09 May 2023
Training
Meeting with Alexandre Lemaitre
What is your background?
Like many engineers, I began my training with a “Classe Préparatoire aux Grandes Ecoles” (CPGE) where I was able to acquire a solid scientific and technical grounding. After 2 years, this CPGE enabled me to join the Université de Technologie de Compiègne (UTC) to train as a general engineer. At the end of this course, I decided to join the first class of the MGPIE Advanced Masters® at ISAE-SUPAERO.
What motivated you to continue your studies in the Advanced Masters® and more specifically in MGPIE?
After my engineering degree, my main objective was to acquire dual skills – technical and managerial – so as to have a CV that stood out from the crowd, but also to be able to think more broadly about the projects I was going to undertake.
On the job market, it’s an undeniable advantage for technical profiles to understand the basics of corporate finance, project management, commercial issues and negotiation.
What have you gained from the MS MGPIE? What are the main advantages of the course?
With the MGPIE Advanced Masters®, on the one hand I obtained the dual skills I was looking for, and on the other, I benefited from ISAE-SUPAERO’s high profile and reputation on the job market. In addition, the richness of the course lies in the diversity of the profiles that can join the MS: engineers, business school graduates, university students and experienced professionals. This diversity is also reflected in the different career prospects open to future graduates: Entrepreneur, Project Manager, Project Management Officer, Innovation Management Consultant, Innovation Financing Consultant, etc. Finally, the Innovative Exploratory Project (IEP) is an excellent opportunity offered by this Specialised Masters® to work in a team on a study for the creation and marketing of a new technological product. In this way, the theoretical knowledge learned in class can be quickly put into practice through this exercise.
What are you doing today? What are your projects?
I’m currently working as a consultant in innovation financing and management at Fi Group, an international specialist in the performance and financing of R&D, innovation and investment. In a nutshell, my role is to help companies – from start-ups to major groups – structure their innovation and R&D operations (framework, planning, costs, risks) as well as their search for public funding (Research Tax Credit, Innovation Tax Credit, grants and other financial aid, etc.). Alongside this main professional activity, I’m pleased to be able to give a course every year in the MGPIE Advanced Master on the levers of public funding for innovation.
Any advice for recent graduates interested in the MGPIE programme?
If you are looking for a career in project management, innovation consulting or simply creating your own start-up, then the MGPIE programme will be a real asset, with its high-level courses and fascinating lecturers. What’s more, you’ll benefit from the school’s reputation to accelerate your career, and from facilities and experts dedicated to innovation to support you in your entrepreneurial project: start-up incubator, prototyping space, coaches with extensive experience of entrepreneurship, professors who can provide cutting-edge technical knowledge, a large network of alumni, etc.