Timothé Menard

About you

What work experience/internships did you have before beginning with Imperial College Business School?

For nine months, I served in the French Air Force. As an officer, I led the flight’s preparation team. We oversaw both the operational preparation: flight plans, international authorisations and the technical calculations of the performances. We also managed the last-minute emergencies: how to adapt a mission when airspace is closed, to make sure it is still a success.

During the summer of 2020, I did an internship in the finance department of Keolis, a world-leading company in urban transportation. They were implementing a new fleet management and optimisation tool. As I worked in the finance team, I oversaw the analysis of the financial data generated by this tool, to help reduce the vehicle (buses, tram, metros, trains) investment by optimising the fleet usage and preparing the budget.

During the first half of 2021, I worked at Tarmac Technologies, a French startup dedicated to optimising and digitising the ground operations of airlines. I oversaw all the data generated by their tool, in particular analysing it to generate insights on how to improve performance.

Why did you decide to study MSc Business Analytics at Imperial College Business School?

My different internships helped me realise both my interest in data analysis and its importance to improve the efficiencies of companies. After an engineering undergrad, I also wanted to study analytics from a business perspective.

Did you receive a scholarship?

I received the Imperial Excellence scholarship. It really helped me to settle in London and have more flexibility to find a housing solution.

Programme

Which has been your favourite module so far and why?

My favourite module was Data Structure and Algorithms as it gave us a strong basis in computer science. What I also really liked was that it was very focused on concrete applications. After this module, we had all the tools required to use Python for many tasks, such as web scraping and graph analytics.

What has been the most rewarding part of the programme?

The Network Analytics module was very interesting and rewarding, as it provided us with a strong theory on the graphs, and their many uses.

What has been the most challenging part of the programme?

As I have an engineering background, I was very used to presenting my results in a very technical and scientific format. As this programme is business-oriented, for many assignments we are expected to present our results in a more business format to be easier to read for people that are not experts. I had to learn to present my results in a more accessible way, while still being rigorous.

People

How would you describe your cohort at Imperial?

Very diverse! Geographically, but also by academic background too. It is very rewarding but also challenging because we must learn to work together. In the end, it is one of my favourite parts of the programme.

Did you have a favourite professor/lecturer and why?

My favourite professor was Wolfram Wiesemann. He taught us the Optimisation and Decision Models module and is also our Academic Director. I liked his very intuitive explanation of maths concepts.

Opportunities

Which workshops, events or guest lectures at the school have been useful in developing your skills and knowledge?  

I loved the many networking events at the beginning of the term. Chatting with some of the many students at the Business School was very rewarding, and I enjoyed discovering the various backgrounds of everyone.

Career

What are your future career goals?

Being passionate about travel and aviation, I aspire to work in the airline industry. It is one of the most difficult times to join this industry as it is facing two tremendous challenges: recovering from the COVID-19 crisis and a transition to more sustainable travel. I’m convinced analytics will be a key to overcoming them.

Have you received any job offers since commencing your programme?

Data Analyst at Tarmac Technologies. The aim of this position is to use analytics to identify trends and improve the operational performance of ground operations of airlines.

London Location

Do you think studying in a central location such as London is beneficial for networking and career opportunities?

It’s great to be close to a lot of companies and in a very dynamic environment. No matter what industry you are interested in, you can be sure you can find a relevant company in London. I personally had the opportunity to meet with British Airways employees.

Tips

Looking back to when you were applying for the programme, did you attend any online webinars or on-campus information sessions?

I attended one event very early in the application process. It was very useful to discover the programme, and more generally about the spirit of the Business School. It also helped me prepare my application.

What advice would you give someone who is thinking about applying for the programme?

I highly recommend that you apply for this programme if you want to dive into analytics from a business perspective! You will learn the basics of the theory of many very useful subjects: machine learning, optimisation, graphs and discover how companies use them. I would suggest that you read in detail the list of all the modules, to have a better understanding of what you will learn.