Aymeric: The co-op engineering program

What did you think of your time at the school?

"ENSTA Bretagne was a great school to attend. I was always happy to get back there in between my work placements. Student life there is cool: there are lots of nights out and events organized by the Student Union. The Foy'z is also a good place to get together in a relaxed atmosphere after class. There are also lots of sports activities.

From an academic point of view, what I really liked was the approachability and friendliness of teachers and staff. The only thing I would have liked to see more of was common projects bringing together students from different programs."

You chose the co-operative program. Did this option work for you, and would you recommend it?

"Doing a degree with co-op work placements is a great opportunity. Work placements let you get a feel for the working environment. You gain maturity through projects that your company allows you to participate in, and you also gain independence and learn to take initiative. The team that manages the co-operative program is really helpful and takes into account any questions or feedback you might have about the program."

Was it easy to transition from the DUT GEII program to the co-op engineering program?

"The training you receive in the IUT GEII (Institut Universitaire de Technologie, Industrial IT and Electronics) is completely adapted to the electrical engineering program at ENSTA Bretagne. If there are any knowledge gaps, ENSTA offers refresher classes to help with the move from an IUT to an engineering school. There's also a lot of student solidarity, so students from electrical or mechanical backgrounds help each other out so that everyone can attain a good level in both disciplines." 

You were an apprentice at ESTAR for 3 years. What sort of responsibilities were you given?

"I worked on the development of control software and embedded on various projects in aeronautics, defense, and space. I also got to work on the specification, development and validation stages on those projects."

Why did you choose to major in embedded systems?

Embedded systems have always interested me. There are lots of challenges in this field, for example restrictions to do with space, environment (temperature, watertightness), autonomy, etc. It's these challenges, combined with the need to innovate, which attracted me to this field."  

What are your plans after graduation?

"I've been hired on a permanent contract by ALTRAN Rennes in their Intelligent Systems engineering department. I'll mostly be working on FPGA development in various fields (defense, aeronautics, space), and I'll likely have opportunities to work internationally."

Would you recommend ENSTA Bretagne?

"ENSTA Bretagne is a really good general engineering school where you can learn about a wide variety of disciplines from really great teaching staff. There are lots of cool social nights and extracurricular activities for students. And the sun's always shines in Brest!"