 6, 5:15pm, zoom

Olivier Sibony (HEC Paris)
"Cognitive Science in the Business World"

Thursday, April 13, 5:15pm, room Ribot, 29 rue d’Ulm

OlivierOlivier Sibony is Professor of Strategy (Education Track) at HEC Paris, where he was awarded the Vernimmen teaching award in 2020. He is also an Associate Fellow of Saïd Business School in Oxford University, and has taught at London Business School, Ecole Polytechnique, ENA, IE Madrid, and other institutions. 
More broadly, Olivier Sibony is a professor, author, and advisor specializing in the quality of strategic thinking and the design of decision processes. Olivier builds on this research and experience to advise senior leaders on strategic and operational decision-making. He is a frequent keynote speaker and facilitator of top management and board meetings. He also serves as a member of corporate, advisory, and investment boards, and is a knight in the French Order of the Légion d’Honneur.
Olivier’s latest book, Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment, co-authored with Daniel Kahneman and Cass R. Sunstein, has appeared on multiple bestseller lists worldwide, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Sunday Times lists.