CAMPUS NEWS CAMPUS NEWS EDITO Talking with fellow students Can’t wait for next year Vlerick @ CDMGE PARIS May 29th Vlérick Team UCL Louvain team Campus team GDF SUEZ, the next generation of BLUE JERSEYS? SPECIAL ON THE ,, CDMGE Academic Challenge ,, SPECIAL ON THE ,, CDMGE Academic Challenge ,, 1/2 Bart Schrauwen, Project Manager Cogeneration Units at Electrabel, mentor for Vlérick students How did you like being a mentor at the Challenge? I was delighted to discover that I already knew a few students from Vlérick. They were motivated and let their enthusiasm show, both for the competitions and GDF SUEZ. It was easy to connect with them, since Jan de Vrij and I are both Vlérick alumni. By sharing our expe- riences, our fellow students got a more concrete idea of the type of careers offered by the Group. Nick Paelinck, student at Vlérick What was your contact like with your GDF SUEZ mentors? As team captain, I really appreciated the help of the organisers and mentors, both during preparation and at the event itself. Our men- tors got really involved, working right by our side. They even com- peted in some events for our/their school. «Once Vlerick, always Vlerick!» As far as sports and team spirit go, it was a super day! Our sports performance was only so-so, but our goal was to spend an enjoyable day with other students. It was a nice way to end the school year, an original type of experience. I have only one thing to say to other European schools: Go for it next year! Johanna Klingen, student at UCL Louvain Will you have fond memories of the Challenge? The competition was exciting, even if there were considera- ble differences in skill between the football teams. The luck of the draw wasn’t on our side, unfortunately, and I feel we could have done better. We’ll have to make up for it next year! No effort was spared to make us feel at ease and to facilitate contact between students and with professionals. The ac- tivities in the stadium walkways, and the on-site access to osteopaths, especially between successive matches, were a plus. We were studying for our exams at Louvain, so this fun sports break was a chance to relax. We had a wonderful time and only expect one more thing: the next edition! Philippe Lazzarotto, Senior Campus Manager France and international for GDF SUEZ Group On the initiative of GDF SUEZ and EADS, the Challenge was opened to international students in 2010. This lent a new dimension to the event, both in terms of sports (there were excellent teams) and of the careers fair. The attendance of British, German, Italian, Belgian and French students from highly varied academic backgrounds, reflects our Group’s hiring and interna- tional development concerns. By meeting people at the forum, we were able to present our wide range of careers and job openings in the fields of energy and the environment (water and waste management). For GDF SUEZ, this cross-European edition of the Challenge was a success. We’re eager to get student feedback so we can do even better next year! SPECIAL EDITION juin 2010 JUNE 2010 SPECIAL EDITION