How the student board was created?
It has been one year since the student board for MSc&T of École Polytechnique was born.
Last year a few of the students decided to start this organization to represent and to help the Master students’ life during the experience at l’X.
The main reason to be a part of this group is to give a voice to the students of the Master’s programs.
Given how international these programs are, some cultural barriers could be created between the students and the school. Our purpose is to help overcome any barriers with our multicultural group, where every single member comes from an individual country and all of us come from different continents: Africa, Asia, America and Europe. Our goal is to give to our fellow classmates the best experience they could hope for from their journey at École Polytechnique.
Is there any organisation chart?
This year’s new group is the following:
- Diego Berrios-Perez (Energy Environment: Science Technology and Management Master): Treasurer
- Oussama Er-Raji (Energy Environment: Science Technology and Management Master): Administrative representative
- Lorena Nava Guajardo (Ecotechnologies for Sustainability and Environment Management Master): Sports representative
- Matias Rietig (Internet of Things: Innovation and Management Master): Events representative
- Carmine Rizzi (Internet of Things: Innovation and Management Master): External representative
- Yeojeong Yun (Energy Environment: Science Technology and Management Master): Events representative
While we do generally divide our responsibilities based on our roles, it really is a team effort. Each member has the opportunity to chime in, give suggestions or join another in a project they are working on. At the end of the day, the roles we were assigned are more of a focus each one of us has in the back of our mind, but it doesn’t at all restrict us from contributing in other areas as well.
How do the elections work?
The MSc&T student board is renewed every year through an election. The election period is during February, and it is one of the most fun times of the year! Students who want to run for a position on the board get together in groups of 6. These groups should be composed of an administrative representative, an external representative, a treasurer, a sports representative, and two events representatives. Once these groups are formed, the fun part begins!
Each group has to use its creativity to persuade the MSc&T students that he or she is the best one for the job. For example, last year, we did multiple things including designing a very nice poster that we printed more than 100 times and distributed to the students (and even to the administration office!). We also organized events where we offered students our delicious homemade cookies and brownies.
It was a great opportunity to talk to them and see what type of activities or events they would like to see next year, among other things.
Next, comes the moment where the students have to vote. And in both cases, winning or losing, it is all good, because everyone enjoys the different events and activities, and the whole experience of the election period. If you have any doubts whether to run for the MSc&T board elections next year, don’t! It‘s super fun, and a wonderful experience that you will never forget.
Do you plan to work with the other students’ associations of l’X (KES, L'ORE, etc.)?
We are planning to put our efforts together in order to come up with fun and competitive activities for the students. We are already starting to think about sports events in which students from different programs compete in order to see who is the champion of l’X in various sports! Also, we want to organize parties together, and much more!
How do you cope with the Covid 19 situation?
As many students have a hard time due to Covid-19 situation, we keep them updated by writing regular posts to inform them on what is happening. We share information about things like financial support from the government for students who have lost their internships, new measures or decisions taken by the school ... Furthermore, we keep them updated on our communication with the school and how things will be the upcoming year.
Even though we are living in exceptional times, where we do not know how things will evolve, we continue to stay optimistic and positive. During the next period, we will stay in touch with the administration, by participating in meetings in which the “student’s life” is discussed (how to improve it for the next year, what activities can be included considering the new sanitary measures…).