What Will Tomorrow's Engineers Look Like?

For me, devoting time to young people, as a father, citizen and business leader is a very important commitment. A country's wealth lies in its youth, and we must all do what we can, collectively, to give our youth the best chances for success.

After I was appointed to lead Total, I wanted to continue to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors of French engineering school Ecole des Mines d'Alès, where we have launched innovative approaches to learning and entrepreneurship. It was important to me to see those initiatives through. I also enthusiastically agreed to be the sponsor of the 2016 class of engineers at Ecole des Mines de Douai. In my commencement address, I gave the graduates some advice based on my own experience and my vision of an engineer's role in society. Let me share those thoughts with you here.

To be sure, a good engineer is someone who has received solid scientific and technical training that allows him or her to devise a pertinent response to a problem, sometimes in a very short amount of time. An engineer must study a situation seriously, go out into the field to understand the facts and listen carefully to analyze phenomena and make improvements.

An engineer is also someone who is not afraid of hard work, for more than ever, nothing is granted to anyone without effort. Work provides the opportunity to play a role and make a meaningful contribution to the community.

“In today's very open and rapidly changing world, an engineer also needs to demonstrate persistence, boldness, team spirit and leadership”

However, as the digital revolution shows, in today's very open and rapidly changing world, an engineer also needs to demonstrate persistence, boldness, team spirit and leadership.

Nothing comes easily in the corporate world, because issues are often complex and need to be looked at in depth to find the right solutions. So you mustn’t get discouraged by the first roadblock. You need to have the ability to challenge your assumptions and the desire to move forward.

You also need to be bold and imaginative, ready to suggest new ideas and innovative, because given the current pace of change, it is very likely that yesterday's solutions will no longer correspond to the challenges of today, much less those of tomorrow. It's important to dare - dare to say it like it is and to say what you think, as that's the most effective way to help solve problems.

You also need to be a team player. A company is a collective adventure that is not suited to mercenaries or individuals who are only looking out for themselves. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Lastly, an engineer must increasingly manage teams and projects, and that requires leadership qualities. Leadership does not come through authority, but through recognition. You have to know how to communicate, develop your credibility through example and experience, and in doing so, gain the confidence of your teams. In my opinion, a good leader is someone who raises others up. 

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