Philippe Maurin is the Director of International Affairs of Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon) and Associate Professor in Organic Chemistry. His research interests relate to the design and synthesis of small molecules used as inhibitors for biological targets. As Director of International Affairs, he directly advises the President of ENS de Lyon on matters of international strategy and is in charge of two departments: “International mobility of students” and “international partnerships and cooperation” From 2015 to 2018, he worked for the French Ministry of foreign affairs at the French Embassy in China as “Attaché for Science, Technology and Innovation”. He was stationed at the French Consulate General in Wuhan and in charge for the three provinces of Central China (Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi). Part of his missions consisted in promoting French attractivity in research and innovation, monitoring exact sciences and medical cooperation, as well as R&D and innovation subjects (mainly automotive and health sciences) by connecting French and Chinese players to foster exchanges.