Student Interview #10 - Souhayl on taking part in the CPI Program

By Souhayl Amar, 1st year student, from Morocco

CPi Program : Création d’un Produit Innovant

After joining the MSc in Management, I decided to apply to the CPi Program. I got interested by the program when reading about it in the ESSEC Study Guide. Afterwards, I took a look at the program website and saw the videos of the previous editions. It seemed like a great opportunity to work and learn in an entrepreneurial environment! As of now, I don’t regret it at all. It’s totally worth it!

What is the CPi?

The CPi is a multidisciplinary program where students from three different backgrounds (engineering, management and design) work together on a company project during 6 months. It’s a joint program between ESSEC, Centrale Paris and Strate, three leading schools in business, engineering and design. Every year, several big companies such as Société Générale, Otis, or Thales participate in the CPi. This program, which enhances design thinking and open innovation, runs from from September to April. It concludes with the Trade Show: the final event where teams make presentations to a jury of teachers and senior executives from the companies that participate in the program. The CPi takes place on Tuesdays (all day long) at NUMA, in Paris. NUMA is a start-up incubator and a co-working space. It’s a place where entrepreneurs, designers, engineers, managers, and programmers meet to work and share experiences. 

My experience as a CPi student

I am working on a marketing project about the Oil&Gas industry for a French company called Vallourec. As part of our project, we visited the corporate headquarters in Valenciennes (France), and four of us had the chance to travel to Scotland! They went to Aberdeen to visit an offshore platform. The main goals of these visits are to collect data/information and to make observations about the working environment. In the following months, we will start making strategic recommendations and drafting business plans that suit the company’s needs.

I have found the CPi to be a very challenging and enriching experience so far. You get to learn a lot from other students! Teams are made up of 10-12 people so it’s important to be a team player and to put the interest of the group first. Furthermore, ESSEC students who complete the program get 3 UV and 2 months of professional experience since it is a demanding program. 






* To take part in this program, students need to have a good level of French.