The FTA : Field Trip Abroad is a project which is fully included in the curriculum of HELMo Gramme MA1 students. 

It associates students who have chosen the classical Industry orientation but also the Sustainable Energy Engineering and the Industrial & Business Engineering ones. 

Watch the movie !

It is a unique moment in the students’ lives in which they learn a lot about soft skills and about themselves. 

The targets are the following ones:  

· Technical: to discover the activities and know-how of foreign companies, to describe what surprised them and if they have learnt something typical about the company culture which they ignored  

· Cultural: to open their mind to the culture of another country and to its different traditions and customs, to describe what they have discovered about its architecture, history, works of art, religion, landscapes, food and way of life 

 · Social: to build a strong team spirit. 

A commission composed of different members of the teaching staff is in charge of the various parts of the project: general coordination, technical visits, culture, finances, logistics, English coaching, representative of IBE (HEC) students.  They all work hand in hand to the success of this human adventure which is way more than a week holiday. 

Students for their part define roles (coordination, technical visits, cultural & social activities, logistics, finances) at the beginning of the academic year and are in charge of the smooth running before, during and after the trip (the TU is spread on quadrimester 1 & 2). They have two presentations to deliver in front of their colleagues and the commission. 

The working language of this project is English and the English lessons in MA1 also prepare to the FTA with a work oriented on the discovery of the chosen country: history, economy, politics, geography, demography, religions, culture in general, … 

And last but not least, we have members of the teaching staff who devote time to accompany one group and play a precious role of coaching during the trip. 

This year, we asked M. Drèze who accompanied one SEE (Sustainable Energy Engineering) group in Denmark to give his testimony on this one-week experience with students.  

FTA - 43 ans après, que du bonheur ! 

En 1979, j’ai eu la chance d’organiser le voyage de fin d’études de ma promotion. A l’époque, guère de travail d’équipe, mais cette aventure reste pour moi un excellent souvenir. 

Cette année, j’ai eu grand plaisir, vraiment, à accompagner le groupe GED C à Copenhague pour leur FTA. 

La grande avancée entre ces deux voyages est le haut degré d’organisation, tant avant, pendant qu’après.  

En particulier, chaque étudiant a ses propres responsabilités vis-à-vis du groupe et doit se coordonner avec ses collègues. 

Résultat : le voyage était très bien organisé et surtout le groupe était particulièrement impliqué, soudé et aussi très accueillant à mon égard. 

Je n’ai pas perçu de tension, de couac ou de flottement dans le leadership, par exemple. 

Au niveau des visites d’entreprises et des visites culturelles, c’était top. 

Mais, surtout, ce qui m’a frappé c’est l’importance d’une activité de groupe telle que le FTA. En effet, dans l’absolu, le côté technique des études d’ingénieur et leur niveau d’exigence renforcent le versant individualiste de nos personnalités. Or, chacun sait que, au long de leur carrière, la plupart des ingénieurs font essentiellement du management. Dès lors, pouvoir vivre des expériences de management au cours-même des études et éveiller le versant communautaire de nos personnalités me paraît essentiel. C’est certainement un plus qui correspond bien à l’identité humaniste de Gramme! 

Benoit Drèze