After a two-year course of intensiv

After a two-year course of intensive mathematics and physics in a preparatory school in France, I was admitted in Ecole Centrale de Nantes (one of the top science and engineering schools in France) in fall 2010. I had no precise career plan at that time since I had mostly followed the traditional track for good scientific students without really questioning it. But over the summer, I went to visit my brother who was then studying at Berkeley and I felt this incredible energy and talent put together by universities and innovative companies to remain on the edge of Computer Science. It was truly inspiring and made me want to develop my leadership and explore new opportunities. So when starting at Ecole Centrale the first key experience in my education, I had in mind to do more than follow the traditional academic path. I wanted to carry out projects that could help define myself and my future projects and career.

So I decided to run for president of the Student Council with 27 students. The elections turned into a victory leading to a one-year term described here. Overall, my position required leadership, management, decision-making and communication skills. With another commitment to the social organization BRIO, extra-curricular activities became a second key experience in my education.

In the meantime, I was developing an increasing interest in information technologies through readings, discussions and conferences. I had the chance to meet inspiring professionals who encouraged me to continue in this field and I accordingly chose classes such as programming, algorithmic, web technologies, information systems and databases management. In my first year, I also took classes in other scientific fields – as encouraged by the school – such as physics, applied mathematics, management and strategy. This broad, multi-disciplinary approach made me realize that the IT field often requires such various and transverse skills (including the leadership and management skills I was strengthening through my commitment to the Student Council). My second year was more specialized and on the side of theory classes, I had more time for laboratory sessions and research. During the last semester in particular, I chose to focus on Geographic Information Systems and started a research project with the French IRSTV (Institut de Recherche en Sciences et Techniques de la Ville).

Through that experience, I became more and more curious on how new information technologies and progress in computer science can provide powerful decision tools, to help in the development of policies or in the management of crises. This interest and will to somehow use my knowledge to help and assist society, strengthened by my commitment in social associations, is still strongly motivating me today.

Thanks to my research work, my broad coursework at Ecole Centrale and my extra-curricular involvement, my education in France was highly rewarding. However, I felt like I needed to process and appropriate these competences and knowledge I had recently gained by using them outside the classroom. That is why I decided to take a gap year abroad, to gain work experience in IT companies through internships. This is the third key experience in my education.

I have spent 15 months in Bangkok, Thailand, as a project leader in web and software development. This internship was an excellent opportunity to master technologies and concrete applications of concepts and methods, especially in database management and software development. The different culture and mindsets I faced there were sometimes unsettling, but always satisfied my need for social experiences. The technical skills I have developed also proved useful in my research, as they allow me to avoid some technical pitfalls when working on my projects.

Now that I have gained my first solid experiences in computer science – both in the industry and in research – I am returning to academics to be more knowledgeable on the new findings in the field, its latest technologies and societal impacts. I am extremely thrilled to be admitted in the Master of Science in Computer and Information Technology at University of Pennsylvania and now want to make the most of this challenging and cutting-edge environment I have been pursuing over the past few years.