As a current Adjunct Professor at the AgroParisTech school in Analytical Chemistry and Food Health and Safety, I began my studies and research activities in the environmental field. I completed the SAGE Master's 2 program following a "Licence" earned in Chemistry and the SGE M1 degree. Very early on, I became interested in the environmental sciences, and my decision to pursue the area of water resources seemed like an obvious step forward. The yearlong SAGE Master's curriculum served to confirm my strong interest in environmental studies and aquatic media, in addition to stimulating my desire to conduct research. I wound up performing my internship with the LEESU Laboratory (Water, the Environment and Urban Systems) before undertaking a doctoral thesis on the study of sources and the future course of contaminants emerging within the Seine River Basin.

Upon wrapping up my thesis, I was able to find a tenure track Research Professor post at AgroParisTech. I'm continuing my research focusing on understanding the sources and evolution of contaminants within the food cycle, for which the environment constitutes a major component. An effective knowledge of both the water cycle in an agricultural context (which influences the transfer of pesticides and nutrients into plants) and persistent environmental pollutants and their physicochemical properties has become critically important to my research and courses.

For me, the SAGE Master's 2 program provided a key phase in not only my university career, but my professional life as well. While I've changed my orientation in the meantime to food quality and safety, I realize that I'm regularly tapping into the knowledge acquired during that Master's year, well beyond the strict study of environmental sciences.

Mathieu C.

After completing my initial professional training ("BTS" and "Licence Pro" credentials) combined with the SAGE Master's degree, I joined the DEGREMONT Company 7 years ago first in the capacity of an international volunteer (VIE status) before being hired as a Commissioning Engineer. DEGREMONT's primary activities revolve around designing and building wastewater treatment plants.

Specialized in wastewater treatment, my role consists of coordinating and overseeing the launch of foreign treatment plants, with respect to their electrical systems, automated mechanisms and processes. This commissioning function, less known to the public, entails upstream testing of an installation's equipment and automation features, followed by the process adjustments necessary to obtain a treatment performance suitable for project acceptance. The training component takes place towards the end of the mission, in the aim of guiding the future operator and helping ensure treatment plant operability. It's a fascinating job that has taught me a wide array of processes (activated sludge, membrane bioreactor, sequencing batch reactor, deodorization, sludge treatment, chlorination) on multiple facilities of varying sizes (from 5,000 to 1.6 million population equivalents).

For me, the SGE-SAGE Master's program offered not only the opportunity to consolidate and expand my theoretical knowledge in the environmental field, but also a helpful introduction to the engineering profession. I feel that this program's biggest advantage remains the broad panel of technical and professional representatives from industry explaining their specific fields, along with the numerous team-based multidisciplinary projects.

Clément R.