Alex Garcia is an alumnus of the MSc&T in Energy Environment : Science Technology and Management from École polytechnique.
Today, he is the Head of Analytics at Feedgy. In this interview, Alex talks about his experience at École polytechnique and explains his job.
Who are you?
I am Alex Garcia and I am from Barcelona.
I have an Energy Engineering Bachelor’s degree from UPC Barcelona and I specialized on renewable energies with a Master’s degree. I gained a scholarship to do my second year in France and chose to pursue my studies with the MSc&T STEEM at Ecole polytechnique.
Today I am the Head of Analytics at Feedgy - a supplier of solar energy equipment in Paris.
Why did you choose Ecole Polytechnique to pursue your studies?
I wanted to follow a Master’s degree in a very specialized subject. I was searching for a precise program with specific courses that went into details. I found it at Ecole polytechnique.
I also chose Ecole Polytechinque for some other reasons :
- The high reputation of the School
- The campus allows students to enjoy enverything in one environment
- The localization was an attraction to me (near from Paris)
What is your job about?
I started as a PV Engineer/Data Analyst at Feedgy and I had the chance to evolve in the company during the last 4 years. Today I am in charge of the Analytics division the Performance Analysis and my goal is to develop a decision making tool for PV asset managers based on Advanced Analytics and Artificial Intelligence an MPI to use an algorythm for assesment of PV performance on solar assets.
Right now, I am managing a Team of 6 people and doing a lot of different things:
- Establishing the road map and transforming it into the Product Backlog (including Software Requirement Specifications) a technical one
- Looking for financing in a process of soliciting proposals from contractors
- Establishing the technical profiles needed for the project A bit of Human Ressources
- Applying the Agile development principles
What do you like the most about your job?
I am never bored! I am always facing new challenges and get to work on multidisciplinary projects.
I also love working with innovation and people that are very different from each other. Combining different know-hows, backgrounds, personalities, languages and cultures is very exciting to me.
Is there any specific course that you are using in your current position?
I still have my notes from the different courses I followed at Ecole polytechnique and they are very helpful!
I think it is important to say that during this MSc&T we were able to work with data coming from 5 different types of panel technologies on campus - which gave us a very concrete idea of what our future job could look like.
Overall, the MSc&T gave me some skills in coding and how to apply mathematics & statistics but there was a course about assessment of performance which helped me a lot because it was exactly what I did in my internship.
What are your ambitions?
In the future I’d like to start my own company linked to renewable energies and innovation with a digital part in it.
For now, I am learning as much as I can about everything that is related to managing A digital businessa business. Hopefully, I will be able to create my business with an experience that will allow me to avoid some mistakes.
What are your memories of your time at Ecole polytechnique?
I have very good memories about Ecole polytechnique, the people I have met and the time I have spent doing different sports & activities. I learned a lot of things and had the opportunity to grow a lot as a person.
Going abroad is a very interesting experience that I recommend to everyone.
What advice would you give to future students?
Enjoy your time on campus and the lifestyle that it offers but also take the opportunity to learn from the professors and establish a network. It is going to be very useful for your future!