A passion for engineering

The Institute was therefore delighted to play host to 22-year-old French engineering student Arnaud Cornevin, who spent six weeks at IHEEM’s Portsmouth headquarters this summer on a work placement, discovering more about how a UK engineering institute operates, and the differences between engineering career paths in the UK and France. 

 “Arnaud Cornevin was clearly determined to make the most of his time with us,” explained the Institute’s events/education manager Jeff Pickering, who acted as the young student’s mentor. “He adapted extremely well to his first experience of office life, was thoroughly professional throughout, and demonstrated a real passion for engineering. “Alongside supporting the management team in undertaking general office duties, such as preparing delegate packs for seminars, and helping to prepare material for committee and branch meetings, he made several off-site visits to support IHEEM activities. These included attending the IHEEM East Anglian branch meeting on 1 July, visiting London’s Institute of Mechanical Engineering and Institute of Civil Engineers, and attending an IHEEM Journal Committee meeting. He also attended, and supported, other Institute staff at an IHEEM risk management seminar in London, visited ARUP’s London offices, and had trips both to Portsmouth’s Queen Alexandra Hospital and to the UBS Centre in London.” Describing himself in his CV as “a hardworking individual with a good technical knowledge in the building sector” (a description Jeff Pickering said he could certainly concur with), the young Frenchman told HEJ he saw his time at IHEEM as “an excellent opportunity both to improve my English language and construction skills, and to discover more about how engineering professionals work in another country”. He said of his own educational background to date: “Having completed a two-year undergraduate course in advanced mathematics and physics leading to the national examinations for French engineering school in Dijon between 2006 and 2008, I enrolled at the Polytech’Savoie in Chambery, and am currently in the second year there of an engineering diploma course, specialising in energy, building, and the environment.”

Career progression compared

Alongside assisting members of the IHEEM head office team during his time in Portsmouth, Arnaud Cornevin undertook research into how the career progression paths for engineers differ in France and the UK. His various visits not only assisted this research, but also helped him gain a clearer idea of the role engineering institutes play in the UK. In France, he explained, the “classical” way to pursue an engineering career (and the path he has chosen) is for candidates to study for a Baccalauréat Scientifique qualification at the end of their time at a lycée (secondary or high school), followed by a two-year Classe Préparatoire aux Grandes Écoles (or CPGE) course, a preparatory course of education aimed at training undergraduates for enrolment in one of the country’s “Grandes Écoles”. One of the mainstays of the French educational system, these include science and engineering and business schools outside the main framework of the French university system. CPGE subjects studied by an aspiring engineer typically include mathematics, physics, chemistry, technology, and the science of engineering. During the second of the two years, students sit an examination for entry into one of the Grandes Écoles, with the choice of which exam to take (there are currently five), and which particular educational establishments to aim for, dependent on their particular strengths and areas of interest. Successful enrolment at an engineering school for those with the CPGE qualification is followed by a further three years’ study for an engineering diploma. Alternatively, Baccalauréat holders can undertake a longer, five-year course of study for such a diploma, or study for a DUT (University Diploma in Technology) or a “Brevet de technician supérieur” qualification, followed by three years at engineering school. The fourth potential route is by gaining an L3 (Licence3) and, subsequently, an M1 (Masters) qualification, after which candidates will still normally need to complete three years at an engineering school.

Looking to the future

Arnaud Cornevin said: “I have already passed my first and second year examinations, and expect to obtain my diploma on the completion of my studies next autumn. Thereafter I am keen to secure an engineering role with a strong bias towards the subjects I have studied, perhaps with a large professional practice.” The young engineer said one of the major differences he had identified between engineering careers in the UK and France is that, in his own country, engineers tend to specialise in a particular area early in their career, and ideally seek employment within that field. However, having gained some full-time experience, the options are then, he explained, “quite varied”, ranging from continuing to work in the same specialist engineering, or another engineering discipline for the remainder of one’s career, taking a job within a council-type organisation, employment in marketing, or within another high-level commercial or sales position. He added: “The study required to become an engineer in France is long and arduous, but once you have the diploma this certifies that you actually have the skills to perform an engineering role. In the UK, in contrast, ‘engineer’ is not a title per se, and many individuals call themselves engineers, so I wonder if the role’s importance is a little diluted here? However, the structured path towards Chartered Engineer carries considerable reputation and status, and ensures that you are recognised for your skills, experience, knowledge, and expertise, both by your peers, and also more widely by society as a whole.

A difference in status

 “In France I think the title ‘engineer’ probably carries more immediate status than in the UK, and French engineers tend very much to identify themselves as, for example, a ‘civil engineer’, ‘structural engineer’, or ‘informatics engineer’, to very clearly identify what they do. Conversely, however, there is no direct equivalent to Engineering Technician, IEng, or CEng status in France, whereas I believe such qualifications could be extremely useful. “Another thing that struck me about healthcare engineers in the UK is the important part that institutes like IHEEM can play in their career development, and in supporting them generally. In France, to my knowledge, there is nothing like the number of professional engineering institutions, although the established association, Ingénieurs Hospitaliers de France, does promote the interests of healthcare engineers and sharing of experience. “In the UK it is clear that each institute works hard within its particular sphere to support engineers in their day-to-day roles, improve the quality of engineering generally, inform engineers about new technologies and other developments, and promote continuous professional development. IHEEM clearly fulfils all these roles, as well as offering a route to EngTech, IEng, and CEng registration, and even non-members can benefit from, for instance, seminars and the annual conference, events that you would hope would not only broaden their knowledge and expertise, and help them make new contacts, but also encourage them to become an Institute member.

Personal mentoring

“Via my research I know also that, along with general careers advice, many engineering institutes, including IHEEM, offer a personal mentoring scheme, whereby an experienced member will act as an advisor to a younger, or more inexperienced engineer, to help them develop their career, or through any difficulties. “I have much enjoyed my time with IHEEM. It has given me a useful insight into engineering as a profession generally in the UK, and the important role that healthcare engineers play. My six-week work placement has proven extremely valuable, and it will be useful to take back to France, and my future career, the learnings and experience I have gained.”