A big thank you to SETEC for this screening of the film "Construire" on October 8th. The room was packed, special care had been taken with the technical quality (it matters!), and the debate was a strong and sincere extension of the issues discussed in the documentary.
In attendance (left to right in the photo):
- Anthony Briant (Director of Ponts),
- Vincent Callebaut (Architect),
- Bénédicte Danis and Julien Tanant (event organizers for Setec),
- Élise Arnoux (Architect),
- Soukaina Sidki (Setec Engineer),
- Stéphany Le Rhun (Setec Engineer).
In particular, I was happy and surprised to see that some of the voices that expressed very clearly the concerns I personally have about the transition—particularly in terms of the urgency and scale of the solutions that need to be implemented—came from SETEC itself.
Also happy to have spoken with students from Ponts: one of them told me that the film had helped him choose his path. That was the stated goal of the director's statement: to provide concrete information about the professions and challenges that await students (some of whom sometimes chose "the top-ranked school"). From the beginning, the School had let me know that the film would be primarily intended for them.
Finally, on substance: for me, the main virtue of the film lies in a certain admission of ignorance. Seeing these leading figures in Civil Engineering affirm that yes, there is a problem and that no, we don't yet know what to do about it, is the best starting point. That's what another student told me
