A week of building bridges between Paris and Madrid

From November 13th to 17th, as part of EELISA Days, I made an official trip to Madrid. We were a 10-people delegation from École des Ponts ParisTech, led by our director, Anthony Briant. The main objective was to strengthen academic and scientific relations between our school and the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM).

The welcome we received was fantastic ! Caminos and Industriales schools, partner companies, exchanges with students and alumni, each meeting was an opportunity for rich and nourishing exchanges, sharing and discoveries.

Numerous working seminars also provided us an opportunity to work on a number of specific topic issues (decarbonization of cities, geomechanics, social responsibility and ecological transition), prospects linked to the launch of EELISA phase II, and joint programs, notably the recently opened European Executive Master’s degree in digital twins for infrastructure.

Last but not least, the entire delegation traveled by train, illustrating the ambitions and values that drive us, as well as the compatibility of environmentally-friendly transport and the development of international collaborations, notably within EELISA.

I’ve been involved in EELISA since the very beginning. Although regular meetings have been organized virtually for the p

ast 3 years, this trip has reinforced my conviction that it is essential to meet your contacts “in real life” and not just online. Meeting foreign colleagues, especially my dear colleagues from the EELISA office, in their own working environment allows us to get to know them in a different way, and to exchange ideas more authentically and effectively.

After this trip, more than ever, I am EELISA, because we are EELISA.

Emmanuelle Delforge