This text is part of the special notebook 150 years of Polytechnique Montréal
Literature and Art Club, PolyFinances, PolyVoile, Engineers Without Borders… These are just some of the forty student committees that exist at Polytechnique. This is without counting the multiple technical societies, groups used to shape projects with the aim of participating in provincial, national and international competitions. Multiple opportunities that allow you to create a network and that constitute the great strength of Polytechnique Montréal, say three former students, who today have a prolific career in engineering.
When he talks about his experience within the Esteban Project, Robin Dubé still has stars in his eyes, even after more than 15 years. When he was a mechanical engineering student, Robin became involved with this technical company whose goal was to build a solar car, among other things because of its environmental values.
In 2007, he and his colleagues traveled to Australia to participate in a biannual 3,000 km solar vehicle race. This experience allowed Robin to develop technical skills, in addition to learning to work as a team on complex projects. “In a technical society, it is the students who lead the project; it’s not a teacher who tells us what to do,” he explains.
After his master’s degree, in 2009, Robin moved towards a career in research. For two years, he has returned to his first love: he is a program officer for the utiliTerre initiative, at the Canadian Space Agency… The job of his dreams!
“I help support the development of Earth observation applications, from space, in Canada,” describes the man who has always been fascinated by the universe, since he was very young.
Supporting women in engineering
During her time at Polytechnique Montréal, from 2012 to 2020, Éloïse Edom noticed that she was often the only girl on student teams. It is for this reason that she chose to get involved with the Marianne-Mareschal Chair, intended to support women in the engineering sector. When it had to close, Éloïse and four other students decided to take up the torch and found the Poly-Fi committee in 2017.
Together, they ran workshops in primary schools to provide role models for young girls, set up a mentoring program and organized visits. This experience allowed him to acquire all kinds of skills in the field, in addition to building a solid network.
“I have had testimonies from little girls who, at the start of the workshop, told me that they were not good at science and, at the end, they told me: “that’s so great, I’m going to maybe choose science!” », rejoices Eloise.
Today, after a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and two master’s degrees, Éloïse is a research associate at the Trottier Energy Institute of Polytechnique Montréal. She regularly appears in the media.
The strength of internships
Antoine Azar has always had an entrepreneurial spirit. During his time at Polytechnique Montréal, between 1999 and 2004, he considers that the four internships he completed allowed him to chart his professional path.
As a computer engineering student, Antoine notably completed internships in nanorobotics at the prestigious MIT and another in the city of Princeton, in the United States, in medical imaging.
“It helped open up different horizons and assimilate knowledge,” he believes. And I think that brought a lot of value to my journey. »
After founding two companies, Antoine is now an engineering director for a Silicon Valley financial technology firm. He also sits on the board of directors of the Polytechnique Montréal Foundation and Alumni.
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.