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

Alternative Learning (Learn out of the box) Alternative learning... Pinpointing the student’s positioning at the core of the learning process and embracing active pedagogy.

4

Esprit’s Values Engagement (of all committed parties) Solidarity (social inclusion) Pertinent to socio-economy (economic viability) Research of quality (accreditations, certifications, etc.) Investing in general interest (public interest) Transparency (in governance)

Esprit in Edito figures

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 4 academic 30

40 dual degrees

awarded each year

programs – courses – options

109 technical and administrative personnel

600 students in evening course 2800 IT engineering students

More than 1200 new students each year

More than 10 agreements international

dual degrees and joint programs 2800 IT engineering students

Facilities

2 sites covering about 40 000 m²; 1 residence hall with 400 beds; 1 restaurant; 2 cafeterias; 1 sports ground 1 ndoor swimming pool; 1 gymnasium.

Esprit Alumni 1 network of about

3000

238 ull-time instructors More than 40 clubs for

extra-curricular activities

1200 engineering students

in Electro-mechanics and Civil Engineering

graduates

IT and Network 1 Data center with

672

Go memory and a storage capacity of

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

40 To 5

Ressources

Human Capital A

s of August 31st 2015, Esprit boasts 347 employees: 238 full-time instructors and 109 administrative and library service personnel; a 16% increase compared to the previous year. This sustained rise kept pace with the

increase in student population (+8%); yet reinforcing the quality of student coaching and mentoring (1 instructor per 14 students). A driving force behind its reputation, 90% of 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 highspeed 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%

Evening course 10% Preparatory Classes for Grandes Ecoles

Daytime course 76%

3% MBA 1%

Food and accommodation 4% Miscellanies 3%

Various operating costs 12% Professional ef es (inc part-time instructors e f es) 8% Depreciation and provisions 7%

Others 10% Continuing Education 3%

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

Edito Editorial

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

This building is not only the liaising interface between Esprit and the corporate world but it speaks volume about our motto “Alternative learning”. As a matter of fact, this Hub brings together three major entities: Esprit-Tech, our Research, Development and Innovation laboratory hosting 15 teams and offering our instructors/researchers adequate conditions to improve their skills and deploy business-oriented production activities. Learning Factory, a space exclusively dedicated to companies wishing to

them enrolled at Ecole Normale and Ecole polytechnique. As we have always favoured full-time instructors, we cannot be blamed for bringing in instructors from public institutions. With 250 full-time instructors, representing 50% of the overall full-time instructors working in private universities, the supervision of students exceeds the American recommendation, i.e. 1 instructor per 14 students (1 for 25 in the US). However, this biased debate brought the engineering educational requirements to the table for 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 start-up incubator pulls out all stops to provide the best entrepreneurship programs and assistance towards success.

2014-15 was a “tough” year for private universities. Several questions were raised regarding engineering education. What was the experience like?

Then, quality education might cost quite a lot. Is the engineering degree exclusive to those who can afford it? First, Esprit was founded on a profound sense of social responsibility. Since the beginning, we have established several mechanisms to ensure equal opportunities for all of our students, based on motivation and skills and not 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

Aidons les à faire éclore leur talent

Objective: 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:

Two ways you can help:

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, and volunteering structures.

1 Volunteering to assist the foundation in its daily activities and develop its network.

2 Making a donation.

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Companies that trusted us:

Esprit: Embracing Solidarity Edito

Tunisia Scratch Tour

5

Paving the way for next generation of engineers.

T

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

Manouba

Bizerte Ariana

Jendouba Béja

Tunis Ben Arous

Zaghouan

El Kef Siliana Kairouan

Nabeul

Sousse Monastir Mahdia

Kasserine

Sidi Bouzid

Sfax

Gafsa Tozeur

Gabès

Medenine Kébili

Tataouine

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

Tunisia Scratch Tour, Siliana 2014/2015

Award Ceremony, Tunisia Scratch Tour, Siliana, 2014/2015

The BIAT (Banque Internationale Arabe de Tunisie) created a foundation offering academically-motivated and outstanding students from low-income backgrounds the opportunity to pursue their dreams by funding their studies in the best schools. Eventually, Fondation BIAT and Esprit 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: During the 2014-2015 academic year, 6 new teams were added to the RDI department, bringing the number of research teams to 15. Minos working on networks and Internet of the future. EmSys focusing on systems and their applications. SAMBA specialized in analyzing social network data and extracting functional information. The OSN (Opportunistic Social Network) team’s study center relates to opportunistic social networks.

Publications : RDI had 20 articles published this year, compared to 16 for the previous year and only one article in 2010-2011, among which: Jihène Abderrazak, Med Sfar, Hichem Besbes, Hichem, Dynamic and distributed inter-cell coordination based scheduling for interference avoidance, MOBIWAC’14, 21-26 September Montréal, Canada.

INOBI was created to reflect on smart and innovative management in Industrial engineering and innovative pedagogy.

Hichem Bergaoui, Rawia Bdiwi, Smart Classroom: Design of a gateway for ubiquitous classroom, ICWOAL’2014 (Int. Conf on Web and Open Access to Learning), 25-27 Nov 2014, Dubai.

Finally, the “Medical technologies” team focuses on medical and paramedical equipment design technologies.

Kaouther Louati, Team based learning in mathematics courses, SEFI’2014, 15-19 Sept 2014, Birmingham.

Competitions: Esprit Tech participates in many local and international challenges. For instance, Esprit Mobile often competes for first prizes. The team won the first prize at the Mobile World Congress (WMC 2015) and at the World Summit Award 2015 in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Sofien Gharbi, Hamza Bellakhdar, Salah Eddine, Mrabet, Project based learning in business intelligence with intervention of companies, EDUCON’2015, 18-20 Mars 2015, Tallin Estonia Rawia Bdiwi, Hichem Bergaoui, Ubiquitous classroom enhanced by a cloud-based server, CSEDU 2015 (classe B, Thomson), 23-25 Mai 2015, Lisbonne, Portugal.

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Alternative Learning

Admission I

n 2014-2015 the school admitted 3615 engineering students in daytime courses (compared to 3355 in 2013/2014) and 578 in 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

Executive MBA On March 10th, 2014, Esprit and Montpellier Business School signed a general cooperation agreement formalizing an academic partnership, the scope of which engulfs scientific and technical assistance, students and instructors exchange. This partnership also features the implementation of the Executive MBA joint program. It is a two-year program with training sessions taking place every three weeks during the weekend. It targets professionals wishing to maximize their performance, extend their strategic vision and seeking career advancement, in order to explore existing or potential business opportunities. The program meets international standards as Montpellier Business School is AACSB and AMBA accredited. Participants are awarded diplomas from Esprit and Montpellier Business School.

Focused on innovative management in a globalized business world, the MBA training program is tailored for professionals: flexible pace, mentoring, real life applications, case studies and teamwork. Academics (Finance, Strategy, Human Resources, Marketing, Project Management, Workforce and Team Management, etc.) are jointly administered by skilled and qualified instructors, consultants and professionals both from Esprit and Montpellier Business School. This program started in January 2015 with a class of 22 participants from various sectors: health, construction, banking, insurance, telecommunications, tire and car industries, higher education, IT service companies, unions.

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 “Agence Technique des Transports Terrestres”, laid the foundation for a collaboration in terms of high addedvalue technology projects designed for motor vehicle agencies. The RDI team “Esprit Mobile” is now working on an Android application for the driving license test, replacing unnecessary paperwork with displayable digital content. This will enable real time storing and synchronization

of the results through the central server of the motor vehicle agency, and ensure that results abide by current regulations (GPS history, driving time, etc.). The project is due mid-2016. On another note, the Information System Department of Esprit and the CGA (the General Insurance Committee), signed a public-private partnership agreement to create a database storing drivers’ information to accurately calculate bonuses and penalties in a centralized way.

IT and Telecommunications Security: Esprit and IBM launched the first phase of the IBM Middle East & Africa University Program offering students and instructors IT certifications and training to the latest technologies used in several IT professions: Mobile, Security, Business Analytics, Data management and Cloud.

Starting the 2015-2016 school year, Esprit will be including IBM modules in security and Big Data, as part of the 4th and 5th year curricula. 59 instructors have already been trained for that purpose.

Closer ties with companies: 2014/2015 was marked by numerous partnerships. EVERTEK provided equipment and a lab for students, as well as Graduation Projects ideas matching the company’s and students’ needs. VIA MOBILE has also partnered with Esprit and provided 4th year students with an electronic payment platform

for their projects’ testing purposes. The platform can also be used to pay their tuition fees. In July 2015, a partnership with Intellixx, a German finance company, was signed so that Esprit’s InFinI students could benefit from the company’s expertise and knowhow in the field of financial and computing engineering, both academically and professionally.

Towards greater mobility: Partnerships with “Université du Maine” and “Sup Galilée Paris” were further reinforced to offer new exchange

program opportunities for students and instructors.

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Esprit: Going Global

Diversity is emphasized by international students, instructors and lecturers:

T

his is my fourth year as an engineering student and I personally 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.

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

Total

32

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 engineering skills and TEM’s management competencies. Lots of business opportunities and several open house days where we could network with professionals from prestigious corporations and startups alike, for prospective internships.

It is obvious that the Manager-Engineer profile is a strong asset nowadays. The campus is huge and is made of a business and engineering school, as well as an international incubator. Community life is buzzing with events and creates a very friendly atmosphere 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 staff was unbelievable and made everything easy. All in all, I like it here. Douai is a fun place and I am learning a lot. Other than civil engineering, I am

exploring other disciplines: management, finance, social responsibility and so on. Interacting with more than 12 nationalities on a daily basis made this 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.

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Student Life

Clubs’ Activities E

sprit encourages students to join clubs for a more dynamic student life and offers them all the necessary support. 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.

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

Gens Esprit d’Esprit Alumni

E

sprit has a network of about 3000 alumni. Their numerous participations in international conferences, forums, congresses and 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

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