Émilie RANCES

Chemistry and environment have been two components I did not want to separate, throughout my scholarly education. I chose my engineering school keeping this in mind.

Enrolling in ENSGTI in Pau in 2000 gave me access to a solid education in Process Engineering. I thus acquired knowledge of Water Treatment. In 2002, my engineering internship with Degremont UK (subsidiary of Suez Environnement) in London, has been a new stage for applying it and taking, for the first time, the direction of project management abroad. With this strength, I wanted to complete my education programme. In parallel with my third year of engineering school, I was enrolled in a Master’s degree in research, also in process engineering, on sites and soils polluted by heavy metals. The discovery of the world of research was crucial for my first professional experience in a company, even though I did not choose to do a PhD.

My implication in the Junior Entreprise (Junior Company) of my school earned me the recruitement on the Lacq basin to contribute, as part of a team, in the development of an engineering department on Water Treatment for the VINCI group. I then joined the engineering consulting firm SOFRESID in Pau, subsidiary of SAIPEM, as Business Manager for EPC – Engineering Procurement Construction type projects within the framework of the construction of pipelines for the transport of natural gas for Total Infrastructures Gaz France. These 3 years allowed me, first, to work on the choice of layouts by coordinating a group of 3 companies – a joint venture (an engineering consulting firm in environment, a surveying firm, an engineering safety consulting firm). I supervised up to 25 people for the technical engineering and the detailed design studies and then launched the call for tenders and provided site supervision.

I wanted then to have an international career involving large-scale projects, also as a Business Manager. By joining the Middle East Business Line at Degremont, subsidiary of Suez Environnement, since 2008, I have participated in construction projects for seawater desalination plants using Inverse Osmosis and drinking water plants such as AL DUR in the Kingdom of Bahrain (220,000 m3/day) and RUSAFA in Iraq (910,000 m3/day). Finally, I was seconded on-site for several months within the framework of the construction of the BARKA (120,000 m3/day) plant in Oman.

Today, I work as a Financial Engineer for the Efficio performance plan at the headquarters of the GDF SUEZ group. I took this position in 2010, in parallel with continuing education at IAE in Paris. I finished my MBA in July 2011. Today, it is also possible to obtain this MBA at IAE in Pau, in parallel with an engineering diploma. In my opinion, this is a very timely synergy for students who would want to prepare themselves as engineers at ENSGTI.

ENSGTI allowed me to acquire a solid general engineering education to develop in areas I cared a lot about, both in the energy sector, and in environment. I subsequently developed the relevant operational professional experience which enabled me to obtain this position which requires both a transverse approach, and also in-depth, practical knowledge of the field.