Svetlana Castro
When I arrived at ESTACA, I was worried that I wouldn’t succeed, especially in mathematics, which wasn’t my favourite subject…. But Mr Qafsaoui, the STI2D teacher, could make anyone love maths! So I settled down, worked harder than in high school and it paid off!
I’m not one of those students who arrived with a passion, I didn’t really know anything about vehicles, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. It was once at ESTACA that the passion for automotive grew, by starting to work on projects, by discovering the courses and also the associative activities. In 1st and 2nd year I was in the junior enterprise (afas projects), which offers companies studies in connection with our courses. The association had just been created, so all the processes had to be put in place, partners had to be found, and the studies had to be supervised. It was very formative.
Since last year, I have been taking part in Estacars, a project part of the automotive program. The goal is to create from A to Z, the first French electric vehicle that will run in the Formula Student challenge this summer. It’s a multi-year project that starts with the design of the car and goes on to its construction, including the search for sponsors, participation in the challenge races, etc. I’m part of the communication and partnership department. One of my tasks is to approach companies to finance the project. This type of project makes our training very concrete and promotes both team spirit and self-confidence. Personally, this project has motivated me a lot and developed my skills, especially as we are in contact with professionals.
My advice to the STI2D final year students: believe in yourself, never give up and do what it takes to succeed. Not forgetting the girls: in the automotive sector, they need women just as much as men!
