Samuel: After my electrical engineering degree, I decided to take the MS Entrepreneurship course at EM Normandie in order to learn business management. I only spent one year at the business school, but I remember it well. The energy of student life and the sense of all being in the same team made a big impression on me.
Clément: As for me, I first obtained a DUT (2-year diploma) in Business and Administration Management before joining EM Normandie in 2015 via the Passerelle competitive exam. In my third year, I got involved with student organisations. That was when I found lasting friendships and began to build my professional network. I also learnt to work as part of a team with a whole range of different people, just as you do in a corporate world. This year, I’m President of the Bureau des Alternants (Part-time Students’ Union), which organises events to bring together the 630 students across Le Havre, Caen and Paris campuses.
Experience of a SME, a complete overview of a business
Samuel: After my studies, I went to work at Unifer Environnement, a company specialising in recycling waste, and for the past two years I have been its CEO. The company has grown a lot in ten years: now we have three sites in Normandy and around forty staff. My workload has grown a lot too, but running an SME is really motivating and covers so many different things. I’m able to direct my work towards whatever challenge we’re currently facing, and that means I don’t get stuck in a routine. I get involved with marketing, sales, operations, projects and more. My goal is to be more nimble than our larger competitors. We do the same activities, but not in the same way! Bigger companies are slower and more hierarchical, whereas we do everything more locally; we’re more reactive and flexible. Day to day, Clément supports me and we work well together.
Clément: As a Project Leader, I manage different assignments; I work across all areas of the business. Each day brings new tasks. From my point of view, working in an SME gives you the most well-rounded introduction to business.
The expertise of EM Normandie Alumni
Samuel: What the teams that support the Alumni association have done in the last ten years is staggering! Not only is our network really blossoming, it looks like there’s a lot more to come!
Clément: At the very heart of the organisation is the aim of connecting students and alumni, and that is an incredible asset for everyone involved.
Our advice: Be curious!
" Don’t restrict yourself to what others ask of you, go that extra mile and learn to nurture relationships with people. You never know what’s around the corner, and there’s always something you can learn from other people, whatever their position in an organisation. Working well with others and trusting them is a way to live up to your own values. "
