At MSN we adopted an agile model for organisation to fit the needs of a research, education and entrepreneurship. We believe the developed model will help free and focus energies and embed values such as transparency, team-work and agility in the fabric of the department.

So how does it work?

The model is built on an organization where squads, tribes, chapters and guilds are the constituents of the department.

• A Squad is composed of the members of a research project and is designed to feel like a mini-startup. The members of a squad have all the skills and tools needed to perform research, develop, and deliver results. They are a self-organizing team and decide their own way of working.
• The tribe can be seen as the “incubator” for the squad mini-¬startups and has a fair degree of freedom and autonomy.
• The chapter is a small family of people having similar skills. They work in the same tribe, within the same general competency area.
• A Guild is a more organic and wide-reaching “community of interest”, a group of people that want to share knowledge, tools, and practices. Chapters are always local to a Tribe, while a guild usually cuts across the whole department.

Chapters and Guilds are the glue that helps realize the construction (the department), they ensure, a multi-disciplinarity and cross-discipline collaborations, and strongly contribute to the agility of the department. They make sure that the department functions transparently without sacrificing too much autonomy.

The scientific committee

The scientific committee is presided by the head of the MSN department and meets once a year to re-visit the department’s research Agenda. The Scientific committee membership is for a period of 2 years, renewable upon request from the head of the department

The scientific committee member roles include but are not limited to the following:

• Scientific watch
• Review and give advice on MSN members projects propositions based on new knowledge, industrial pertinence and innovation
• Act to ensure continued quality and scientific integrity

The Seven Sages of MSN

The Seven Sages of MSN is a group composed of all the departments Affiliate Professors. They have varied functions depending on the profile and the experience, and are often invited to:

• Contribute to the different tribes upon invitation by ensuring the success of specific tasks
• Support and give counsel on the implementation of the MSN scientific program
• Help organize scientific events and promoting MSN outside UM6P
• Help grow MSN's network