Halfway through 2024, we look back at all the good our Ekinops team members did for communities, charities and local organizations.
For several years now, Ekinops has been striving to involve its employees in making a positive impact on a large scale.
The beginning of the year was marked by numerous employee initiatives and a key factor was our employee culture of giving back. We look back at these events that marked the start of the year at Ekinops:
- Ada Lovelace Challenge
On February 16 and 17, 2024, the 9th edition of the Ada Lovelace Challenge took place in Lannion, France. Named after the first female coder in history, the programming competition is organized by students from the École Nationale Supérieure des Sciences Appliquées et de Technologie (ENSSAT) to encourage young women to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers - all fields in which women are traditionally underrepresented.
Partner since 2021, Ekinops is proud to have once again sponsored the Ada Lovelace Challenge and to have ambassadors who promote diversity in technical science professions, like Gwenaelle, R&D Project Manager and Israa Alnazer, PhD and R&D Engineer. The project has empowered many young girls to discover that they have the potential to enter scientific careers, and that computing isn't just for men.
- Ride4Ceylon
From the hills of Kandy to the serene shores of Jaffna, the Ride4Ceylon charity ride took place from February 28 to March 2, 2024. Ride4Ceylon is an annual four-day, 400-km bicycle ride through the beautiful countryside of Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) to raise funds for the Green Memorial Hospital.
Ekinops has been a sponsor of Ride4Ceylon since 2019, thanks to Pradeep Gnanasekaram, Business Development Director ANZ at Ekinops and who once again this year hit the road for these 4 intensive days. And what an impressive journey it was, as Pradeep captained Group 1, the fastest team, which covered a total of 520 km.
This year's goal was to raise the sum of £100,000 to rebuild the Pediatric Unit and the Hope Beyond Cancer Unit. So with every turn of the pedal, all riders knew they were not only cycling through the beautiful landscapes of Sri Lanka, but also making a concrete difference to the lives of the less fortunate.
- Ronde du Hibou
Organized since 2017, the Ronde du Hibou, is an urban trail crossing the streets and park of the town of Le Plessis-Robinson, France.
All profits (resulting from registrations and donations) are entirely donated to the Marie Lannelongue Hospital to improve the daily lives of children hospitalized in cardiopediatrics. Since 2017, the funds raised have helped to finance hardware and software for image-guided minimally invasive surgery and other innovative technologies.
This year, over 300 participants lined up at the start, including Fabrice Boise, Global Account Manager at Ekinops. Fabrice, athlete and volunteer, took the start of the trail on March 17, 2024, after marking the course in the morning.
Every stride counted, as 12 445 € were raised to help children suffering from heart disease.
- 20 km of Brussels
The 20 km of Brussels is a legendary race that passes through some of the most beautiful monuments and parks in Brussels, Belgium. This year, 45,000 participants took part in the race on May 26, 2024.
For this 44th edition, thanks to Axel Philips, Business Development Manager at Ekinops, Ekinops sponsored the "Nos Enfants Cardiaques" association, which is dedicated to improving the well-being of children born with heart defects and their families.
Axel and the 50 runners who lined up in the colors of the Équipe du Coeur, achieved a very impressive performance.
- Corrida de Lannion
The second edition of the Corrida de Lannion, a foot race held in and around the city of Lannion, France, took place on June 8, 2024. Participants were challenged to complete either a 5km or 10km run.
Once again this year, Ekinops was an official sponsor of the race, with all proceeds going to a good cause in the Trégor region.
More than 800 runners lined up at the start, including Team Ekinops:
- Ludivine Fourgeaud, Logistics Supervisor
- Yann Le Calvez, R&D Engineer
- Antoine Franquet, Senior R&D Engineer
- Guy-Michel Rio, Senior R&D Engineer
- Pierre Guilloux, R&D Engineer
- & Marc Langlois, R&D Engineer
With their help and that of all participants, funds were raised for "L'espoir d'une triplette", a local association supporting the fight against breast cancer.
Ekinops is proud to support local communities, charities and organizations, but also to support its employees in their own personal challenges.
As was the case in 2019, when Christine Lesellier, Sales Administrator at Ekinops, excelled at the IPF World Bench Press championships, winning a silver medal and setting a new French and European record at 85 kg.
Or more recently, when Eric Blesson, Support Engineer at Ekinops, showed that he's not just a champion for his customers and won first place in his category, Veteran +84kg, at the 2024 French Corporate Cup of Karate.
And as in all good stories, the end is just the beginning. Ekinops will therefore continue to support its employees in their initiatives for good.
