activity report 2014-2015

ESPRIT SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

délivrée par

Commission des Titres d’Ingénieur Cover : Watercolor by Mr. Mourad Zerai, Instructor at Esprit.

Activity Report drafted by:

Writers: M-N Ammar, C. Gritli, D. Jmaiel, M. Jaoua, K. Maghrebi, A. Marouki, D. Péguin Graphic Designers: M. Bousselmi, F. Tebourbi Photos: Esprit Communication Department

We wish to thank all those who have contributed and assisted in carrying out this report. Content

Esprit at a GlaNCE 4

Esprit in Figures 5

ResouRCES 6 Human Capital Buildings / Facilities Software Resources and Instructional Material Budget

Editorial 7 Encounter with Mr Tahar Ben Lakhdar

Esprit: Embracing Solidarity 8 The «Fondation Esprit» Scratch Tour 2014 Education Assistance

Innovation Hub 10 Esprit Incubator: The Venture Accelerator Esprit Tech

Alternative Learning 12 Admission Academics Executive MBA

Esprit: Going GlobaL 14 Going above and beyond Testimonials

Student LIFE 18 Clubs Activities Challenges and Events

Esprit AlumNI 21

People of ESPRIT 22 Esprit at a glance

Operating Principles Corporate governance and business management in line with academic ethics. A pioneering spirit and a risk-taking capacity. Pragmatism and adaptability skills. Sense of responsibility. Responsiveness and mobilization. Openness, diversity, and equal opportunities.

Breaking down the barriers between: Science / Industry Training/ RDI Engineering / Humanities and Social Science Studies / other activities Students / Instructors Theory/ Practice Partnerships: European and International Networks

Civil engineering Elecromechanics IT SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING Telecom

Training and specializations

Reasearch units

Esprit’s Values Engagement (of all committed parties) Solidarity (social inclusion) Alternative Learning (Learn out of the box) Alternative learning... Pinpointing the student’s positioning at the core of the Pertinent to socio-economy (economic viability) learning process and embracing active pedagogy. Research of quality (accreditations, certifications, etc.) Investing in general interest (public interest) Transparency (in governance) 4 Esprit in Editofigures Esprit Tech 15 RDI teams focusing on state-of-the-art technologies (Mobile, Cloud, M2M, Robotics, ISBI, LEM, etc.). Esprit Prépa 120 students in MPSI/MP 89% admitted to the MP Esprit Ingénieur MP national competition and the 'Grandes Écoles' in France 800 graduates per year

40 dual degrees 4 academic 30 awarded each year programs – courses – options

109 technical and administrative personnel 600 students in evening course More than 1200 2800 IT engineering students new students each year

More than 10 agreements international dual degrees and joint programs 2800 IT engineering students

238 ull-time instructors Facilities More than 40 clubs for 2 sites covering about 40 00 0 m²; extra-curricular activities 1 residence hall with 400 beds; 1 restaurant; 1200 2 engineering students cafeterias; in Electro-mechanics and Civil Engineering 1 sports ground 1 ndoor swimming pool; 1 gymnasium. Esprit Alumni 1 network of about 3000 graduates

IT and Network 1 Data center with 672 Go memory and a storage capacity of 40 To

5 fiber-optic lines, high-speed internet:210 Mbits/s. 5 Ressources

Human Capital

s of August 31st 2015, Esprit boasts 347 employees: increase in student population (+8%); yet reinforcing the A238 full-time instructors and 109 administrative and quality of student coaching and mentoring (1 instructor per library service personnel; a 16% increase compared to 14 students). A driving force behind its reputation, 90% of the previous year. This sustained rise kept pace with the Esprit’s staff is aged under 40.

Back-to-school meeting, September 2015

Facilities 2 Sites totalling over 40 000 m2 of covered area; The recent opening of the Innovation Hub building; 1 400-bed residence hall, 1 restaurant, 2 cafeterias; 1 sports ground, 1 indoor swimming pool, 1 gymnasium; A 50 000 m2 ongoing extension project due for completion by 2018. Software Resources and Instructional Material Upon the acquisition of a Data Center, Esprit built a Private Cloud with a storage capacity of 42 TO, 672 Go of memory, and 64 cores. The infrastructure is supplied with 5 optic-fibre lines granting high- speed internet access with 210 MB/second. Two types of networks are deployed throughout the premises: Wi-Fi for the student network and cable network for the administrative and teaching staff. Budget

The 2013-14 budget resources break down as follows: Payroll Expenses 46% Cash flow investments 27% Food and accommodation Evening course Various operating costs 10% 4% 12% Miscellanies Preparatory Classes 3% Professional eesf (inc part-time instructors ees)f 8% for Grandes Ecoles 3% Depreciation and provisions 7% Daytime course MBA 76% 1%

Others 10% Continuing Education 3%

The budget resources recorded an increase of 16% compared to 2013-14, reaching 23.8 MDT. 6 EditoEditorial

Encounter with Mr. Tahar Ben Lakhdar

2014-15 was a “tough” year for private universities. Several more than the third abroad). By the way, 89% of Esprit questions were raised regarding engineering education. What was Prépa students were admitted to competitive entrance the experience like? examinations in the finest French schools. In 2015, two of them enrolled at Ecole Normale and Ecole polytechnique. This building is not only the liaising interface between As we have always favoured full-time instructors, we Esprit and the corporate world but it speaks volume about cannot be blamed for bringing in instructors from public our motto “Alternative learning”. As a matter of fact, this institutions. With 250 full-time instructors, representing Hub brings together three major entities: Esprit-Tech, 50% of the overall full-time instructors working in private our Research, Development and Innovation laboratory universities, the supervision of students exceeds the hosting 15 teams and offering our instructors/researchers American recommendation, i.e. 1 instructor per 14 students adequate conditions to improve their skills and deploy (1 for 25 in the US). However, this biased debate brought business-oriented production activities. Learning Factory, the engineering educational requirements to the table for a space exclusively dedicated to companies wishing to all Tunisian institutions. As a result of this abiding corollary, work with students: internship program coaching and only the accreditations provided by independent entities, graduation project assistance. Esprit Incubator: an open particularly public ones, can guarantee this quality. space to support our students, alumni, and entrepreneurs in materializing their innovative startup projects. The Then, quality education might cost quite a lot. Is the engineering start-up incubator pulls out all stops to provide the best degree exclusive to those who can afford it? entrepreneurship programs and assistance towards success. First, Esprit was founded on a profound sense of social responsibility. Since the beginning, we have established 2014-15 was a “tough” year for private universities. Several several mechanisms to ensure equal opportunities for all questions were raised regarding engineering education. What was of our students, based on motivation and skills and not the experience like? on social status. Today, we’ve moved to the next level. We experienced it with serenity as we initially built Esprit We actually set up “Esprit Fondation”, a Tunisian non-profit to provide quality education for the next generation organisation funded by companies, individuals, alumni, and of engineers. The quality of education has always been all those who share the same ambition; helping others our main concern. It is undoubtedly the driving force of make the most of their talent. As a result, within five years our constant improvement. Since 2013, Esprit has been about 2500 students will be able to benefit from a the only Tunisian institution to obtain the European grant through a Student Loan Trust Fund provided they accreditation EUR-ACE. Each year, the school achieves a get hired after graduation. significant result in graduate employment (85%, including 7 Esprit:Ressources Embracing Solidarity

Fondation Esprit Sky’s the limit to their talent

“Esprit Fondation”, a non-profit organization established under Tunisian law was officially launched on April 24th, 2015, with technical advisory assistance from PROPARCO, a subsidiary of “Agence Française de Development (French Development Agency). Its primary aim is to set up funding mechanisms without any warranty other than that of the beneficiary’s academic excellence and secure future employability. This foundation should first and foremost be an instrument that grants democratic access to higher education and popular studies for aspiring youths from all walks of life, regardless of their parents’ payment ability.

Lancement de la Fondation Esprit le 24 Avril Objective: Aidons les à faire éclore leur talent The foundation must collect a 5,150 million TND budget within five years (30% of the budget will be covered by the school) during which we intend to fund at least 2400 students either by grants or interest-free loans, based on social criteria and academic excellence. 90% of the budget will be directly allocated to social welfare. We owe the success of this project to a rigorous organization encompassing a management team (in charge of strategy, budgets, activity reports, new partnerships) and an operations team ensuring communication, review and selection of applications, and funding collection. Above all, the success of this foundation is driven by a common belief: make higher education accessible to everyone.

The foundation was built on essential standards:

Taking into account the success of a few international organisations and adopting best practices, particularly, EU’s and Lebanon’s; Transparency and clarity of the organisation for an effective decision-making process. Overseeing and limiting management fees and staff expenses thanks to the foundation’s proximity to Esprit school of engineering, Two ways you can help: and volunteering structures.

1 Volunteering to assist the foundation in its daily activities and develop its network. Companies that trusted us:

2 Making a donation.

8 Esprit: Embracing SolidarityEdito

5 Tunisia Scratch Tour Paving the way for next generation of engineers.

he “Tunisia Scratch Day” is an educational and social initiative Tstarted by Esprit and Almadanya, a non-profit organization Ariana for Tunisian children in disadvantaged regions. It aims at inspiring Tunis schoolchildren to programming languages and techniques using Béja “Scratch”, a project developed by the MIT Media Lab. This open- source software easily introduces coding and programming El Kef Sousse Monastir concepts by manipulating brick-like preset scripts in order to create interactive stories, games, music, animations, and other Sidi digital simulation as well as share the latter on the internet. An Bouzid entertaining way for children to be familiar with mathematics and computing fundamentals using this interactive algorithm-based Gabès approach. Throughout this tour, “Scratch” instructors coached Medenine about 60 elementary students in daylong workshops ending with Kébili a mini-programming challenge. Tunisia Scratch Tour plans to visit all 24 Governorates in association with Tunisie Télécom.

In 2014-2015, the Tunisia Scratch Tour reached (crossed) Siliana, Sousse, Monastir, Béjà, Jendouba, Kef, Kairouan, and Zaghouan.

Tunisia’s 24 governorates Cities visited Cities to be visited

Education Assistance

The BIAT (Banque Internationale Arabe de Tunisie) created a foundation offering academically-motivated and outstanding Tunisia Scratch Tour, Siliana 2014/2015 students from low-income backgrounds the opportunity to pursue their dreams by funding their studies in the best schools. Eventually, Fondation BIAT and Esprit Award Ceremony, Tunisia Scratch Tour, Siliana, 2014/2015 Prépa joined forces on September 29th, 2014 by signing an agreement in order to achieve this goal.

So far, six students benefit from this scholarship (“Bourse d’Elite” granted by BIAT) and are attending preparatory courses at Esprit-Prépa. “Bourse d’Elite” granted by BIAT takes up tuition fees allowing students to focus on their academic performance.

9 Innovation Hub

Esprit Incubator The Venture Accelerator

The ultimate objective of a corporate incubator is to assist in launching innovative projects of any project holder, whether it is a student, instructor, researcher, or alumnus - anybody with an innovative idea- through startups, but most importantly, provide the corporate world with a new generation of entrepreneurs offering actual and high-added value solutions. Esprit Incubator aims to match such a model incorporating three major phases: a pre-incubation phase, consisting in concept development and strengthening (the idea), an incubation phase, for teams with specific projects, and an acceleration phase, exclusively dedicated to startups. This year 2014-2015 marked the beginning of the first phase with the integration of 5 teams, for a 6 month incubation period. Sernefy, Secure Drive Company, Map My Tunisia, BThree, and Tixter have undergone a tough selection process in order to make their first steps in the incubator. Following this period, the teams were ready to pitch their projects before investors seeking partnerships. The experience was beneficial for all, whether the teams were shortlisted or not. This test period also allowed Esprit incubator to perfect the assistance provided to incubated teams for utmost efficiency during the incubation phase: entertainment (animation) programs, daily pitching, assistance provided by mentors, funding, legal advice, attending additional training programs, etc. Esprit Incubator regularly contributes to students’ pre-incubation phase activities through mentorship programs, in order to prep them to challenges such as Demo Day, which took place last December 11, 2015. Proparco and QFF (through Africinvest) both contributed respectively with a 135.500 euros and 100.000 dinars financial aid in order to promote the incubator’s activities (such as training sessions) and cover incubated’s needs for the upcoming 10 months.

How it works

10 Innovation Hub

Esprit incubator, Bootcamp, March 2015

2014/2015 activities

January 12th, 2015: A one-month intensive training program on startup creation and management best practices, sponsored by Samsung Electronics Tunisia and in collaboration with Yunus Social Business, followed by a BootCamp, held on March 16-20. “Oasis 500”, the Jordanian guest accelerator, directed the competition, which gathered 75 teams selected out of 400 applicants, with the final purpose to hand pick the 6 best teams with the brightest projects for a 6 months incubation. May 4th, 2015: Esprit Incubator integrated the first 6 projects. Only 5 teams pursued the business venture. From June to August 2015: Frequent training sessions and pitching simulations took place. October 2015: Esprit Incubator was acclaimed for its role in tackling innovation and employment issues in Tunisia, at the UBI award ceremony (University associated Business Incubators).

TECH

New research teams: Publications : During the 2014-2015 academic year, 6 new teams were added to the RDI department, bringing the number of research teams to 15. RDI had 20 articles published this year, compared to 16 for the previous year and only one article in Minos working on networks and Internet of the future. 2010-2011, among which: EmSys focusing on systems and their applications. Jihène Abderrazak, Med Sfar, Hichem Besbes, Hichem, Dynamic and distributed inter-cell SAMBA specialized in analyzing social network data and extracting functional coordination based scheduling for interference information. avoidance, MOBIWAC’14, 21-26 September Montréal, Canada. The OSN (Opportunistic Social Network) team’s study center relates to opportunistic social networks. Hichem Bergaoui, Rawia Bdiwi, Smart Classroom: Design of a gateway for ubiquitous classroom, INOBI was created to reflect on smart and innovative management in ICWOAL’2014 (Int. Conf on Web and Open Industrial engineering and innovative pedagogy. Access to Learning), 25-27 Nov 2014, Dubai. Finally, the “Medical technologies” team focuses on medical and paramedical Kaouther Louati, Team based learning in mathematics courses, SEFI’2014, 15-19 Sept 2014, equipment design technologies. Birmingham. Sofien Gharbi, Hamza Bellakhdar, Salah Eddine, Competitions: Mrabet, Project based learning in business intelligence with intervention of companies, Esprit Tech participates in many local and international challenges. For EDUCON’2015, 18-20 Mars 2015, Tallin Estonia instance, Esprit Mobile often competes for first prizes. The team won the Rawia Bdiwi, Hichem Bergaoui, Ubiquitous first prize at the Mobile World Congress (WMC 2015) and at the World classroom enhanced by a cloud-based server, Summit Award 2015 in Abu Dhabi, UAE. CSEDU 2015 (classe B, Thomson), 23-25 Mai 2015, Lisbonne, Portugal.

11 Alternative Learning

Admission

n 2014-2015 the school admitted 3615 engineering students in daytime courses (compared to 3355 in 2013/2014) and 578 Iin evening classes; a 10% increase compared to the previous year. Whether applying for entrance in 1st, 2nd or 3rd year, all applicants undergo the same admission procedure which consists in a file examination, psychometric and language proficiency tests (French and English), and a motivational one-on-one interview, all of which are held in July. Distribution of students by academics: Out of 3396 applicants, only 1363 were selected for the academic year 2014-2015, resulting in 1005 new students (30% success rate), dispatched as follows: 695 in IT and Telecommunications and 310 in Electro-Mechanics and Civil Engineering.

Evening course registration

Presentation about the Entrance Examination Process 2014-2015

Daytime course registration

Inscription PREPA

107 students were accepted in 2014/2015, 55% in 1st year MPSI and 52% in 2nd year MP-MP*. The success rate of entrance examinations to grandes écoles reached 89%: 1 student admitted to “Ecoles Normales Supérieures” 1 student admitted to French Ecole Polytech (X) 4 students admitted to the joint entrance examination of Mines-Ponts, and 3 to Centrale-Supélec 25 students admitted to the joint entrance examination of Polytechniques, and 24 to the INT-Télécom 38 admitted to the national entrance examination 12 Alternative Learning

Academic Curricular

Information Technology and Telecommunications

A chance to spend the 5th year at a university abroad

Civil and Electro-Mechanical Engineering

Presentation about the Entrance Examination Process 2014-2015

Executive MBA

On March 10th, 2014, Esprit and Montpellier Business Focused on innovative management in a globalized School signed a general cooperation agreement business world, the MBA training program is tailored formalizing an academic partnership, the scope of which for professionals: flexible pace, mentoring, real life engulfs scientific and technical assistance, students and applications, case studies and teamwork. instructors exchange. This partnership also features the implementation of the Executive MBA joint program. Academics (Finance, Strategy, Human Resources, It is a two-year program with training sessions taking Marketing, Project Management, Workforce and Team place every three weeks during the weekend. It targets Management, etc.) are jointly administered by skilled and professionals wishing to maximize their performance, qualified instructors, consultants and professionals both extend their strategic vision and seeking career from Esprit and Montpellier Business School. advancement, in order to explore existing or potential This program started in January 2015 with a class of 22 business opportunities. participants from various sectors: health, construction, The program meets international standards as Montpellier banking, insurance, telecommunications, tire and car Business School is AACSB and AMBA accredited. industries, higher education, IT service companies, unions. Participants are awarded diplomas from Esprit and Montpellier Business School. 13 Esprit: Going Global

Going above and beyond

Growing partnerships:

Esprit is deeply rooted in an academic, industrial, and technological environment where it continuously reinvents itself.

14 Esprit: Going Global

Esprit in tune with its environment’s realities

Smart Transportation:

A first agreement signed in January 2015 with the of the results through the central server of the motor “Agence Technique des Transports Terrestres”, laid the vehicle agency, and ensure that results abide by current foundation for a collaboration in terms of high added- regulations (GPS history, driving time, etc.). The project value technology projects designed for motor vehicle is due mid-2016. agencies. On another note, the Information System Department of The RDI team “Esprit Mobile” is now working on an Esprit and the CGA (the General Insurance Committee), Android application for the driving license test, replacing signed a public-private partnership agreement to create unnecessary paperwork with displayable digital content. a database storing drivers’ information to accurately This will enable real time storing and synchronization calculate bonuses and penalties in a centralized way.

IT and Telecommunications Security:

Esprit and IBM launched the first phase of the IBM Middle Starting the 2015-2016 school year, Esprit will be including East & Africa University Program offering students and IBM modules in security and Big Data, as part of the 4th and instructors IT certifications and training to the latest 5th year curricula. 59 instructors have already been trained technologies used in several IT professions: Mobile, for that purpose. Security, Business Analytics, Data management and Cloud.

Closer ties with companies:

2014/2015 was marked by numerous partnerships. for their projects’ testing purposes. The platform can also be used to pay their tuition fees. EVERTEK provided equipment and a lab for students, as well as Graduation Projects ideas matching the company’s In July 2015, a partnership with Intellixx, a German finance and students’ needs. company, was signed so that Esprit’s InFinI students could benefit from the company’s expertise and know- VIA MOBILE has also partnered with Esprit and provided how in the field of financial and computing engineering, 4th year students with an electronic payment platform both academically and professionally.

Towards greater mobility:

Partnerships with “Université du Maine” and “Sup Galilée program opportunities for students and instructors. Paris” were further reinforced to offer new exchange

15 Esprit: Going Global

Diversity is emphasized by international students, instructors and lecturers:

his is my fourth year as an engineering student and I Tpersonally believe that Esprit is the place to be in terms of integration. I attended several cultural events showcasing the multiculturalism of the school in a friendly atmosphere. Esprit is a quality institution that offers a wide range of programs. More specifically, the SIGMA option which dispenses a dual competency, management and engineering. This is why I picked it. Junior Anatol Clément Bannem, from Cameroon

Mobility and dual degrees:

Esprit’s programs bear themselves an international character:

INFINI and SLEAM senior students have the opportunity to obtain a dual degree following on-campus courses through Esprit’s partnership with Université Nice Sophia Antipolis. The selection process takes place at the end of the 4th year.

Mobility and international experience: Students can either spend their graduation year at one of our partner institutions abroad and obtain Esprit’s degree, or spend two whole years instead and obtain a dual degree from Esprit and a Master degree from the partner university.

In 2014/2015, 32 students benefited from this program, a 100% increase compared to the previous year.

6 Centrale Lille 2 Thomas Jefferson program 2 TEM (Télécom école de management) 6 Université de Nice 6 Université du Maine 1 ISEP Total 32 5 SupGallilée 3 ENS des Maines Douai 1 ENSIM

Testimonials

Dual degree at the Ecole Centrale de Lille

It was a terrific experience on every level despite the challenges along the way. I fitted in nicely in this new environment and was able to blend in and acquire a set of new skills. I feel more responsible and mature now. Fatma BELGAROUI, Master Smart

16 Esprit: Going Global

Mobility program without dual degree at the ISEP (Institut Supérieur d’Electronique de Paris)

My experience at ISEP was rewarding on so many levels. I took up courses provided by professionals from From a personal standpoint, I got to meet people from companies like Airbus and PSA, an opportunity to be in various backgrounds and cultures. Education-wise, it touch with the corporate world. was more or less the same approach as Esprit. Youssef Kamoun, IT Engineering Student, Specialty (Option) Mobile, Ambient, And Embedded Systems And Software. SLEAM

Dual degree at Telecom Business School (Télécom Ecole de Management)

A one of a kind experience matching Esprit’s It is obvious that the Manager-Engineer profile is a engineering skills and TEM’s management strong asset nowadays. The campus is huge and is competencies. Lots of business opportunities and made of a business and engineering school, as well as several open house days where we could network an international incubator. Community life is buzzing with professionals from prestigious corporations and with events and creates a very friendly atmosphere startups alike, for prospective internships. on campus.

Youssef El Hachaichi, 2nd year PGE at TEM

Mobility program without dual degree at the “Ecole des Mines de Douai”

Upon our arrival last September, the administrative exploring other disciplines: management, finance, staff was unbelievable and made everything easy. social responsibility and so on. Interacting with All in all, I like it here. Douai is a fun place and I more than 12 nationalities on a daily basis made this am learning a lot. Other than civil engineering, I am a very positive experience.

Khalil Hassine, école des Mines de Douai

Students in mobility programs: Abir SOUISSI, Ameni MERAI, Amine MZOUGHI, Amira ABDALLAH, Asma DHANE, Fadi KALBOUSSI, Fatma BELGAROUI, Ghaya BERKAOUI, Habiba LAHRIZI, Hassine KHALIL, Houssem GHARIANI, Manel BOUKTHIR, Med Ali BEN ROMDHANE, Med Amine HAJ FREJ, Med Amine SEHLI, Med Hassen GHARBI, Med Iheb ELHIF, Med Khalil ELLOUMI, MEd Najd KTARI, Mehdi DAIKHI, Nesrine BCHINI, Nizar BOUSSARSSAR, Ons JELIZI, Raed CHAMMEM, Seifeddine BOUANANI, Tasnim GALAI, Tasnim SOUISSI, Wiem AROUAY, Yosr REZGUI, Youssef KAMOUN, Youssef Selim ELHACHAICHI. 17 Student Life

Clubs’ Activities

sprit encourages students to join clubs for a more dynamic student life and offers them all the necessary Esupport. These clubs play a key role in the admission process (guidance, school visits, etc.) and in the school’s activities and events’ planning, such as:

Integration days

Each year Esprit organizes an event called “Journée(s) d’Intégration” for a fresh start. A great opportunity to greet new students and involve them in the school’s club activities: paint ball, electric rodeo, etc.

Integration day: Barbecue for ‘Eid-El-Fir’ celebration

Club Days

An annual event where Esprit’s clubs show their achievements to new students and also an opportunity for them to join any of them.

Electro-mechanical engineering Students, members of the “ You Robot” club, Charguia

Esprit’s male handball team

The Esprit Sports Club, a handball and basketball team, takes part in yearly tournaments (with other universities and schools), developing sportsmanship while releasing their fighting spirit. This year, the handball team won the national inter-universities league.

18 Student Life

Events and challenges

Multicultural events

Back to Roots : An event organized by the English language unit: students were tested on their English communication skills around the subject of Tunisian culinary and local artwork.

Integration day: Barbecue for ‘Eid-El-Fir’ celebration

Club Days

Social events

“Sauvons la petite Tayma”: a fundraising event organized by the Selima Association and Esprit Students to help children with cancer.

Entertainment

Gaming: the Gaming Club organized the event “Esprit Gaming Cup 1”, an online and multiplayer video game tournament (Hearthstone League of Legends and Fifa 2014 on PS4).

Music: The band Fusion Factory, made of talented students, is always on the spot to light up student life.

19 Student Life

Project Bash

An exclusive annual event where all students showcase their projects. Teams introduce their projects to various guests: parents, instructors, company representatives. Several students take this opportunity to secure internships and possibly land jobs.

Projects beyond boundaries

Mobile Information Systems students finalists, “Microsoft Imagine Cup 2015”, Seattle, USA

Bilel Tabakh and Haythem Stiti, displayed their project “Back in Time”: frequent traveler parents interact with their children using the “Microsoft Band” accessory and a smartphone. This project had them selected for the “Microsoft Imagine Cup 2015” finale, in Seattle, USA.

Embedded Systems students, 29th edition of the IEEE International Conference, Gwang Ju, South Korea

Students, Anis Ben Hajji and Nizar Bousarsar, made a presentation about their project called “Ubiquitous Public Park”.

20 GensEsprit d’EspritAlumni

sprit has a network of about 3000 alumni. Their numerous participations in international conferences, forums, congresses Eand workshops feeds Esprit’s excellent reputation locally and worldwide. Alumni’s careers are rich and diverse going from freelance projects to prestigious corporations, granting them a key role in raising awareness of future graduates on the power of networking.

I have always had a strong sense of social responsibility. I launched my first non-profit organization, “Youth Decides”, at the age of 22 while I was still a student. I kept multiplying initiatives in the field of social and technological innovation, since then. That’s how I launched a mobile app and a facebook account acquainting youth with presidential candidates. I also thought about using new technologies to fight unemployment. I founded the WeCode Academy, a digital economy academy dedicated to young Tunisians, the first version of which was designed and launched at Esprit. Thanks to this initiative, I was awarded the French social innovation prize, handed by President François Hollande. With this distinction, I hope I will be able to reach out to more of my young compatriots, in the near future.

Wala KASMI, Serial Social Entrepreneur

I am the Secretary General of the Esprit Alumni association and have already benefited from a diversified and fascinating career record thanks to all the skills I have acquired at school. I currently work as a Technical-Sales Engineer for an Italian group called “Gruppo Consoft Sistemi”. I am in charge of the implementation of major BI solutions in the industrial world. Prior to that, I worked as an instructor at Esprit, while keeping in mind that an engineering career must be in tune with the professional world. I took part in several reflections leading to the improvement of the training program and implementation of numerous projects such as the CDIO accreditation, CTI membership and Esprit Incubator. Actually, I spearheaded two major events: Bootcamp and SamsungFastTrack.

Ibthel SHIMI, Technical sales engineer at “Gruppo Consoft Sistemi”

I graduated from Esprit in 2008 and then thought I would pursue my experience as an instructor. My time spent as a student allowed me to grow in the perfect environment, which developed my curiosity towards technologies and fed my passion for research. I am currently a member of the Esprit Tech research team and built a platform combining two technologies (JavaEE and AngularJS) for web design purposes. My work propelled my research career and made me the President of the Java User Group (JUG) in Tunisia, representing Esprit at the annual Oracle conference in the US.

Bassem Hmidi, Technologist/Instructor at Esprit

My career started with my graduation year internship as a consultant for a multinational company, assigned at the Québec financial market authorities, in Canada. I was part of the InFinI Class of 2012 and of the dual degree program in partnership with Polytech’Nice, obtaining the IMAFA Master degree. The joint program in IT and Finance, the use of English and project-based learning, were of great help to stand out on the job market. The active role played in Esprit’s numerous student clubs was also beneficial. I am currently assigned to a mission with “Desjardins Groupe Assurance Générale”, part of the first cooperative financial group of Canada.

Mourad Kolsi, Consultant at CGI- Quebec

21 People of Esprit

I joined Esprit in January 2015 after a long career in teaching and research in France and now I am in charge of the MINOS research team. Resources have been made available to fully support my vision: the design of smarter networks that look like their users. Actually, I am proud to be part of Esprit, a school like no other, a sort of micro-universe with 4 interrelated dimensions: education, coaching, research, and technology transfer. Esprit not only builds on the dynamics of cutting-edge technologies but also on the ongoing quest for innovative ideas and their subsequent implementation within the industrial world.

Mohamed Karim SBAI PhD, University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis, France Instructor and head of the RDI research team MINOS

I started out my career as an IT consultant in Paris for three years. In 2008, I joined Esprit and was enthusiastic to be part of the school’s ultimate mission: perfecting the learning process and harnessing engineering skills in a professional-like environment. I guess we have been up to the challenge since we adopted the pedagogy based on integrated projects combining the latest technologies, methodologies, and above all high responsiveness to corporate needs. Mouna Makni EInstructor and integrated project coordinator at Esprit Head of the option: Web and Internet Technologies

It all stared back in 2011, when I was hired as a full-time instructor. I was next appointed head of the Electrical engineering unit. Today, I was promoted to head of the Electromechanics department thanks to team work and the relentless efforts of all the stakeholders. Following on the school’s accreditation policy, we are preparing the Electro-mechanical department to be assessed by the CTI to obtain the EUR-ACE label like in 2014 for the IT and Telecommunications department. The strong engagement of each one of us will definitely breed notable success. Mohamed ali Bouakline Instructor and head of the Electromechanical Engineering Department

I have been part of Esprit Family since 2008 when I was an Electro-mechanical engineering student. During my studies, I found out that we, students, were at the core of the learning process. This might have triggered the start of a teaching career. Then it hit me: teamwork tinged with rigor and a touch of friendliness is a winning combination. Apart from instructing, I am in charge of coaching seniors working on their graduation projects right through defense. We are making sure to connect with the corporate world to better understand the job market needs, so that we are able to train fully operational engineers. Faten SAHLI Instructor at Esprit

I joined Esprit in 2006, after a 15-year career in information systems engineering, with two ambitions: sharing my know-how with the students and implementing the school’s information system. Today, I cannot say that I have totally achieved both goals but I can confidently state that I have laid the foundation of the information system’s infrastructure and that it is operational with the constant will to improve it. My ambition will be fulfilled the day we adopt a “zero paper” environment. Chokri Chaaraoui Director of the Information System department

I started my career at Esprit in 2008 as an executive. After five years, I had the opportunity to complement my education with the MBA program. It gave me leverage to manage my team and better undertake my responsibilities. Today, I feel more confident and ambitious. Yamina BENTAIEB Financial Controller 22 22

Ressources

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