Amandine Boos, Chelsea Maradei, and Lucie Peccoux are second-year students in the Grande Ecole Program at the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers Cluny. They agreed to talk about their backgrounds, motivations, and aspirations in a video illustrating their interest in technology. We catch up with them and Isabelle Duband, a teacher at the Cluny campus and leader of the OPTIM success network, who initiated this project.
Their turning point: an internship, a meeting
Amandine, Chelsea, and Lucie share a deep passion for technology, DIY, math, and physics.
They begin their post-baccalaureate education at a prestigious university with a major in architecture, a BTS (advanced vocational training certificate) in industrial product design, or a preparatory class. It is through internships, meetings with their teachers, or a change of direction that they discover the École Arts et Métiers its engineering program.
Technology has always been part of my daily life, so it wasn't strange for me to go down this path, Lucie Peccoux tells us.
They joined Arts et Métiers same year on the Cluny campus and very quickly became involved in the activities organized by the OPTIM Success Network, led by teacher Isabelle Duband. Duband then suggested that they take things a step further by participating in a video testimonial she was working on, aimed at middle and high school students.
Many high school students have no idea what engineering careers involve.
Isabelle Duband is aware of the issue of gender diversity, particularly in engineering studies and engineering professions. As part of her role leading the OPTIM Cordée de la Réussite program, she has met many high school students who have no idea what engineering careers entail. They also lack information about the various courses of study that lead to an engineering degree.
The idea of making a video for middle and high school students came to me during an "Engineers and Technicians" day that I organized in early 2020 at Henri Parriat High School.
Girls can thrive in science and technology studies just as much as boys.
The testimonials from Amandine, Chelsea, and Lucie serve as an introduction to discussions about career guidance, science programs, and engineering professions. "I would like to thank these three students for agreeing to share their experiences with us. I hope that middle and high school girls will identify with them."
My wish is therefore to raise the profile of female students in the Arts et Métiers Grande Ecole Program, in order to attract more talented women and more young people from modest backgrounds to engineering programs in general, and to our school in particular.
The goal is for young people to understand that girls can thrive in science and technology studies just as much as boys.
Available on the channel Arts et Métiers YouTube channelchannel, this video can be used by anyone who feels involved or is involved in promotingArts et Métiers its training programs.
List of partner institutions of the OPTIM Success Ladder program for the 2020-2021 academic year
La Prat’s High School (Cluny)
Middle schools En Fleurette (Saint-Gengoux-le-National), Saint-Cyr (Matour), Saint-Exupéry and Robert Schuman (Mâcon)
