“Travel Journal” Competition: International Mobility Celebrated by Engineering Students
As part of the third-year English module “Travel Journal”, the International Relations Office of Chimie ParisTech-PSL organized a travel journal competition aimed at showcasing the international mobility experiences of engineering students. This initiative highlighted the richness of international pathways through personal, creative, and intercultural perspectives.
A Competition to Showcase Intercultural Experience Open to third-year engineering students who completed an international mobility period (internship or combined study + internship mobility) during their second year of the engineering cycle, the “Travel Journal” competition invited students to create an intercultural travel journal. Produced in written, digital, or video formats, the journals offered an analysis of professional and educational practices observed abroad, compared with French practices, and encouraged reflection on personal development and intercultural experiences, while leaving ample room for creativity.
A Dual Perspective: Jury and Chimie ParisTech-PSL Community. The journals were assessed through two complementary awards:
a Jury Prize, based on academic and intercultural criteria, and
a Public Prize, awarded following a vote open to the Chimie ParisTech-PSL community.
The jury was composed of representatives from the International Relations Office, the Head of Languages and Culture, the Communications Officer, as well as students from the CPI – Chimie Paris International student association.
2025 Award Winners: Inspiring International Pathways. The Jury Prize was awarded ex æquo to Elsa Ferroudj, for her journal dedicated to her mobility in the United States, and Alice Deloy, for her experience in Italy. The Public Prize, awarded following a vote by students from the three cohorts, went to Jérémy Chrétien for his travel journal focusing on his mobility in Canada.
Each winner received a prize of €300. Through these works, the “Travel Journal” competition fully illustrates Chimie ParisTech-PSL’s commitment to international openness and to the training of engineers capable of thriving in diverse cultural environments.
Elsa – Jury Prize (Mobility in the United States) How did your mobility experience in the United States transform your view of professional and intercultural practices, and how does it contribute to your current path as an engineer?
“Thanks to this experience, I learned to work in an international environment and discovered a very open, encouraging, and collaborative approach to work, where feedback and individual recognition play a central role. This culture taught me the importance of inclusion and teamwork in collective performance.
On an intercultural level, living and working in such a vast country as the United States made me aware of the diversity of ways of thinking, communicating, and interacting. This journey taught me to adapt to different codes and to question my own assumptions. Finally, this experience strengthened my desire to pursue my engineering career in international contexts and to place human and intercultural dimensions at the heart of my professional development.”
Alice – Jury Prize (Mobility in Italy). What did you take away from your academic and cultural immersion in Italy, and how did this experience enrich your personal and professional approach to engineering?
“This combined mobility in Italy was much more than a simple academic exchange. From the moment I arrived, I experienced full immersion, both academically and professionally. What I take away from this experience is: daring and accepting mistakes. Daring to propose protocols, daring to speak Italian, and accepting that I made mistakes in Italian. A year ago, I chose to study and work in a country whose language I did not know. During seven months in Pisa, I stepped out of my comfort zone, accepted my mistakes in Italian, and constantly adapted. Studying science in Italian was challenging, but I am proud to have persevered, trusted my abilities, and adopted a proactive approach to learning the language.
This experience also enriched my approach to engineering. I discovered a different research methodology. I was the only student working on a project involving drug-loaded wound dressings with controlled release, which gave me a high level of autonomy and independence in conducting my experiments. Studying biomaterials, particularly polymers for medical applications, created a link between chemistry, engineering, and their usefulness in healthcare. It gave meaning to the knowledge I acquired at Chimie Paris and at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, and confirmed my path toward medical biotechnology at KTH.”
Jérémy – Public Prize (Mobility in Canada). What do you think particularly resonated with the Chimie ParisTech-PSL community in your travel journal about Canada, and what key memory or lesson do you take away from this mobility?
“Through the photographs presented, this travel journal highlights a wide range of aspects specific to Canada, including gastronomy, exceptional and unique landscapes, visited landmarks, and sometimes harsh climatic conditions. This album invites readers to experience a sense of escape and offers insight into multiculturalism, both within the laboratory and in everyday personal life.
From this extraordinary experience emerges a world where human relationships and behaviors are based on respect, trust, and conviviality. As one flips through this journal, one comes away enriched by a deeply rewarding experience.”
Jury Prize (ex æquo) – Travel Journal: Elsa Ferroudj