Stiven Briand God MASSALA, a graduate of the Li217 class, shares his inspiring educational journey. Between research and international opportunities, he offers his advice as an Arts et Métiers engineer Arts et Métiers future applicants and graduates.
What training have you completed?
After earning my Bac D at Lycée Chaminade in Brazzaville (Congo), I left my home country to pursue, in sequence, a BTS in electromechanics at the CFPT Senegal/Japan, followed by a CPGE ATS program at Lycée César Baggio in Lille, before enrolling at the Arts & Métiers campus in Lille for its general engineering program (Grande Ecole Engineering Programme).
In the final year of my engineering degree, interested in computational mechanics, I completed a research master's degree in " Modeling and Simulation of Complex Structures and Systems" at Paris-Saclay University.
Today, I am in my first year of doctoral studies at ENS Paris-Saclay, in a joint program with NTU in Singapore, under the supervision of Ludovic Chamoin (Paris-Saclay Mechanics Laboratory, ENS) and Massimo Pica Ciammara (School of Physical & Mathematical Sciences, NTU).
You have had an international career. Tell us about it.
I did indeed have the opportunity to gain international experience in industry and research, both during and after my training.
During my training, I completed internships in Congo (Pointe-Noire) and the USA (Houston, Texas) in 2018 and 2019 for several months.
These internships allowed me to see my family in Congo again and to discover American working methods.
After completing my training, I did a research internship at the University of Manchester before being hired at CNRS@Create in Singapore in connection with my current thesis work.
What did you gain from these international experiences?
Traveling has exposed me to cultures that complement each other in their functioning. Through these experiences, I have learned how to strike the perfect balance between listening, humility, and self-confidence.
In addition, it was an opportunity to expand my language skills, build a professional network of people with similar interests, and, above all, make friends.
What has your career path been like since graduating with your engineering degree from Arts et Métiers
I graduated from the Lille campus in 2017.
After completing my training, I was hired as a research associate in the Descartes program at CNRS@Create in Singapore.
During this period, I worked on developing hybrid artificial intelligence methods (knowledge and data) for estimating the state of systems modeled by partial differential equations for which experimental observations are available.
You are currently working on a thesis. Can you tell us more about it?
My thesis is part of the Descartes program.
The objective of my thesis is to develop a framework for quickly and accurately predicting the evolution of a complex system.
"This research will be applied to urban mobility and energy management, or to anticipate the needs of future transportation networks, smart industries, and smart buildings."
What would you say is the best advice to give to currentArts et Métiers applicants or studentsArts et Métiers
First of all, Arts & Métiers engineers have a place in research, so don't hesitate to get started. And to quote my former philosophy teacher, Mr. Cyril Barde: "Research is fundamental to intellectual development."
I would add to that bysaying,"Traveling is essential for personal development. However, traveling is not just about going out into the world; it is also about bringing the world to you. It is very important to take advantage of the presence of international students and their cultural background.
