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AFAM: Hello Thierry and thank you for this interview. You are a Digital Strategy & Educational Innovation Executive Advisor at Arts & Métiers. What does this role involve?
Thierry:
My role is to serve as executive advisor on digital strategy and educational innovation, with a mandate to provide project management support to the Director General. Practically, that means: aligning our Evolutive Learning Factories (ELF) across campuses with the institution’s digital strategy; orchestrating strategic watch and engagement across key networks (France Immersive Learning -FIL, CSIESR, EUNIS, EDUCAUSE, ENHANCE+); and ensuring our information system governance supports pedagogical innovation at scale. I also represent Arts et Métiers in VPNUM association and sit on the COSI (strategic IS committee), to keep decision-making tight between academic priorities and digital capabilities. Finally, I work on staff-development programmes so that colleagues can confidently adopt generative AI and XR in teaching and student services.
AFAM: Could you share recent projects and concrete actions across Arts et Métiers and its campuses?
Thierry:
Three concrete thrusts:
1. ELF pilots and scaling – We prioritise and track campus pilots that embed XR and GenAI into hybrid learning, lab practice and work-based projects; we document tested solutions, prioritise next steps, and measure adoption.
2. Capability-building – We run targeted upskilling pathways (JENII and CAIRE projects) to help faculty and professional staff integrate emerging tech into curricula with confidence and safeguards.
3. European contribution & foresight – I co-authored the European Digital Education Hub guide on immersive learning and contributed to EU-level futures work; this ensures our projects align with European trends and the Digital Education Action Plan.
At my instigation, Arts et Metiers and FIL have joined the response coalition to the Digital Europe call: Virtual World Skills Academy.
I am involved in two Erasmus/KA2020HED projects that began at the end of 2025: IDT4EU, for which I am the coordinator for the school, and DIGIREADY2, for which Arts et Metiers is one of the deployment pilots. Arts et Metiers and France Immersive Learning -FIL are members of the VR-AR Industrial Coalition and Arts et Metiers has just joined the Virtual World Association.
I am also co-leader of the Learning Tech Special Interest Group of the European association EUNIS, of which I am a former VP of the BoD.
At the international level, I participate in the work of the XR Community Group of the US association EDUCAUSE and I am co-leader of the French university delegation to the annual EDUCAUSE conference.
AFAM: You attended ASU’s “Agentic AI and the Student Experience” and spoke at EDUCAUSE 2025 in Nashville. What are the key takeaways?
Thierry:
From ASU (Tempe, 22–24 October 2025): the centre of gravity is shifting from “assistive” to agentic AI—systems that proactively make decisions and solve problems in service of the student journey (advising, tutoring, support). The event underscored ethics, safety, and human-in-the-loop design, with hands-on workshops and cases showing how to enhance personalisation while protecting privacy and equity.
From EDUCAUSE 2025 (Nashville): I contributed three sessions:
• The JENII Project (breakout): on integrating immersive virtual environments and digital twins into hybrid learning, with emphasis on the teacher–learner benefit balance and the technical-pedagogical continuum.
• (Digital) Education Reimagined for 2040 (poster): presenting four future scenarios from the European Digital Education Hub—continuing, constraining, declining, transforming—to stress strategic optionality and preparedness for 2030–2040.
• Keeping It (Virtually) Real (breakout): pragmatic XR project management in the classroom—framing, resourcing, ethics, and realistic deliverables—so teams can ship impactful experiences without overreach.
Across both events, three cross-cutting messages emerged: (1) pair agile pedagogy with robust data governance and cost/benefit discipline; (2) invest in staff capability and change management as much as in tools; (3) design student-centred services—personalised, ethical, and measurable—for impact and trust. (These emphases echo recent EDUCAUSE trendlines around GenAI, student success, learning spaces and leadership.)
Photo: courtesy of Thierry Koscielniak
Sessions with Thierry Koscielniak during EDUCAUSE 2025:
The JENII Project: Integrating Immersive and Interactive Virtual Environments into Hybrid Learning
(Digital) Education Reimagined for 2040: A European Insight on Possible Futures of Digital Education
Keeping It (Virtually) Real: XR Project Management in the Classroom
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Bye-bye 2025 and hello 2026! How was 2025 for Gadz'Arts community in the USA, for our school and SOCE?
Here is what we would like to highlight:
January 2025:
Galette des Rois organized by our regional groupes including SF bay area and Houston-based Gadz groupes
Galette des rois at San Francisco bay area
Galette des rois with Houston-based Gadz
February 2025:
Arts et Metiers students participated in "Invent for the Planet" hackathon organized by Texas A&M, the school's longtime partner
picture: artsetmetiers.fr
March 2025
- Mini GadzMeet took place in SF
- La SOCE participated in Global Industries 2025 at Eurexpo Lyon
April 2025
- Houston alumni met Arts et Metiers delegation in Houston
- Our A&M US-based alumni met Aix students online during English class
-Weekend "Usines Ouvertes" took place everywhere in France
- First edition of the Salon du Livre Gadzarique took place
10 students received mobility grants offered by SOCE. The students were planning to study in Canadian, US and British and other foreign Universities as a part of their mobility requirement. AFAM offered 17 grants to parcours US and GTE students.
June 2025
- Arts et Metiers incubator participated in Viva Tech for the first time
- Arts et Metiers racing team (Cluny campus) won at ENEDIS EV Challenge
- French Alumni summer party took place in San Francisco
- Gadz Summer party took place in SF bay area
- Hotel Iena was bought 100 years ago ( on June 30th 1925)
July 2025
- Boost Startup was organized on Paris campus
- Campuses made their traditional keys
Bordeaux key ( picture from artsetmetiers.fr)
August 2025
- Arts et Metiers campuses signed a biodiversity chart
September 2025
GadzArts gathered in SF, at the residence of the Consul
October 2025
- AMJE Lille organized a regional congress
November 2025
- ELF (Evolutive Learning Factories) events are organized on Arts et Metiers campuses
- Forum Arts et Metiers was organized on November 4th
- Arts et Metiers inaugurates its new facility in Dax
-Eric Benhamou (Ai 172) met students on Arts et Metiers campus in Paris
- AFAM online informational session took place on November with more than 90 students present
December 2025
- The main event of the year - GadzMeet weekend- took place in Atlanta
- AFAM participated in the International Week organized by Arts et Metiers
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The GadzMeet gathering took place the past weekend in Atlanta! GadzMeet happening on 12-14 December this year was the second edition of GadzMeet, our annual biggest community event. The first one took place in San Francisco in 2024. More than 35 students and alumni attended GadzMeet last weekend, including those flying to Atlanta from California, Texas or New York.
On Day 1 GadzMeet participants visited the Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory (ASDL) in the presence of its director, Professor D.Mavris. Later that day they toured Exotec, a global warehouse robotics company founded in 2015 in Lille (France); and ended the day together at a cocktail party.
On Day 2 participants attended the master's graduation ceremony at Georgia Institute of Technology, congratulated A&M students who graduated, and finished the day together at one of Atlanta’s restaurants.
On Day 3 the event continued with a visit of Atlanta.
Here is what some participants shared about the event:
"Thank you AFAM for organizing! These moments of sharing, bringing together students and alumni, perfectly embody the 'gadzariques' values. I am very happy to be part of this community and to be able to stay in touch with everyone.” - Djian
“Participating in GadzMeet Atlanta was a powerful reminder of the value of our alumni network. Coming together with fellow Arts et Métiers graduates and current students allowed us to celebrate achievements, share experiences, and discuss how we can collectively shape the future of our school. These moments of reconnection strengthen our community and ensure that the spirit of innovation and collaboration continues across generations.” - Benjamin
"It was my first GadzMeet and it was so great to enjoy talking with “archis” and other French students in the US. A lot of stories and smiles ! Hope to come back next year !" - Bénédicte
"This GadzMeet was incredible ! It was very nice to see other gadzarts here in the US. I really enjoyed Atlanta and spending time with you. Thank you and I hope to see you again !" - Raphaël
"Meeting the Gadz based in US was a great experience and full of meaningful moments. I particularly valued the exchange with Jean-Lou Chameau and his wife, especially the richness of his worldview. Jean-Lou served as president of Caltech" - Matéo
Thank you to the organizers and all the participants of the event!
Gadz'Arts in Atlanta on the first day of GadzMeet (Day 1)
Atlanta at night
Dr. Mavris presenting ASDL lab (Day 1)
A&M students and alumni after GT graduation ceremony (Day 2)
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It has already became a tradition for AFAM to participate in the International Week organized by the school at the end of the year. This year the AFAM conference took place on December 9th and focused on the subject of internships in the USA. More than 40 students could attended the online conference.
The community manager Albina presented the association and its program Shasta, helping students get necessary support to find internships in the United States. Then the students could hear the testimonials of three former interns:
Marion Raquin ( Cl 220), former intern at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Ohio, in 2023
Eugénie Lombard (An 222), former intern at Vesuvius USA, Illinois in 2024
and Ilan Bruski (Ai 2024), former summer intern at Nonlinear Computational Aeroelasticity Laboratory (NCAE) of Aerospace Engineering department ( Georgia Tech), Atlanta, Georgia, in 2025.
Marion, Eugénie and Ilan talked about their internship search, internship itself as well as preparation period ( visa, budget, etc.)
The conference ended up with a short Q/A session as the time was running out leaving many questions still to discuss.
AFAM would like to thank the school for the opportunity and our speakers!
AFAM is looking forward to meeting students next year during other conferences and welcoming them in our programs!
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AFAM: Hello, Samuel, and thank you for participating in this interview series. Please tell us a few words about yourself.
Samuel: I grew up in Burgundy, bounced around a bit for school (the UK, Switzerland) and eventually made my way to the U.S. in New York, at Carnegie Mellon University. Each move just widened the lens a bit and pushed me toward more quantitative, systems-driven work. Now I’m in energy markets as a quant researcher / trader, building tools and models to make sense of a space that’s fast, noisy, and weirdly fun to work in. Outside of that, I’m splitting time between Pittsburgh, New York, and Paris, or getting lost in whatever catches my brain that week.
AFAM: you were a Quantitative Research intern at SESCO LLC in Pennsylvania. Could you please tell us a few words about your internship?
Samuel: My internship was all about decoding the behavior of generators across the grid, modelling their offer logic, and trying to anticipate how they’d move the market. It sounds heavy, and it was, but the essence was simple: take a complex, messy system and make it predictable enough to act on. The pace was intense in a good way. Small team, high expectations, no fluff.
AFAM: As you might know, AFAM offers the Shasta program to help Arts et Metiers students find internships in the US. So, the students who are currently in the program would be interested to know how you found this internship at SESCO and why you think you were the best candidate for this position?
Samuel: I stumbled on the internship through the university job board. Energy trading isn’t exactly front-and-center for most students, so it felt like discovering a hidden lane I didn’t know existed. Once I dug into the area, it felt like the perfect mix of quantitative work and real-world dynamics. I knew the kind of shop I was looking for, somewhere where interns actually build things, not just clean data. Sesco fit that perfectly. I think I stood out because my profile bridges two worlds: the engineering mindset from Arts et Métiers and the quantitative depth from CMU/prépa. It meant I could approach problems both structurally and mathematically. I didn’t pretend to be an expert in power markets. I showed that I was ready to ramp up quickly in a new domain and build things that matter.
AFAM: you hold a master’s degree in Computational Finance from Carnegie Mellon University. Could you please tell us more about this chapter of your life?
Samuel: CMU was a serious grind. I ended up with a group that matched my energy; tired, stubborn, and way too competitive for our own good. We’d be deep into math and coding at ridiculous hours, pushing each other because none of us wanted to be the one who tapped out first. We got home so late most nights that our building’s receptionist probably thought we had a wild social life. That mix of pressure and friendly rivalry built real friendships. It was intense, but it shaped how I work today. And honestly, it was my way into the U.S. I grew up far from any major city, so getting the chance to study here and go head-to-head with some of the sharpest people around felt like finally stepping onto the stage I’d always imagined.
AFAM: Why did you decide to go into the financial sector? What was your motivation?
Samuel: I didn’t step into finance because I was passionate about markets. I could be trading frozen orange juice concentrate, class B milk futures, or selling virtual energy — oh wait. The attraction wasn’t the product; it was the environment. I like places where high-bandwidth thinking is the norm and the expectations are high. I’m naturally competitive, and I work best around people who think quickly and push each other without needing to say it out loud. I realized over time that traditional engineering didn’t suit me, the timelines were long, and the distance between effort and outcome felt too wide. In a hedge fund, the loop is tighter and the impact is clear. You build something useful, and it’s on someone’s screen the same day. It felt like working on real-world complexity without the big-team bureaucracy. That rhythm felt right to me.
AFAM: You came back full time as quantitative trader time almost a year ago, how has your role evolved since?
Samuel: Coming back full time was a shock in the best way. The learning curve is insane, you think you know the space, then you start trading and you realize how much there is left to absorb.Nobody is waiting for you and you feel the pressure immediately. A year in, the curve stays vertical, but my role’s gotten bigger. I’ve built tools people actually use, thrown away a bunch of things that didn’t deserve to exist, teamed up with others on exotic problems, and taken the lead when I knew where to push. One thing I love about Sesco is how flat the place is. The dude sitting next to you can literally be the CEO or the latest hire —everyone’s in the mix, building, arguing, breaking things, fixing them. It keeps you sharp and it keeps you humble. Fluff aside, a lot of my life now is coding on a mechanical keyboard I probably overpaid for, scribbling ideas on paper like a maniac, and pacing around like one spark might actually get me to the Riemann Hypothesis. It's chaotic, but that's the job... and I love it.
AFAM: how did being a Gadz help you in your professional life so far?
Samuel: Being a Gadz shapes you in ways that aren’t obvious from the outside. There’s a shared mindset, a way of working, of showing up, of not taking yourself too seriously even when the workload and responsibilities are heavy. Professionally, that’s been valuable. You stay grounded, you stay reliable, and you’re comfortable in environments where things move fast. Resilience, discipline, and the ability to handle intensity without blinking are core values I developed during my time at l'École.
AFAM: Thank you for your time, Samuel!
Picture: courtesy of Samuel
Other interviews in "Financial Engineering" series:
- Online AFAM informational session took place on November 13th
- Eric Benhamou (Ai 172) met students on Paris campus
- AFAM community manager met students in Paris, Châlons-en-Champagne and Cluny
- AFAM met some of the students, recipients of the Sequoia #2 grants, in San Francisco
- "Zoom on": interview with Ethan Legrand (Class 2024), A&M apprentice student, former intern at PSPM Plastic System, PA, USA
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