Client reference · Space agency, public institution · Toulouse, Paris, French Guiana
CNES: from introductory webinars to an annual program on the space agency's internal AI
Starting as a series of introductory webinars in 2024, the program became a recurring event in 2025: each session begins with the IAG charter and safety guidelines, followed by customized experiments on the agency's internal LLM. Up to 150 participants per webinar, 673 participations across the eight recorded sessions, and a commitment to four sessions per year, including one Agent Party scheduled for November 2026.
The starting point: an internal framework under construction, followed by a massively followed survey
In early 2024, the Training Department planned to develop the topic of generative AI, while the internal framework was still under construction. An initial introductory webinar was organized in six weeks, with security guidelines validated internally.
The turning point is in the spring of 2025. A massively followed internal survey, with more than 800 responses and more than a third of the workforce, shows strong private use of generative AI, still limited professional use, high vigilance on data and a massive expectation of training and framework.
The objective set for the 2025 program: to raise as many agents as possible, as high as possible, in order to gain in operational excellence and quality of working life.
The plan: three phases, a change of scale
All sessions are open to volunteer employees via the training catalogue, remotely via Teams, and led by two NextStart instructors.
Phase 1 (2024): acculturation
A webinar "Discovering generative AI and its impact on professions" in March 2024, a half-day in person in April for the Communication Department seminar (Toulouse and Paris, French Guiana via video conference) in "masterclass + challenge" format, then two superpower webinars, Writing in April and Synthesizing in June.
Phase 2 (2025): the program with the internal AI unit
Each session begins with an introduction to the IAG charter by the internal AI team, and a representative from the IT department presents the results of the prompts run on the internal LLM. Masterclass "Discovering Generative AI" in June 2025 (approximately 150 participants), repeated in November, then Prompt Party in December 2025 on the internal LLM with tailor-made cases from the space sector.
Phase 3 (2026): the annual program
In March 2026, the Training Department committed to four annual sessions: "(Re)discovering Generative AI" in April, "Researching and Writing" in June, "Synthesizing and Analyzing" in September, which brought together 116 participants, and a Agent Party "Automate your repetitive tasks" scheduled for November 2026.
Integrated Governance
The program is validated by the internal AI unit, consistent with the IAG charter and the authorized tools.
The measured results
25 participants attended the Writing workshop and 45 attended the Summarizing workshop in 2024; approximately 150 attended the June 2025 Masterclass, 80 in November, and 82 at the... Prompt Party December 2025, 81 in April 2026, 94 in June 2026, 116 in September 2026. Cumulative: 673 participations over these eight sessions.
17 evaluations, including 11 scores of 5. "This was the foundational training I needed to get started without fear," "Very good format and content for an introduction." The request to present the IAG charter as an introduction was incorporated into the following session.
After Prompt Party In December 2025, the Training Department summarized: "It was very concrete and consistent with what we authorize at CNES and in line with [our internal LLM]. Perfect!!"
The Training Department has committed to four annual sessions in 2026, discussions are underway to expand the program, and NextStart has been recommended to the CNES network of training managers.
Key figures
What they say
“We’re very happy on our end too, we’ve only had very positive feedback! I think it was really the right format, somewhere between a master class and a challenge. It generated a lot of interest and gave us a leg up without throwing us into the deep end!”
Communications Department, CNES, 2024
"It was very concrete and consistent with what we allow at CNES and in line with [our internal LLM]. Perfect!!"
Training Department, CNES, 2025
What we take away from this
The internal survey gave the program its legitimacy and priorities: to bridge the gap between private and professional use, to reassure about the data, to show that the organization encourages it.
IAG Charter at the opening, internal AI unit present, demonstrations on the authorized tool: training becomes the place where the institution's AI policy is seen and understood.
Training on your sovereign tool, within your governance framework
AI charter, steering committee, internal LLM: NextStart adapts its formats to your usage rules and business cases, as at CNES.
The program in pictures
The workshops in this program, as listed on our References page.
Annual program for training CNES employees in generative AI: Prompt Party “Practicing best practices in AI using the secure internal tool” in September 2026, 1.5 hours remotely. 116 participants.
Participant satisfaction:
Very good! / Good overview of the tool's uses, concise and effective format, introduces various uses of the tool as well as best practices for writing relevant prompts / Provides good ideas, the examples given are varied and illustrate multiple options and functionalities of the tool. Short & effective! Also presents some tips and points to consider that are good to know / A good overview of using the tool for our daily work at CNES. Training with a good pace and a reasonable amount of information. Now all that's left is to experiment! / Excellent! Top! / Interesting training, well-paced presentation / Good introduction to the tool and prompt possibilities. The training is interactive and the trainers are attentive
Participant satisfaction:
Good introduction to the subject / Allows you to understand the limits and risks of AI / Very good / Interesting training / Clear presentation illustrated by educational examples / Good overview of the functioning and uses of AI / For those who have questions about the impacts of AI / Very good format / Very good content for an introduction / Interesting / It was very good, accessible, practical / This webinar confirms for me the merits of using AI to be more efficient and does not exclude the skills we must have / Very informative / A good gateway to AI / The training is well suited to novices / Clear and accessible introduction to the principles of generative AI / It covers the basic concepts in an educational way / Good format / Very interesting for an overview / Instructive / It was the basic training I was missing to get started without fear
Sponsor satisfaction:
Very happy, only very good feedback! It was really the right format, between the masterclass and the challenge. This generated a lot of interest and got us started without leaving us in the jungle!
Customized program for acculturating CNES employees to Generative AI through 4 practical workshops Prompt Party " and " Agent Party » with the secure internal tool
Participant satisfaction:
Very complete, very good level. Thank you! / Very informative, very structured, want to go further / Very interesting, very complete. Thank you also for the additional resources / Very complete interventions that allowed me to understand AI. Thank you / Very instructive and interesting! Thank you / Thank you very much it was very clear and very interesting! / Very good introduction to the subject! Thank you / Good introduction to AI, clear and interesting, thank you / Very clear and effective. Makes you want to go further / Good awareness and good to have concrete examples live / Effective format: explicit and illustrated, thank you! / Very interesting! Thank you very much / Interesting, makes you want to go further / Very complete thank you / Thank you very much for this very interesting training
The same program for your organization
What CNES has put in place is available in catalogue format: la Prompt Party, the format of CNES webinarsDescribe your situation in a few lines, and we'll get back to you within 24 business hours with a proposal. You can also book a 30-minute consultation directly.
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