Thomas Le Page (former engineering student): Back and forth from Europe to Asia

When you were in High School, how did you envision your future?

In High School, I was quite intrigued by the web without being a "geek". I found out about CY Tech at a student fair in Toulouse. I liked the spirit of the school and the very good professional integration of its graduates made me decide to join.

Which program did you study?

I entered the CY Tech preparatory program in Pau for two years, then I entered the School of Engineering specializing in Computer Science. I chose to seize several opportunities offered by the institution: a double degree at Grenoble Ecole de Management and also an academic mobility in Scotland. At the partner university Heriot Watt, in Edinburgh. I did a Master's degree in Information Systems Management, also as a double degree.

What do you retain from your experience in a foreign campus?

With 22,000 students, Heriot Watt was a much larger university than ours at the time. This was a new study environment for me. The teaching alternated between small group classes and lectures in the lecture hall. The training provided me with a solid theoretical base but I especially appreciated the diversity of the courses given (from project management to information systems, including mobile development, network security...). And I was also able to do a lot of sports!

How did you start your professional life?

At the end of my studies, I directly found a job at AMARIS, a consulting company that operates worldwide. I started with a VIE status with missions in different countries: first for 10 months in Vienna, Austria, then I had the opportunity to set up a project in Vietnam. There, I recruited a team of 15 people, trained project managers and developers. An intense mission that lasted 15 months. Today, there are about sixty people working on this activity in Ho Chi Minh City. But I wanted to come back to Europe.

What is your current position?

After a stint in Saigon, I came back to Scotland in October 2016 in Glasgow where I created the Information Systems Audit Department of the AMARIS group, a department that I now manage. I am responsible for certifications, quality/security/ safety/environment projects and information systems integration, for example in the context of acquisitions.

What advice would you give to students or young graduates who will soon be going abroad?

I would say that you have to be very open to other cultures and be very humble. Be curious in terms of jobs and destinations, do not neglect English or other languages and take the time to prepare your mobility well by using the VIE status for example, which suited me very well.

In a word, CY Tech and you are ...?

I like how there is a sense of a family coming together, but to answer the question in one word: Sciences