CESI École d’Ingénieurs joins the DEMAIN project to better understand younger generations’ education and career choices
CESI École d’Ingénieurs is joining DEMAIN, a field-based initiative led by Marlène Legay, founder of Vague de Sens, to better understand younger generations’ aspirations and develop approaches to education and career guidance and support. This partnership is part of the DEMAIN Tour de France, which meets young people aged 15 to 30 across different regions and life circumstances. The first stop organised with CESI took place at its Saint-Nazaire campus and will be followed by visits to the Lille and Aix-en-Provence campuses
Meeting young people to understand their choices
How do young people make education and career choices today? What factors influence their decisions? How much importance do they attach to their personal aspirations, the people around them, career prospects and opportunities to change direction along the way?
These are some of the questions DEMAIN aims to explore by meeting young people directly. Over four months, the initiative is travelling across France along four routes to gather the stories, experiences and perspectives of 15- to 30-year-olds on education, work, values, aspirations and shaping their future.
The aim is to move beyond assumptions about younger generations and better understand the realities that shape their choices. The approach prioritises listening, observation and collective intelligence to develop a more nuanced understanding of their expectations and concerns.
A partnership focused on education and career guidance
For CESI École d’Ingénieurs, this partnership focuses specifically on education and career guidance. It reflects a core belief: supporting young people means more than equipping them with scientific and technological skills. It also means giving them the tools to build a future that feels meaningful to them.
Education and career paths are changing. Decisions may take shape gradually, journeys may be less linear, and expectations of support may evolve. Understanding what motivates young people, reassures them and helps them envision their future is therefore a key priority for higher education institutions.
“Understanding how young people make choices today also means better preparing the way we will support them tomorrow. By joining DEMAIN as its partner for education and career guidance, we want to listen to their experiences, gain a clearer understanding of their expectations and inform our thinking on educational pathways and guidance practices,” says Coralie Bitan, Director of Communications and Marketing at CESI École d’Ingénieurs.
Three CESI campuses involved in gathering students’ perspectives
As part of this partnership, the DEMAIN teams will meet students at three CESI campuses: Saint-Nazaire, Lille and Aix-en-Provence. Several complementary formats will be used to gather their views and explore their experiences of education and career guidance:
- Questionnaires to gather a broad range of students’ perceptions and aspirations.
- One-hour focus groups bringing together around ten young people to share perspectives and encourage collective reflection.
- Individual 30-minute interviews focused on a specific topic to explore personal journeys, experiences and the factors influencing decisions in greater depth.
These discussions will explore the influence of family, friends and others around them, perceptions of different professions, criteria for choosing a programme, attitudes towards education and expectations of support. They will help build a clearer understanding of how young people see their professional future and their opportunities to develop or change direction.
Listening as a way to improve practices
Beyond gathering personal accounts, the initiative aims to provide a better understanding of changes in education and career decision-making. It will also inform CESI École d’Ingénieurs’ thinking on how it presents its programmes, supports decisions and offers pathways aligned with students’ aspirations.
By joining the DEMAIN project and Vague de Sens, CESI École d’Ingénieurs reaffirms its commitment to listening to younger generations and keeping pace with changes in the professional world. This approach places students’ experiences at the heart of discussions about education and career guidance and shaping their future.
Understanding young people means supporting them more effectively in their choices and giving them the tools to build their future.