Our impact

"I'm very grateful to the Institut, because I sincerely believe that I couldn't have done what I've done without their help. They gave me back my confidence and they trusted me. I owe them a huge debt of gratitude. After a complicated start at university and a Civic Service, William found the resources within himself to build a project and join the Institut de l'Engagement. With the support of his counsellor, he took a liking to his studies and obtained a Bachelor's degree in international and societal development project coordination, followed by a Master's degree in Conflict and Development at Sciences Po Lille. The Institut de l'Engagement enabled him to continue his studies with peace of mind by granting him scholarships. This path has since led him to build an entrepreneurial project with his wife (also a prize-winner!): Sign&Oz, an association offering tailor-made extra-curricular support in French sign language for young people. He was awarded the Deloitte Prize in 2023.

For Aurore, the Institut de l'Engagement was “a great milestone in my professional and personal career”. After studying graphic design, Aurore had no clear idea of what she wanted to do, no particular network, and a job market saturated with applicants. What's more, the idea of working for major brands that were politically and philosophically far removed from her values didn't appeal to her. The opportunity of Civic Service and then the Institute presented itself to her. At the admission interview, she was shown that there were many more avenues to explore than she had realised, and that it was possible to take a number of different paths to achieve her own unique project that suited her personality. Then, during the Universities of Commitment, she was able to feel at work “the strength of the collective, to meet dozens of fine people who are inventing solutions in their respective sectors every day, who are setting themselves in motion and coordinating themselves. They also gave her the opportunity to work with some of the winners in her year. “These are times of inspiration, empathy and sharing that are emotionally very rich. Her mentor has given her a supportive and comforting environment in which to develop. Today, Aurore is grateful to the Institute, because she is an artist, illustrator-graphic designer and self-employed author, and she is very happy about that.

Davide, who has a Masters 2 in Political Science and Asian Studies, wanted to explore the professional world. With no experience and no real career goals, he decided to embark on a Civic Service with the AFEV association, which fights against educational and social inequalities. He wanted to find out more about working in the voluntary sector. At the end of his Civic Service, he discovered the Institut de l'Engagement: the "turning point in his life". This was a real opportunity for him, as it put him in touch with various partners, with whom he was interviewed to become a Junior Consultant, which he did successfully. It was the start of a career that saw Davide become an expert in IT project management, moving to Singapore and then Tokyo, where he continues to develop professionally today.

After a gap year during which she did a 6-month Civic Service in Togo in the environmental field, Chiara resumed her studies in Master 2 Economics of Sustainable Development at Paris I University. She took advantage of the Institute's mentoring services to help her find a work placement for the end of her studies, and also to help her define her career plan, which she was considering for an international institution, but didn't know exactly what she wanted to do or what job she wanted to do. Without any judgement," she says, "even though it was a difficult process for me, my mentor always gave me advice and support, and listened carefully to what I had to say. This enabled her to take a step back from what interested her, how to present herself, how to achieve her goals, etc. This mentoring helped her to realise that she wanted to work in project design: Chiara then found an internship in social policy in an international development organisation, in a Central African country: exactly what she concluded was the internship of her dreams.