M2 | Research, studies and consulting in management sciences course

Nabintou Diallo, former student of the Master RECLS class of 2019-2020, I am in charge of logistics at CARRE D'ARTISTES: a company specialized in the sale of contemporary artworks. A position that I obtained at the end of my training. After more than a year in my position, I decided to change direction. I am currently in the process of recruiting for a position as a logistics consultant in another structure. My career path ? I arrived in France in 2019 to continue my training in logistics. But before that, I was in Morocco. I had been living there since I graduated from high school in 2013 and spent most of my university education there. I came to Morocco because, at the time, I had been a baccalaureate winner, so I had a scholarship to Morocco. I was one of the first 30 students from the Republic of Guinea, my country of origin. Once in Morocco, I entered a faculty of sciences and techniques and I did a common core option mathematics of physical computing. When I obtained the DEUST, I decided to specialize in logistics. However, I wanted an engineering degree, so I took the entrance exam for the engineering cycle. This cycle lasted 3 years and in 2019 I got my state engineering degree in logistics and transportation. Why did you choose the RECLS Master's degree? How does it fit in your professional project ? During the last year of my university degree, I wondered a lot about my professional future. I didn't feel ready yet to enter the working world as a professional in my field of study: logistics. I had not yet integrated the importance and scope of this field. However, I remembered that once, my logistics professor had shared with me a book that had made a big impact on me. It was a book entitled: "The great authors in logistics and supply chain management". This book caught my attention and allowed me to understand the dynamics around my field of study. Reading the biographies of these authors inspired me and gave meaning to my quest for knowledge. From that moment on, I dreamed of doing a training that would allow me to learn to read more in my field, but especially to learn how to structure logistical knowledge, as these great authors in my field do. So I did not hesitate to start my project of a French campus to continue my studies, but this time in France, because I had learned that the training was of better quality. In this project, I applied for courses in logistics and I was accepted by half of them. However, I was only interested in one course, the rest were just a repetition of what I had already seen in my studies. The RECLS master's degree was the ideal one for me. It was the only one that offered a program that encompassed the necessary tools to explore, structure and evolve logistical knowledge. I had to integrate it at all costs. What are the assets of the RECLS Master ? How did you integrate this training ? One of the assets of this training, which I particularly appreciate, is the place where it takes place. The city of Aix-en-Provence is beautiful and full of student campuses and university libraries. The climate is much closer to what I've always been used to. It's really a good environment to grow in these studies. The second strength of the program is the number of students who encourage exchange and individual consideration of each student's project throughout the year. However, its major strength lies in the quality of the training. The professors are either specialists who share with us their field experience in companies, or researchers who have made significant contributions to the field of management sciences. I joined the program after I applied. Following the file review, I had an interview via videoconference with Ms. Fabbe-costes and Mr. Brion. After the interview, I received an e-mail stating that I had been accepted. I was really happy!

Eddy Bajolle, I am a Process Manager for Europe and North Africa at a logistics service provider based in the south of France, where I am doing a thesis on work, so I am also a PhD student. My course ? I started my university career with the DUT Logistics and Transport of the IUT of Aix-en-Provence from 2008 to 2010. Then, I had the opportunity to continue with a Bachelor's degree in Information Systems abroad (in Ireland) as part of the Erasmus program. This degree allowed me to integrate the Master I Management Logistics and Strategy (MLS) in 2011 and then to continue the following year with the Master II International Logistics Management (MALO). Following the M2 MALO, I was quickly hired by a logistics service provider where I was able to work as a project manager for five years. Then, I left this organization to travel in South-East Asia for several months, a project that was close to my heart. When I returned to France, I decided to resume my studies with the ambition of starting a thesis in the field of information systems. Obtaining the M2 Research, Studies and Consulting in Logistics and Strategy (RECLS) in 2020 and the funding provided by a company allowed me to continue towards a PhD. Why did I choose the RECLS master? First of all, I wanted to do a training that would allow me to acquire the theoretical bases necessary to start a thesis project. Secondly, I wanted to develop my ability to analyze, to reason and to develop a scientific approach that would allow me to argue and to answer a given problem. These skills are also very useful in my professional activities where the challenges and questions are numerous and diversified. What are the assets of this training? The M2 RECLS has many assets. First of all, the lecturers are teacher-researchers with in-depth knowledge of their field (purchasing, marketing, supply chain, information systems, etc.), as they have been working and publishing on these subjects for many years. Also, the limited number of students allows for a quasi-personalized course with a significant freedom left to the student. This relative freedom (because the student is always accompanied) allows him to develop his autonomy, but also to orient his course on the themes that interest him particularly. Do you have any advice to share to encourage students to go into this program and succeed? Yes, first of all, I would say to students who wish to enter the professional world after the M2 RECLS that it is quite possible! First of all, the M2 RECLS is part of the Production, Logistics and Purchasing Management (GPLA) mention, so it is quite possible to apply for a position in one of these fields. Secondly, it allows students who wish to do so to move towards the world of consulting or research if the objective is to move towards a PhD. It therefore offers more possibilities than a classic professional master's degree.

Après un début de carrière chez de grands groupes (LA POSTE, CARREFOUR, KIABI, INDITEX) et une activité à l'international (Brésil et Espagne notamment), je travaille actuellement pour une entreprise de transport familiale spécialisée dans le combiné rail / route, LOMAK. Nous transportons des caisses mobiles pour le compte de nos clients afin de réduire leur impact en émissions de CO2. Organisateur de transport, la société LOMAK s'est engagée en faveur de la recherche en Supply Chain. C'est dans ce contexte que le choix s'est porté sur la formation RECLS GPLA. Déjà titulaire d'un M2 ESC, j'avais pour objectif d'approfondir mes connaissances en Logistique et découvrir un univers qui était étranger à tout ce que je connaissais jusqu'à présent : la recherche. Etant passé par un processus de sélection, j'ai eu l'opportunité d'intégrer la promotion 2020-2021. J'ai été particulièrement surpris de la proximité existante entre la sphère empirique et le monde académique : les professeurs chercheurs sont proches des professionnels et/ou ont travaillé pour des entreprises (prestations de consulting). Ainsi, les allers-retours entre les travaux scientifiques et le terrain sont réguliers, allant à l'encontre de l'archétype du chercheur "déconnecté". D'un point de vue purement méthodologique et pour ceux qui souhaitent s'orienter vers une thèse doctorale, la formation apporte les clefs nécessaires pour éviter tous les pièges du débutant chercheur. Je considère cette formation comme étant l'antichambre indispensable de la recherche. En effet, avec du recul, je ne me vois pas du tout commencer une thèse sans avoir reçu les bases scientifiques inculquées durant ce parcours. Elément important, le diplôme relatif au M2 RECLS GPLA ouvre la porte du consulting pour ceux qui envisagent, comme moi, de se lancer d'abord dans une carrière professionnelle avant de candidater pour un doctorat. Autrement dit, j'ai pu constater qu'autour de moi mes camarades de promo ont trouvé très facilement du travail dans la branche qu'ils recherchaient et avec des rémunérations se situant dans la fourchette haute des postes pourvus. Enfin, et c'est mon côté subjectif qui s'exprime, je suis très sensible à la relation entretenue avec les professeurs et, bien que nous ayons eu des pointures en face de nous, mon évolution au sein de ce parcours s'est faite avec des professeurs qui se montrent toujours accessibles, à l'écoute et qui font tout pour que les étudiants prennent goût à la recherche. Etudiants classiques et étudiants professionnels se côtoient dans la promotion en étant tous sur le même piédestal, ce qui crée une belle synergie au sein du groupe où chacun apporte ses connaissances à l'autre. L'entraide, l'écoute et la résilience sont les postures adéquates durant cette formation. Je conclus en remerciant Professeure Nathalie FABBE-COSTES qui m'a donné la chance d'accéder à cette formation.