Introduction 
Sylvain Bourjade,

Professor, Researcher and Head of the Finance, Economics and Econometrics Laboratory at TBS

Economic and financial crises have hit us regularly over the last 40 years and have shown us that the economy is very resilient. These crises often create the conditions for a revitalization of activities with sectors disappearing or being reinvented and others being born. The births are the fruits of innovation in the context of new constraints such as the ecological transition or strong technological gaps such as at the moment, the digitalization of society.  Currently, digital sectors such as fintech or biotech, associated with artificial intelligence, are doing very well. We are therefore likely to see a revival of the economy with the emergence of new leaders. These professions, which were already at the forefront before the health crisis, will continue to generate employment, but the need for innovation will also be a determining factor in overcoming a crisis that is different from previous ones of its nature. In fact, this is a global health and environmental crisis that is very different from the financial, banking, oil or property crises that have affected our economy in recent decades.

These innovation needs will have to be financed. In this area, venture capital, private equity, financing and analysis activities for investment in new technology companies, will play a decisive role. Finally, the crisis has accentuated the transformation of the economy that was already underway with fundamental trends in digitalization, data exploitation and online activities. Thus, investment funds will be directed towards these new sectors already emerging around digitalization, the environment and more sustainable activities.

In the Toulouse region, the aeronautics industry has of course suffered from the sudden halt in transport due to the coronavirus. But if we look back at the deregulation of the sector which took place after the oil crisis and generated the arrival of many new airlines, this revolution allowed new audiences to access air transport. Similarly, the air transport crisis of 2001 following the World Trade Center attacks preceded the arrival of low-cost airlines. Today, we are witnessing a new stage in the development of aeronautics towards a greener and more sustainable model using new fuels such as hydrogen, biofuel or electric aircraft. Many innovative companies, such as the Airbus subsidiary Upnext, are working on these developments in France and abroad. These new technologies will certainly be developed more quickly because of the crisis and will become a source of employment in the sector.

It is therefore the ambition of TBS to train future entrepreneurs who will be able to accompany these transitions with the codes of innovation and with audacity. Beyond this pedagogical challenge, the school also makes it a point of honor to show the way and to demonstrate its own versatility and its capacity to adapt by creating a center of excellence in the aeronautics and space sector. This approach is expressed around three strong axes:

• Research and Innovation: The aeronautical industry of the future, more sustainable with biofuel, hydrogen in all its deployment complexities (green production, transport and storage, supply chain, securing onboard storage, etc.)

• Pedagogy: An aeronautics specialization will now be offered in all of the group's courses.

• Partnership: In association with INP Toulouse, TBS has won European and regional funding to work on the supply chain of the hydrogen sector.