Portraits

From Engineering to Social Sciences and Research

For Victor Pigasse ('16), filmmaking was not always the plan. Growing up in Paris, he loved movies but had never seriously considered becoming a director. He simply did not know how films were made- or how someone like him could enter the industry. Sciences Po gave him the space to find out.

Matthew Winkler was one of the first PhD researchers to be awarded the certificate from CIVICA’s teacher development programme. He reflects on this experience, the teaching skills he has developed, and his involvement in the European Alliance’s multi-campus courses.

On Monday 1 June 2026, Héloïse Eloi-Hammer defended her thesis at the Médialab.

In this testimonial, Gabriela reflects on her experience with the programmes of the University European alliance CIVICA.

As part of the MATE-SHS conference on the visualisation of time and space, Amy Houbé, a Master’s student in History, and the Sciences Po Cartography Workshop undertook a joint research project on American funeral practices during the Second World War.

Emily Butler did not expect to build a career in investigations. When she arrived at Sciences Po, she was firmly focused on human rights, enrolling in the PSIA Master’s in Human Rights and Humanitarian Action with a specialization in global health and migration. Yet today, as a Director at Nardello & Co., she has found a path that draws directly on the analytical, global, and interdisciplinary training she developed during her time in Paris - just in ways she had not initially imagined.

In this interview, Jean-Baptiste looks back on his academic career at Sciences Po, from his bachelor's degree to his doctorate, including his master's degree in political science, specialising in public policy. He discusses the importance of his experience abroad in Berlin, as well as the decisive role played by his master's thesis and the support of his teachers in developing his research project.

François is a graduate of the Dual Master of Urban Policy with LSE. He was awarded the Best Overall Performance Prize.

High gastronomy to international relations, her career path defies convention. Between star-rated restaurants, international universities, and a commitment to ecological transition, she explains how a vocation can arise where you least expect it.

What lessons has the EU learned from the Greek crisis? How have some of the tools developed during the crisis become the norm?

"The best way to experience a city is to walk": meet a Master's student in his second year at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

Meet Antoine Chapel, a graduate of the dual Master's programme in quantitative economics at Sciences Po and Paris 1, currently pursuing a PhD at Columbia University.

Noémie is Head of the Sustainable Food Division for the City of Paris.

Joséphine, a graduate from the Master Governing Ecological Transitions in Cities, is an ecological transformation advisor at the Ministry of Justice.

Gaëlle is currently a senior project manager for climate change adaptation at the Observatoire de l'Immobilier Durable.

"Urban planning is undoubtedly one of the disciplines most central to public policy, as it has concrete consequences on the transformation of our world and on people's lives.”

Anna Lefrançois, a graduate from the Master Governing Ecological Transition in Cities, is a Biodiversity Associate Officer at the UN Environment Programme.

Meet an alumnus who became a professor and researcher in internation affairs after a thesis on the EU crisis management in the Sahel.

Her passion for political science and gender studies led this graduate to undertake a thesis on bias in the judicial handling of intimate partner homicides.