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Testimony of Matthieu Guilhem, student in the “Ingénieur généraliste” programme

Matthieu Guilhem

Student in the "Ingénieur généraliste" programme

Testimonial Category :

Education

Date :

25 Jun 2025

Testimony of Matthieu Guilhem

What is your background?

I did a Bac S with an Engineering Sciences option at the Lycée Gustave Eiffel in Bordeaux. I did a PTSI/PT preparatory course at the same school.

Why did you choose ISAE-SUPAERO? What do you see as the school's strengths?

I’ve always been very interested in space, and the school has a great deal of expertise in this field, as demonstrated by the French astronauts who are alumni. I also appreciate the wide range of disciplines and the truly generalist teaching that is offered. Another guiding principle behind my choice was my desire to stay in the south-west of France for my studies. It’s a great place to live, I grew up there and I’m particularly fond of it.

Can you tell us about your academic mobility? How was it a rewarding experience, both personally and academically?

Firstly, I did my compulsory 1A work placement in Tanzania for a 2-month humanitarian internship. I didn’t want to ‘waste’ this month doing a job that didn’t interest me and didn’t contribute anything either personally or to others. On the other hand, with friends from the year, we went to do manual work in schools, which for us had a strong and concrete meaning for those in need.

I spent a semester on exchange in Singapore at the National University of Singapore (NUS). I took a wide variety of courses to explore my different interests: future energy, medical technology, astrophysics and marine biology. I chose this part of the world because I wanted to discover a new way of life and a culture I knew nothing about. It was also an opportunity to study at a prestigious university where academic excellence is recognised abroad. I love to travel and Singapore is a central location for visiting many countries in South-East Asia.

In the second part of my gap year, I did a second academic exchange at UNIS Svalbard in the Spitsbergen archipelago. For 6 months I studied the aurora borealis, a relatively unknown phenomenon that tells us a lot about the behaviour of our sun and its interaction with the earth. I also wanted to give time to another passion in my life: mountain sports, in particular ski touring.

At the end of this experience of life in the far north, a far cry from anything I’d known before, I worked for Ponant as an Arctic expedition guide for 2 months.

These different experiences allowed me to explore several academic disciplines in detail that I didn’t know about, such as bio-engineering, astrophysics and energy. In the end, this helped me decide on my final year specialisation. Personally, I’ve been able to travel on my own, get out of my comfort zone and confront a variety of difficulties. I’ve also been able to fulfil dreams and desires that might otherwise have led to frustration in my future working life. I’m honestly very happy to have spent this year for myself, it’s by no means a free year to do nothing – quite the opposite, it’s a year in which you grow more than ever and which allows you to approach the final year of study with peace of mind.

What areas and subjects have you chosen for 3A? Why did you make this choice?

For my final year, I chose the Earth Observation and Science of the Universe pathway (OTSU-SU) and the Design and Operation of Space Systems pathway (COS-TS). With the different courses that I took during my gap year, I chose to continue in what I’ve been passionate about for a long time, i.e. space. These two courses are the most space-oriented at Supaéro.

What is your career plan? SFE?

I’d like to work in the design and innovation of current space systems such as propulsion on launchers, satellites or interplanetary manned missions. I aspire to manage teams and projects. I’m going to do my end-of-study placement in Kourou at the Guiana Space Centre. I’m working with CNES on a study of the risk of in-flight lightning strikes on launchers.

A word about life in Toulouse and more particularly on campus?

As I said earlier, the south-west is a region that I love to live in. The weather is good all year round. Overall: The people are friendly. The location is great, about 1 hours from the Pyrenees (by car or train) and about 2/3 hours from the sea or ocean.

The campus has good transport links, despite the fact that it’s in the south, and the Canal du Midi is a very convenient major route. There is also a new metro line that will soon be operational. The campus is large, with a large number of sports facilities (rugby pitch, tennis court, basketball pool, etc.) and a student centre with premises for artistic and technical clubs. As a general rule, community involvement is very much encouraged, and all students can join a wide variety of clubs, or several clubs if they wish, from the first year onwards. The whole campus is available to students so that they can enjoy it at their own pace and according to their own desires.

If you had any words for students taking the CCMP?

Have confidence in yourself and dare to dream!

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