Mathilde Tison, Class of 2018

CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND?

I did my undergraduate degree at Sciences Po's Europe-Asia campus in Le Havre. I then entered the Master in Public Policy, Economics and Public Policy stream, at the School of Public Affairs in Paris. At the end of my first year of the Master's, I decided to take a gap year, in order to gain more professional experience and explore the avenues that I was interested in, by doing an internship with the French Embassy in Uganda and then with Business France in Beijing.

On my return to France, I enrolled at the Ecole Spéciale Militaire (ESM) at Saint-Cyr as part of the new dual degree programme that had just been created with Sciences Po, where I trained as an army officer for a year. Then I enrolled in a preparatory course for the administrative entrance exams to take the Quai d'Orsay exams. Today, I'm a diplomat at the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs in Paris. >

WHAT WERE THE MAJOR STAGES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF YOUR CAREER PLAN?

In my third year of undergraduate studies, I went to China on an exchange to Beijing University, during which I studied Mandarin and travelled around China and Asia. This experience was a decisive step in my career plan, and reinforced my desire to learn and work about Asia, and China in particular. The language skills and knowledge I acquired during that year were essential to my career as a diplomat and continue to serve me well today.

HOW DID YOUR TRAINING AT THE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, AND MORE SPECIFICALLY YOUR DUAL DEGREE WITH SAINT-CYR, CONTRIBUTE TO THE POSITION YOU HOLD TODAY?

The dual degree with Saint-Cyr was very enriching in many ways. Professionally, it has enabled me to develop a strategic and secure dimension to my profile, by working alongside the military. Being a diplomat requires a great deal of interministerial coordination, including with the Ministry of the Armed Forces. So it's an asset to understand the functioning of the French armed forces, its language and its codes.

In this respect, the preparatory training for the civil service administrative competitions has also proved instructive, offering a cross-disciplinary vision of government action and its legal and financial levers. This is essential on a day-to-day basis, to ensure that diplomatic action is consistent with the Government's overall policy.

WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO APPLY FOR A DUAL DEGREE WITH SAINT-CYR?

During my internship at the Chancellery of the French Embassy in Uganda, I was able to see the intense interaction between departments from different ministries, particularly the defence mission, under the coordination of the ambassador. Indeed, the diplomatic and military professions are the two traditional dimensions of a country's foreign policy. So I wanted to find out more, by wearing the uniform rather than reading up on the subject.

WOULD YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR A STUDENT OR FUTURE GRADUATE?

Be yourself: that's the best way to be convincing and coherent. Follow your interests, experience the things you're passionate about, and your curriculum vitae will follow.

As far as the dual degree with Saint-Cyr is concerned, this is an exceptional course, demanding both physically and mentally. In a university career that essentially tends to focus on cerebral work, this programme offers the rare opportunity to develop both physically and intellectually at the same time. This course has given me a lot to think about in terms of human relations, group dynamics, teamwork, management and surpassing oneself.