Home>3 questions addressed to Isabelle de Silva, Scientific Advisor of the Public Administration stream

13.01.2023

3 questions addressed to Isabelle de Silva, Scientific Advisor of the Public Administration stream

Isabelle de Silva, a senior civil servant and member of the Council of State, has held various positions in the public administration and within the Council of State. She was a member and then president of the French Competition Authority until the end of 2021, and her term of office was devoted to digital issues. At the Council of State, she was government commissioner and deputy president of the Social Section, and in May 2022 she was appointed president of the sixth chamber of the Council of State. A specialist in environmental and urban planning issues, she has also held the position of Director of Legal Affairs at the French Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development. She has also held the positions of deputy rapporteur at the Constitutional Council and government commissioner at the Tribunal des conflits. She is a former student of HEC and ENA, holds a degree in Philosophy from the University of Paris I Sorbonne and a diploma from the Community of European Management Schools. She is an associate professor at the School of Public Affairs (EAP) since November 2022 and Scientific Advisor of the Public Administration policy stream. She succeeds Bernard Stirn.

WHY DID YOU AGREE TO BECOME AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT EAP? 

I had been tempted to become an associate professor for a long time, in order to be in contact with the students and to be able to pass on the knowledge of law that I had acquired in my job. The proposal to join EAP came at the right time as I am now in a position that is compatible with this mission. I was particularly honoured by this proposal, because the prestige of the School of Public Affairs is no longer in question, and the diversity of the courses it offers seems to correspond perfectly to my past experiences: the fields of administration, ministerial action, litigation, regulation, and European affairs are familiar to me through the positions I have held, and are at the heart of society's current issues.

YOU ARE CURRENTLY THE SCIENTIFIC ADVISOR FOR THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION STREAM, WHICH IS VERY ATTRACTIVE, WITH MORE THAN 300 STUDENTS THIS YEAR, A NUMBER OF WHOM ARE DESTINED FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE. WHAT ARE THE SUBJECTS YOU WANT TO WORK ON IN THE COMING MONTHS?  

The 'Public Administration' stream is an old institution, which has trained generations of students, but which has managed to renew itself perfectly to adapt to the transformations of Sciences Po and the new aspirations of those who join it today. It welcomes students with excellent academic backgrounds who are looking for the transmission of fundamental knowledge in the fields of law, economics, social issues or public administration, but also for an opening to Europe, the world, and new challenges such as the ecological transition. My wish is to continue the remarkable work carried out over the last few years by Bernard Stirn, who has put together a particularly solid and experienced teaching team, by endeavouring, together with those in charge at EAP, to anticipate the necessary developments. In this respect, the transformation of the civil service, with the ongoing reforms of senior management, will be a point of attention. Likewise, taking into account climate issues and the digital revolution are long-term developments that must be reflected in the school's teaching. And it is important that, alongside the core disciplines for which the school is known, students can find more specialised courses that correspond to their interests and the career opportunities they prefer.

YOU WILL BE TEACHING A COURSE ON THE REGULATION OF DIGITAL PLATFORMS IN SPRING 2023. CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT IT? 

After having devoted a large part of my mandate as President of the French Competition Authority to digital issues, I thought it would be interesting to offer EAP students an overview of the regulation of digital platforms, analysing all the tools currently in use - competition law, protection of privacy, regulation of content - and those that will be used in the future: Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act in particular. The idea of this course is to provide students with expert knowledge of these subjects, but also to provide food for thought on the effectiveness of the various regulatory methods and systems. How to define the objective of a regulation, which institutional architecture, how to measure its effectiveness? Can European regulation inspire the rest of the world? These questions are essential for future public decision-makers, but also for those considering a career in the private sector, because today the actions of the large digital platforms have an influence that transcends sectors and affects economic life as much as public life. I am very motivated by this project and I hope it will be useful to students!

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