A recent graduate of the Ingénieur Civil des Mines programme at Mines Saint-Étienne, Nikolas Thepot is now an expatriate in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he is pursuing his engineering career. During his studies, he completed several international mobilities, first a semester in Colombia and then a double degree in Brazil.
Your background before joining Mines Saint-Étienne…
“I obtained my scientific Baccalaureate with a European option at my high school in Gap. I then joined the MPSI and then MP preparatory classes at Lycée Hoche in Versailles. Faced with several setbacks in competitive exams, I changed my plans. Having obtained the brochure for the Ingénieur Civil des Mines programme at Mines Saint-Étienne, I discovered examples of career paths leading to certain professions, such as commercial aircraft assembly line manager. Furthermore, the brochure emphasized the numerous opportunities for international exchanges. [Mines Saint-Étienne has more than 100 exchange agreements] Given the prospect of optimizing production systems with a global view and the chances for international travel, I decided to place EMSE at the top of my wish list.”
Your Ingénieur Civil des Mines (ICM) programme…
“I joined the ICM programme — class of 2016 — with the intention of following the recommendations provided in the ICM brochure to reach that famous profession. The recommended majors were “Mechanics” and “Production Management and Logistics”. Wanting to move towards industrial production, I chose to start my path with mechanics and finish with the subjects most decisive for my professional ambitions: industrial management. I applied the same logic to my toolbox choices and completed, in order, “Finite Element Modeling”, “Systems Modeling”, “3D Modeling”, and “Human Resources Management”.” “
Your international mobility…
“Alongside my studies, I undertook my international mobility during S7 [the first semester of the 2nd year]. Latin America was an interesting destination and offered the chance to open up to new horizons. I therefore set myself the goal of learning Spanish in one year — I had studied Italian before my Baccalaureate. Based on the recommendations of my Spanish teacher and Colombian friends on exchange at EMSE, I spent my S7 in Bogotá [Colombia] in a mechanics major at Uniandes [Universidad de los Andes – with which the school has an academic partnership].” . “
Your feedback on this experience…
“I loved this new international experience and fell in love with Latin America. Shortly before my return to France, I saw that my GPA [Grade Point Average] gave me the opportunity to do a double degree, which for me meant discovering an additional country and language. I set myself the goal of going to Brazil, which gave me one semester to learn Portuguese. I once again experienced that sense of adventure by doing a double degree in production engineering at UFRJ in Rio de Janeiro.” “
“Brazil is such a wonderful country that it made me want to settle there. I met my fiancée Ana there, who was also a student at UFRJ. With the agreement of both institutions, I extended my double degree to complete a final year project [TFE] on-site in industrial engineering.”
And today…
“Subsequently, I also obtained a VIE [International Volunteer in Business] position there, within the operational excellence programme of the Brazilian production unit of Servier laboratories. I have now been living in Rio de Janeiro for two and a half years, and I am extremely happy with my situation.”
