ESTIA and University of Wolverhampton have been working together for almost 20 years now offering high quality programmes for ESTIA engineering students due to their complementary technologies. Both institutions feel that there is an opportunity for a more coordinated approach to joint working. That is why they have decided to hire together a new Education & Research International Development Officer. Valentina Nardi has started working at ESTIA-University of Wolverhampton since April to build new links between the two institutions.

Why was ESTIA willing to enhance its relations with the University of Wolverhampton?

The relation between ESTIA and UoW has existed for many years and has allowed several ESTIA students to have access to different academic programmes and technological skills at Wolverhampton in the fields of advanced technology and digital design for engineering.

Up to now the relation was one-sided: only ESTIA students were attending courses at UoW allowing them to obtain a British Master of Sciences along with the ESTIA engineering diploma. During 2019-2020 academy year, 45 students from ESTIA have chosen University of Wolverhampton for their second European degree

This academic collaboration has leaded to the identification of new areas of common interest that could be explored to enhance their cooperation. I was hired to deliver initiatives, which motivate students, staff and stakeholders in ESTIA and UoW to connect and engage in a variety of activities (education, research and entrepreneurship).

The aim is to boost the relationship to go further than existing dual degree agreements.

Which are the main lines to develop this partnership?

We have identified three major axes.

First, we want to contribute to the development of the academic offer. For instance, we are working on a UoW’s MSc at ESTIA on additive manufacturing and also on the organisation of summer or winter schools in a wide variety of topics such as entrepreneurship, digital marketing and project management .

Moreover, ESTIA and UoW aim l to develop partnerships with a third country. We are building new links to work together with other international partners on academic mobility and research. 

We also plan to encourage international mobility for students, staff and lecturers from UoW who will come to France to discover  ESTIA’s ecosystem. Exchange’s reciprocity is a key step to reinforce our partnership. 

We are expecting those working lines to lead us to new cooperation fields such as research and entrepreneurship. Wolverhampton is currently hosting three ESTIA students who are working on their own entrepreneurial projects. We feel that there are different synergies that we can explore further

What will ESTIA bring to Wolverhampton in this stronger partnership ?

ESTIA is a strategic European positioning for UoW. In my opinion, the University of Wolverhampton will be able to draw on ESTIA's business relations . ESTIA has strong industrial links and an excellent employability rate. In Wolverhampton, barely one hundred students out of 20000 obtain an internship within a company This is one of the areas of improvement on which ESTIA can contribute to with its experience. 

On the other hand, as we have complementary technological skills, we believe that Wolverhampton will benefit from the expertise of ESTIA TECH and ESTIA’s technology transfer platforms.

We can also imagine boosting  exchanges and mobilities in entrepreneurship support programmes, with ESTIA Entreprendre

Why did you choose to apply for this job?

This position is what I was expecting for my career. Over the course of my professional experience in France and abroad, I have had the opportunity to work on students’ recruitment and mobility as well as European projects. I hold a Master’s degree in international Relations from National University of Rosario (Argentina) and a Master’s degree in international Affairs from Sciences Po Bordeaux (France).

I’ve worked in the international relations department of  Bordeaux Métropole and also in Ad Education in Paris where I was in charge of international recruitment and mobility. I have a first-hand knowledge of  international cooperation in the education field and ESTIA represents for me the chance to discover new sectors of activity such as entrepreneurship and research.