Antoine Jochyms, Class of 2022

CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND?

Wanting to be in touch with very concrete issues, I started my studies in business school, at ESSEC, and then I joined the Master in Public Policy at Sciences Po in order to complete my training with a background in social sciences. I evolved in the startup ecosystem, then in the associative world at Les Déterminés, an association that supports entrepreneurs in suburban and rural areas. I then joined Tilder, a communications and public affairs consultancy, where I mainly worked as a writer. Today, I'm back in the Tech world as I'm in charge of developing Microsoft's relations with the startup ecosystem in France. 

In parallel to my professional activity, I am involved in associations, notably with Open Politics, a political incubator that I co-founded with Jasser Jebabli.

WHAT WERE THE MAJOR STEPS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF YOUR PROFESSIONAL PROJECT? 

The major steps in the construction of my professional project were the different experiences I had. I voluntarily explored very different worlds, in order to see what I liked, but also to quickly eliminate what did not suit me. I think that the construction of a professional project is done as time goes by. Often, we think we have a fixed idea of what our career will be like, but it's not so. It evolves according to experiences and encounters.

A WORD ABOUT OPEN POLITICS?

Open Politics is a free, non-partisan training program for political engagement. The objective is to provide citizens with the codes, tools and network necessary to engage in politics. For example, we train them in public speaking, campaign strategy, political communication and political science. Our trainers are ministers, elected officials, strategists, advisors, senior civil servants, activists, essayists and university professors. Over the past two years, we have trained close to 200 citizens, with the ambition of creating a new generation of political leaders capable of inspiring hope, in order to revitalize our representative democracy. 

WHAT DO YOU SEE AS YOUR NEXT CHALLENGES? 

My main challenge going forward is to grow Open Politics. At a time when we are experiencing a crisis in political representation and unprecedented democratic fatigue, we feel it is absolutely necessary to allow as many people as possible to engage in politics. To do this, we need to expand Open Politics across the country and create new training modules. This is the challenge for 2023. So in a word, my next challenge is to help train the managers and guardians of today's and tomorrow's democracy. 

WHAT CONTRIBUTIONS DID YOUR TRAINING AT THE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS MAKE TO THE POSITION YOU HOLD TODAY?  

Overall, I would say that the School of Public Affairs is the school of rigor, critical thinking and synthesis as well as argumentation. I really developed these skills at Sciences Po and I try to apply them every day, both at Microsoft and at Open Politics. 

WOULD YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE TO GIVE TO A STUDENT OR A FUTURE GRADUATE?

Be daring! Feel free to write to people who inspire you and people you would like to meet. People are often very happy to share their experiences with a student over coffee. This can be a great learning experience and can open doors for you in your future career. 

LEARN MORE

• The Master in Public Policy at the School of Public Affairs
• The Social Policy and Social Innovation stream at the School of Public Affairs
• Apprenticeships at the School of Public Affairs 

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