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International and multicultural, committed and focused on new technologies: this is how we could summarize the experience of Julia Guillemot, who graduated from IÉSEG in 2021.

In an interview, she shared with us her experience at Harvard and in Shanghai, her commitment to education for sustainable development and her passion for Artificial Intelligence ethics.

From the United States to China, your career path is inherently international. How did it all start?

In my second year of study, I went to Fairleigh Dickinson University, a few miles away from New York. This first exchange brought me a lot, I had the opportunity to take advanced courses and to discover my interest in international relations during a conference on American foreign policy at West Point, the most prestigious military school in the United States.

You then became the first IÉSEG Student to be admitted to Harvard, could you tell us more about this journey?

Back at IÉSEG for my third year of study, I discovered by chance that IÉSEG had just opened the applications for Harvard University, in the framework of its new Excellence Program. I decided to take a chance with one thing in mind: “It’s too big not to try”. I then started a hectic process in parallel with my classes at IÉSEG and my work in a start-up to prepare all the elements for the application file. During this process, I was accompanied by the IÉSEG international relations team, which I could never thank enough for their trust, their kindness and for this extraordinary opportunity.

One morning in 2017, I woke up to a mail from Harvard University. I then realized with a lot of happiness that all that work had paid off and that this dream was going to come true.

At Harvard, you discover a different world?

The first few weeks, my roommate and I often looked at each other in disbelief as we walked across the campus. Then, the fast pace of courses and personal work took over, but the daily routine was incredibly rich. In a single day, I could spend several hours in the library, go to class, meet with a former French Prime Minister for 2 hours of off-record conversations, and sing with 50 choir members and a professional orchestra in the evening.

That year was extremely rich both on a human and academic level, having chosen to take courses in Computer Science, Chinese philosophy, history and morality of Artificial Intelligence. I keep very good memories of all the hours spent exchanging, debating and learning with the other students, all passionate and coming from different backgrounds.

Julia Guillemot, you then choose Shanghai for your exchange during your Master’s degree, why China?

I have always been fascinated by China, as much by the beauty and richness of its millennial culture as by its current influence and evolution, especially the unique development of its digital ecosystem. As part of my Master of Science in Management (with a Major in Finance), I therefore went to the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance in 2019. Along with my finance courses, I also had the opportunity to deepen my knowledge in programming, machine learning and Artificial Intelligence.

 

How did you get interested in artificial intelligence?

I was very struck by the impact of the algorithms that rule social networks during the Brexit referendum in 2016. This led me to question the role these algorithms could have on our lives and started off my interest in AI. Following my classes at Harvard and Shanghai I wanted to continue to explore this topic further by writing my thesis on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. Specifically, I was interested in the integration of ethical concerns in the development and deployment of artificial intelligence systems within technology companies. This is a topic that continues to inspire me and I have since launched several projects, including a network of young professionals, the “Better Tech Network”.

Commitment is the third distinctive feature of your career. In parallel to your studies, you launched a global program for education in sustainable development. How did this adventure begin?

In 2017, I met the co-founders of Pixis, an educational guidance startup that aims to help every young person find their path, find the right degrees and find their career path based on the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Very much in line with their vision, I joined them first on a part-time basis, then during my third year internship. The CEO introduced me to the SDSN network, linked to the United Nations, and the “Global Schools” initiative, which I joined at as a Project Officer at the beginning.

Can you tell us more about Global Schools and your role in the NGO?

Global Schools was born out of a simple observation: if we want to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, we need to educate the next generation about these issues, and in the words of Nelson Mandela: “Education is the most powerful weapon to change the world”. Global Schools aims to equip teachers and schools with the tools to teach Sustainable Development in primary and secondary schools around the world.

Back in 2017, we set a very ambitious goal of reaching one million students in three years. At the time, we were a team of 4 volunteers, spread around the world, with a practically non-existent budget. I started as a Project Officer, before being appointed to Head of Global Schools in 2019, where I managed a team of 17 people and 500 volunteers.

One million students? How do you reach one million students?

We started by creating a resource library for teachers, and worked with a Harvard professor to compile high-quality content in seven languages that could be adapted in any country for pupils from kindergarten to high school. Then we recruited a network of 100 ambassadors in 29 countries, trained them for six months, and sent them out to meet with teachers and school principals to improve sustainability education at the local level. At the same time, we began working directly with Ministries of Education to improve national curricula, an approach that is now bearing fruit in our first three countries (Morocco, Turkey and Ghana) through a program we set up with researchers from local universities to work on redesigning national curricula.

We have since launched three classes of ambassador teachers, with 6,800 teachers in 89 countries. We have received official support from Ban-Ki Moon, launched a program with UNESCO, and passed our goal of one million students impacted last year.

What do you remember about this extraordinary adventure?

The extraordinary impact that you can have when you create the right tools, and the power of youth energy to change the world. There is no age to get involved, build and have an impact. As a matter of fact, when we launched the recruitment of our first 100 ambassadors, we received more than 4,000 applications from young people who wanted to get involved in teaching sustainable development.

And in the future, how do you see your personal or professional career?

After 4 years in sustainable development, I want to continue to deepen my knowledge and work on digital ecosystems, the ethics of AI and more broadly, on the sustainable and human development of technology, in the professional and academic world. On the academic side, I was lucky enough to join the first class of the Excellence Program launched by IÉSEG in 2019. This program aims to support students who wish to continue their academic career in Post-Graduate programs, which was my case since I wished to deepen my knowledge in AI and ethics.

After an admission process of almost one year (GMAT, recommendations, essays…) I received my acceptance letter to join the Stanford MBA in 2024. Once again, I would like to thank the entire team of the Excellence Program: this journey would not have been possible without their unwavering support. All along the way, they allowed me to dream, to dare, they gave me the best tools to work with and helped me not to give up.

I will have the chance to fly to Stanford in 2024 for another extraordinary adventure.

 

This article has been translated from French, find the original article here.