Jean-François Crépeau

director of innovation at T-Systems France

We have been taking at least one intern per year from the Ecole des Mines de Nantes for the past 10 years or so. I like to work with them because they are well trained. They have an excellent grounding in computer science, and more importantly, in algorithmics, which is essential, plus expertise in new technologies. They are all operational, at least in terms of skills. Some of the more mature ones are totally operational, because they already know how to manage projects independently. Others still need one or two years of experience, but never more. In any case, for us they are really the best recruits, with the greatest potential. They also represent the highest proportion of recent graduates who move into systems architecture.

And that’s not all: In our business you need to be skilled technically, but also good at communicating. Customer relations are very important. When a business has to make a major decision, there’s no point in developing the best architecture if you don't know how to sell it. Your good idea would just go to waste, because no one would be interested. The students from the Ecole des Mines de Nantes are also good at communicating. I think that’s because of the way the program is organized, with a lot of presentations after projects or internships are completed. They already know how to give a convincing presentation of what they have achieved.”