Each year, the Fondation Mines-Télécom highlights the achievements of students from Institut Mines-Télécom schools and awards them the Best Apprenticeship Award and the Best Final-Year Internship Award. Catarina Heimlich is among the 17 selected candidates.
On May 27, the Fondation Mines-Télécom Awards Ceremony will take place in Paris. Among the candidates, two students from Mines Saint-Etienne stand out: Nicolas Robbe (ISMIN) and Catarina Heimlich (ICM). Originally from Brazil where she began her engineering studies (at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro), she joined Mines Saint-Étienne in a dual degree program in 2023 for the final two years of the ICM cycle. Today, we interview this young engineer competing for the Best Final Year Internship Award.
👆 Can you tell us about your internship?
I completed my final-year internship with the Room & Admission Forecast team, in the Revenue Management & Analytics division at Disneyland Paris. My responsibilities included participating in monthly and annual forecasting processes (volumes and revenues), monitoring performance indicators to identify growth opportunities, and developing analytical tools to improve forecast accuracy.
Complex challenges to tackle, but my experience as an engineering student helped me solve them. Creating new tools, earning the trust of my managers, and working on high-stakes projects: all of this went well beyond typical internship responsibilities, and for me, it was a fascinating immersion!
Disney’s business is far more complex than it appears to a visitor, and I had the opportunity to arrive at a strategic moment between the implementation of dynamic pricing and preparation for the 2026 horizon with the new “Frozen” themed area. I learned a great deal working in a high-pressure environment while discovering an exceptional team spirit.
👆How did Mines Saint-Étienne prepare you for this internship?
The School provided me with a solid scientific foundation and highly multidisciplinary training. For me, it was this generalist approach that made the difference.
The Business Management and Finance major gave me a strong foundation in finance and modeling, which was essential for understanding the park’s revenue challenges. Beyond technical skills, the emphasis on soft skills, such as adaptability and communication, also enabled me to integrate quickly into an international organization and present my work effectively to stakeholders from different cultures.
👆 If you win, what will the Fondation Mines-Télécom Award bring you?
This award would represent the ideal conclusion to a highly rewarding cycle! The dual degree has been a project I have pursued for years, and this internship at Disney was a true success, both personally and professionally. Receiving this distinction would be valuable external recognition of my efforts during these two years in France. I would also be very proud to represent the School and demonstrate that engineering training enables one to fulfill diverse roles in addressing current challenges.
👆 Where does your career stand since the end of this internship?
After this internship, I returned to Brazil to complete my final semester of engineering at UFRJ, which included my final courses, my thesis, and my Brazilian final project as a Business Analyst intern at BCG.
At the end of this journey, I was fortunate to receive permanent position offers from both Disneyland Paris and BCG. It was a difficult decision, as I loved my French experience, but I ultimately chose to rejoin the BCG office in Rio to begin my career in strategy consulting. It is a challenge that allows me to use my training to solve high-impact problems while maintaining the ambition to pursue an international career. However, France remains in my heart, and I sincerely hope it will once again be part of my professional trajectory in the future.
🏆 We thank Catarina Heimlich for answering our questions and congratulate her on her exemplary achievements! We will closely follow the results of the Fondation Mines-Télécom Awards, and until then, we are keeping our fingers crossed for our former engineering student.
