Home>Ester Davanzo, Class of 2021

09.12.2022

Ester Davanzo, Class of 2021

CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND?

I started my academic journey in Italy, with a degree in International Studies at the University of Trento. During these three years, I was particularly interested in European affairs and I had the opportunity to participate in several Model European Union simulations all over Europe: in Zagreb, Sofia, Tallinn, Paris. I also did an Erasmus exchange in Valencia, Spain, and then decided to deepen my knowledge of the links between Europe and Latin America by writing my thesis on the relations between the EU and Mercosur, in Buenos Aires. 

After my degree, which was more focused on international relations, I chose to specialise in European affairs, with a master's degree at the School of Public Affairs at Sciences Po.

WHAT WERE THE MAJOR STEPS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF YOUR PROFESSIONAL PROJECT?

I started to take a closer look at communications when, during my master's degree at Sciences Po, I realised how important it has always been in politics, and especially nowadays. So I enriched my studies with courses in political and digital communication. I also chose to do my second year of the master's degree as an apprentice, as a digital communication officer at the Social Ministries. I was in charge of the editorial management of the website of the Ministry of Labour and that of the Ministry of Health, which allowed me to get a feel for institutional communication online and in times of crisis, as it was the year 2020, at the beginning of the covid-19 crisis.

At the same time, I was an ambassador for European careers for EPSO (European Personnel Selection Office) among Sciences Po students. In my missions, I used internet communication and the organisation of events - mainly remotely, due to covid - to share information and exchange good practices in order to start a career in the European institutions. > 

One of the major steps in building my career path was my experience in the private sector. Being a small company, I had the opportunity to be confronted with a 360° communication: from social networks to event organisation, from press relations to community development. This allowed me to develop my skills and to understand what I preferred to do among the many forms of communication nowadays.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF YOUR JOB TODAY AS A COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER AT THE DGE?  

Today I am in charge of internal and external communication for the Digital Economy Department at the Directorate General for Enterprise (DGE) at the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty: I coordinate the department's communication actions, being the main contact for the communication office of the DGE's General Secretariat and the Ministry's Communication Department. I organise and lead conferences, institutional events, seminars, trade shows and activities specifically designed for specific sectors of the French economy.

Internally, I facilitate communication with the aim of sharing knowledge among the more than 130 staff in the department. I design communication projects: production of newsletters, development of content for the website and social networks, creation of infographics; I contribute to media communication actions (TV production, media campaigns), I ensure compliance with standards such as government charters, accessibility, etc.

Lastly, I am pleased to be able to support the department's structural coordinator in the internal management of the department.

In addition to my duties as a communications manager, I am also a member of the DG'Elles project team. Created as part of the DGE's action plan on 8 March 2021, DG'Elles is the Directorate's first professional women's network and aims to be a forum for exchange and mutual support for the women of the DGE, as well as a vector for raising awareness of equality for all agents. Since its creation, the DG'Elles network has set up a mentoring system for the women of the directorate, organised exchange breakfasts for the women of the directorate, conferences open to all on themes relating to gender equality, as well as coaching workshops on work-life balance and success for women.

WHAT CONTRIBUTIONS DID YOUR TRAINING AT THE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, AND THEN YOUR APPRENTICESHIP, MAKE TO THE POSITION YOU HOLD TODAY?  

What I am most grateful for from Sciences Po is the possibility to create my own study plan, while following guidelines and compulsory courses, which gives the possibility to train in several fields at the same time. 

Extremely formative experiences during my M1 were the Collective Project and the Public Policy Incubator: these allowed me to confront myself with the world of work and to see the exchanges between the public and private sectors, which then led me to choose the DGE as a representative of the State towards the French economic sector. 

The second year of the master's degree as an apprentice was an opportunity to be trained in a professional setting for a whole year and thus to be able to increase my skills quickly and be immediately operational when I left school. 

WOULD YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR A STUDENT OR FUTURE GRADUATE?

Be curious, take part in all the conferences that interest you and in the projects proposed by Sciences Po, get involved in an association, put into practice what you have learnt on the benches of 27 rue Saint Guillaume and don't close any door. You have all the capacities to shape your destiny as you wish.

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