A fixed idea, an atypical path...
How did you get to Centrale Lyon?
It all started during a school visit organized in my senior year, at the Lycée Édouard Branly. That day,I visited Centrale Lyon and discovered its FabLab, it was an instant crush! I had good results, teachers who encouraged me to give it a go, so I thought: why not go to engineering school?
The idea took hold and I entered the PCSI prep school at La Martinière in Lyon. The first year passed with difficulty, the second year was better, but on a personal level, things were complicated. I gradually dropped out, but I had set myself a minimum goal: to make it to the written exams. I didn't want to end up dropping out even if I didn't go on to engineering school.
What ultimately led you to go back to school?
After prep school, I worked for nearly three years. Various jobs, temp work, very different sectors. It was an encounter in an industry - a boss and a chef who welcomed me well - that was a trigger. They told me quite clearly: you should go back to school, you're bored here. Those around me pushed me in the same direction and I decided to look for training in the field of physics.
I enrolled at the IUT du Creusot along the way - the head of department called me personally because my file, despite an atypical background, had interested her. I got down to work in earnest. I finished top of my class over the two years. With the IUT reform, a gateway to engineering schools opened up. I hesitated between INSA and Centrale Lyon, but the question didn't arise for long: I'd wanted Centrale Lyon since high school! I submitted an application to join the specialization course "Energy plant design" in partnership with the ITII and I was admitted.
Work-study, being at the heart of the reactor!
The "Energy Plant Design" engineering course is a sandwich course, what does it offer you?
The sandwich course was a way of keeping one foot in the company while getting the degree I'd wanted since high school. What I like is being at the heart of a company's real issues and learning things that school wouldn't have taught me. At EDF, I joined the Technical and Engineering Department, working on neutronics, the core of reactors. It's a niche subject, and when I joined the team I didn't even know what it was. The work-study program has really enabled me to deepen my knowledge of this subject.
How do you experience the work-study rhythm? How do Centrale Lyon and ITII support you?
The rhythm is about two to three weeks in the company, two to three weeks at school. It's intense, but exactly what I wanted. In terms of follow-up, each student-engineer has a company tutor and a teaching tutor on the school side. The educational tutor visits the company every semester, to make sure that the projects are in line with the training and the engineering level. He remains available between visits in case of questions or doubts, as do all the teachers on the curriculum for that matter. I find that they are extremely present, which is the advantage of a small class.
How did your integration into the EDF company go?
Very well, because I'd already experienced the world of work in very different forms - worksite, temporary work, various sectors. Adapting to a more tertiary environment was no change for me. The EDF group is very respectful of the work-study contract: it pays attention to the pace, helps with travel and accommodation if needed. The company also organizes joint work-study days, so integration into the collective happens naturally. And above all, I had a really committed tutor, who came up with exciting projects for me right from the start.
One specialized course, a thousand possibilities!
You're currently at the end of your degree course, on international mobility in England - can you tell us more about it?
Yes, I'm seconded to EDF Energy, on the Hinkley Point C reactor project under construction near Bristol. International mobility is a compulsory part of the curriculum - a minimum of three months - and it's a real asset to the course.In my case, it was my tutor at EDF who made it possible: he identified the opportunity, supported the project and facilitated contact with the British team. My end-of-studies work is a direct continuation of what I was doing in France - using start-up data from Flamanville to validate the neutron calculation code used by EDF Energy here. It's concrete, it's useful, and it really rounds off the curriculum. For my fellow students who didn't have this opportunity via their company, a research internship in a laboratory abroad is possible - different, but just as rewarding.
The training is a specialty engineering curriculum, does this restrict the outlets?
Energy, it's so vast. We're talking about all modes of production - nuclear, renewable, thermal - from design to production, via physics, mechanics, chemistry. It's almost a generalist course with an energy option, really. Centrale Lyon's academic level and reputation mean that you can leave the energy field if you want to. In my class, some even go back to do more specialized masters after graduation, others continue in doctorate with their company thanks to the CIFRE scheme.
And what are your plans after Centrale Lyon?
Honestly, I've stopped trying to plan everything. I'm going back to France in August to finish my sandwich course and support my final thesis. What comes after that, I'll see. I like it at EDF, I'm in their work-study pool, which makes it easier to apply internally. But I'm not closed because nuclear power is going to develop with SMRs - small modular reactors - via the France 2030 scheme. And then experience in England has given me a taste for the international. We'll see what comes up...
Energy and Plant Design Engineer
The "Energy facility design"specialty engineering course in partnership with theITII de Lyon is run under a three-year apprenticeship contract. This course meets an undeniable need in the energy sector for engineers to design facilities for the efficient production, distribution or operation of energy at the scale of territories, industrial sites and buildings.
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