Interview with Alexandre Desfontaines

Hello Alexandre, can you introduce yourself?

I'm Alexandre, and as I write these words I'm in my fourth year and doing my work placement at Framatome. I joined INSA CVL straight after school and decided to do the MRI programme. I really enjoy photography and sailing, as we'll see later, but my choice of involvement in clubs reflects these passions.

What associations have you been involved with at INSA CVL and how?

My first real involvement was with the Student Union in the communications department. I had to make posters to promote our events, as well as taking photos and helping to make the campaign film and an after-movie about the WEI (integration weekend).

Very soon afterwards, I joined INSAil, the INSA CVL sailing club, initially as communications officer, then as president when the board changed. Today, I'm still active there as treasurer!

Finally, when I got back from my time abroad, I decided to join the Gala association as vice-president, because this will almost certainly be my last experience in a club and I wanted to see behind the scenes of the organisation of a very big event.

In which association have you had the most responsibilities (office) and which ones?

For the moment, as we've only just started working on the Gala, I've had the most responsibility with INSAil, because we organise a big event: the Inter INSA Race. It was the first major budget I'd had to manage, with a lot of players involved and especially from a safety point of view, as sailing brings its own set of risks.

If you had to single out one highlight of your time with the association, what would it be?

If I absolutely had to choose one event, it would be the WEI. It's a really special moment because it's the high point of the integration month, requiring non-stop attention for a whole weekend and meticulous organisation beforehand. And then, of course, the satisfaction of having had a weekend that everyone enjoyed!

What has been the most difficult aspect of juggling your studies with your involvement in associations?

The hardest thing to manage between studying and getting involved in associations is time. Between courses, revision and just day-to-day life, time can sometimes run out when you're always having to chase up suppliers, call a rental company and so on. And sometimes, the moments when the most organisation is required fall during the mid-term exams, which makes things even more complicated.

Despite all this, we almost always have Thursday afternoons to rest a bit and take part in the activities of other clubs (the Sports Clubs, for example), and we always find time between two courses or at lunchtime to deal with an emergency.

Talking about your school, what support/help have you received from INSA CVL recently?

INSA CVL is very supportive of our projects, particularly via the FSDIE committee, which enables us to get grants, which in turn help to offer affordable costs for our students. In the case of sailing, this allows us to offer inexpensive weekends and so introduce the sport to people who wouldn’t necessarily get the chance otherwise.

In the broader sense of student life (housing, inclusion, solidarity, grants, health, etc.), what do you think is INSA CVL's greatest asset?

I didn't stay long on the Blois campus, so I'm going to focus instead on the strengths of the Bourges campus. INSA is in a good location and not far from the city centre, which means that we have accommodation close by and can therefore get out and about more easily. CROUS student accommodation is also very practical and close to INSA. And even though Bourges is a small town, it makes it easier for us to keep the student side of things alive. What's more, with the region, we have discount cards, so going to Tours, Orléans or even Paris is super easy.

What skills do you think you've developed through the Student Union?

Getting involved in clubs and the Student Union has really helped me to develop my skills. Before joining, I was rather shy, and having to take people's photos and go up to them has helped me to feel more at ease today.

But as well as the interpersonal skills, I've also developed project and budget management skills, because even though INSAil is a 'small' club, it still has budgets of several thousand euros, and that's no mean feat!

And at the moment I'm doing the Risk Management course, which gives you a different insight into the safety of the events you organise, so these are skills that are highly relevant to the career prospects available once you've graduated.

Lastly, would you have any advice for students who might be reluctant to get involved?

Getting involved means adopting a certain lifestyle! On a more serious note, I never thought I'd say this, but time goes by very, very quickly, and at the end of the Student Union term of office, between our time abroad and internships, we don't have much time left on campus, so we have to make the most of it while you still can.

What's more, it's a unique experience that brings a great deal to both your personal and professional life, so it's important to make the most of it, and not just in the big associations like the Student Union or Sports Club, but in the smaller ones too, because they cover just as many different subjects.