Activity Report 2014-2015
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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» Tunisia 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