A team story

Camille Jallon, Education Manager

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Which is the nature of your job? And what is the objective of your job?

I am responsible for managing the training of students in the 4th and 5th year of the Grande Ecole Masters Programme. I assist them daily in their educational journey, the organisation of their school year, their day-to-day questions on campus or in the work environment when they are on alternate work placements. In short, I have the role of 'field' manager on campus, the interface between the students, the teachers, the management and the teaching programmes! I work jointly with Dareyne Joubert-Pinet who is on hand on a daily basis to help me with any specific tasks: managing absences, grades, exams, etc. The students know where they can find us and our door is always open!

How did you get into this profession?

I was in sales administration for a long time, which taught me to be rigorous in my administrative tasks and to be service-minded. These qualities are necessary to work in a business school: to avoid making mistakes on grades when a diploma is at stake and to provide all the needed support to students for their development in higher education. It was quite by chance that I entered the academic sphere of the grandes écoles a few years ago. Then, when I arrived at the ICDBusiness School in September 2019, I really realised that this job was made for me!

 
What is your daily activity? What is a regular day?

 It is impossible to describe a typical day because our activity is so varied! Our days are punctuated by the students' schedule (exam periods, planning for the following year, class councils, etc.). However, we always have to find the time to respond to the students' requests, they are our priority! I make sure that I am always available and that I can give quick answers (a student in doubt is a student who is stressed)! 

For example, I have created Whatsapp groups with the students to communicate more quickly on room changes or late speakers (I reassure you, this does not happen every day!). Nevertheless, it takes a great deal of rigour and concentration on a daily basis to reconcile human and administrative management!

What do you prefer/like?

As I said before, you are constantly navigating between administrative management and interpersonal skills with all stakeholders. It is these two diametrically opposed aspects that make me love my job! There is enough movement and human interaction to not get bored, it's very galvanising: providing day-to-day support to students, helping them to reveal themselves and learn how to deal with the world of work after their training. 

On the other hand, I enjoy the 'quieter' but intellectually interesting moments: thinking about solutions, drawing up schedules, helping to revise teaching models, etc. I love my job, which requires me to be committed and passionate!

With whom do you deal?  

I am in contact with all the stakeholders of a business school: the students, the lecturers, the management, the other teaching teams of the school and of the other schools of the IGS group (for coordination), the accounting department (for all the invoicing), the company relations department (for the follow-up of students on work-study programmes), the international relations department (some students go abroad for a double degree in the 5th year), the admissions department... A real human breeding ground which brings a lot of richness!

 
Why do you like working in the educational sector?

It's a dynamic sector, which knows how to adapt to all situations and to the constantly changing market! I like the idea of helping the managers of tomorrow to be more responsible and human. Constantly adapting is a form of intelligence, and the students bring us a lot of freshness and constructive ideas. On the campus, there are a lot of people, it's lively, there's singing, there's chatting, it's a very supportive environment.

 
Do you have an anecdote or a missing memory?

After the last exam session of the 5th year class of 2020-2021 in July 2021, the students were so happy that they invited us to have a coffee: this allowed us to talk in a more informal way, to laugh and to take the pressure off a year that had been particularly hectic due to the health crisis. I enjoyed discovering them in a different way and exchanging more personal stories! I wished them well on the job market, I was able to share my personal experience and I am still in contact with many of them. Making solid contacts, that's when you know you are at ICD.