Meet Kosmosnautes #7: Thierry, Head of Training and Business Consultant

Published on June 11, 2020 by Laure - Updated on 14 mai 2024 à 11H15

Thierry has been a business consultant and head of training at Kosmos for the past four years. Thanks to his in-depth business and functional knowledge of our Skolengo product, Thierry supports our Users and internal teams through training, consulting and coaching.

Hi Thierry! Can you tell us about your career?

I trained as a design draughtsman, a profession I practiced for three years. Then I wanted to try my hand at teaching. I was passionate about it from the start. I spent around ten years as a Secondary school technology teacher. I then joined the Regional education authority in Nantes as assistant to the TICE (Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication pour l'Enseignement - Information and Communication Technologies for Education) advisor - now known as the DANE - and project manager for the ENT académique, which was just getting off the ground at the time. After 13 years at the rectorat, I passed the competitive examination for senior management and returned to the School, where I held two positions as Assistant principal.
What made you want to join Kosmos?

For almost 15 years, I've been involved with ENT: as a project leader at the French Education Authority, as a User as a School principal, and also as a Parent. When Kosmos asked me to join the team, I was very interested in discovering the publishing side of things.
What about your career at Kosmos?

I joined Kosmos to contribute my business experience to the design phase of our Timetable creation software. I quickly extended my expertise to the field of Schooling. Two years ago, I also started looking after User training courses, and today I'm in charge of the Kosmos training offer.
Can you tell us what your day-to-day life is like as a training manager, as if you had to explain your job to your grandmother?

I spend a lot of time in schools, not only running training courses, but also meeting users: teachers, management staff, School Principals and educational assistants. I plan and follow all the training courses during the deployment phases. Over the last two years, we've trained almost a thousand new Schools.
What do you love about your job?

I like being in the Schools. They're all different. My 30 years of experience in the French education system give me a feel for the climate and the specificities. I've been there. It's my world.
What qualities do you think you need for this job?

I contribute to the analysis of the many changes suggested by the Schools. You need to be able to synthesize the ideas to identify those that will make sense for the maximum number of Users.
Then, perseverance, patience and diplomacy are needed to bring these changes to fruition.
An achievement/project that made you proud?

Without a doubt, my contribution to the design of Kosmos - Timetable. I'm extremely proud to be able to show this product to Schools, which was really designed with the business in mind. I'm also very proud of the work of the entire development team, who always manage to translate my comments into simple, intuitive screens.
What are your key references in your field?

My references are always in national education. I continue to read the BOEN (Bulletin Officiel de l'Education Nationale), the lettre de l'éducation and the café pédagogique. Above all, I draw a lot of inspiration from all my encounters in School.
What do you like best about Kosmos?

I really like the atmosphere, the convivial events that punctuate the year. I also like the fact that I'm surrounded by people in their thirties. It keeps you young.
If you hadn't done this job, what would you have done?

Lots of other things. I've never really planned, but rather seized opportunities. Ever since I was a kid, I've wanted to drive trains like my grandfather. Unfortunately, my eyesight prevented me from doing so, but I still dream of this profession.
2 truths and 1 lie about you (in no particular order, of course...)?

I've flown in a private jet.
I've raced motorcycles.
I love gardening.
A wish or an idea for your Bucket list?

As I get older, childhood dreams come true or turn into regrets. I've got a great family, I've been riding the motorcycle I've been dreaming of since I was 18 for the past two years, and I've taken up music. Now I just want to find time to enjoy what I've got.