Raphaël Thévenot (EMLV Class of 2026): From an Internship to a Permanent Position at Dassault Systèmes—Turning Business Skills into an Asset in Data and AI
Raphaël Thévenot, an EMLV class of 2026 student, joined Dassault Systèmes in January for his end-of-studies internship. For six months, he worked on projects combining performance management, data, automation, and the optimization of sales tools.
This initial experience ultimately paved the way for his future career within the group. A few months after joining, Raphaël landed his first permanent position, this time as a Data/AI Project Manager—a role at the intersection of technology and business challenges.
From his internship to his first job, and from International Business to Data and AI, Raphaël reflects on the experiences that shaped the early stages of his career and shares his advice with students who are themselves preparing to enter the workforce.
Turning a Internship into a Permanent Position
A post-graduation internship often marks the final step before entering the workforce. It’s six months to gain experience, prove yourself, and begin mapping out the next steps in your career.
▷ How did your internship at Dassault Systèmes turn into an opportunity for a permanent position? In your opinion, was there a specific moment or assignment that made a particular difference?
“Actually, there wasn’t a single specific moment that set everything in motion—rather, it was a series of events stemming from two things: my dedication throughout the internship, and the fact that I was proactive in my job search.
The team that hosted me for the internship couldn’t hire me at the end of it, so I started looking at opportunities elsewhere in the group at the same time: open positions posted online, but also by reaching out directly to team managers whose roles interested me. Even when a team isn’t hiring, they can refer you to others they know. The idea is really to make yourself known internally as a candidate.
The position I hold today was actually an online job posting that I applied for. After several interviews, the managers of this new team spoke with my internship supervisors, and the dedication I showed in my work over those six months made all the difference.”
Raphaël then joined the group’s Travel & Expense team, where he currently serves as Data/AI Project Manager.
▷ What does your job actually entail today, and what do you enjoy most about your responsibilities?
“I’m the only person dedicated to data and AI in this area, so my responsibilities are quite broad: I build dashboards and data repositories to help the team manage its operations, and I also work on more forward-looking projects, such as an AI-powered chatbot to assist employees.
What I enjoy most is the freedom to come up with ideas: in my area, everything still needs to be built from scratch, so I have real latitude to identify the issues to tackle and propose solutions on my own. And since I work with AI, my role also requires me to keep pace with the technology itself; I spend time staying informed to stay up to date, which makes the job very stimulating over the long term.”
A career that evolves alongside technology, without being limited to the technical aspects: behind every tool, there is first and foremost a business need to be understood.
▷ What skills or qualities do you think are essential today for working on projects related to data and AI?
“I don’t think you necessarily need a highly technical background to start with—my own career path is proof of that: I earned a master’s degree in International Business, not from an engineering school, and I learned the rest—Python, SQL, automation tools, and so on—little by little, on my own, as I encountered specific needs along the way.
What I think is truly essential is curiosity and the ability to understand the business need before rushing into a technical solution: a good data/AI project always starts with a clearly defined business problem. You also have to accept that you won’t know everything from the start and be willing to learn as you go, because tools in this field evolve quickly.”
Growing Through Experience
▷ Which experiences at EMLV have been most helpful to you in your career so far?
“What has undoubtedly helped me the most are the various internships I’ve completed one after another: each time, they helped me quickly develop my skills. The experience I gained abroad during my studies also made a big difference—it pushes you to adapt and step outside your comfort zone, habits that are useful in any professional setting. ”
His years at EMLV were also marked by an entrepreneurial venture. Alongside his studies, Raphaël co-founded Agence Alain, an agency specializing in AI-driven automation for small businesses and SMEs. This experience exposed him to every aspect of a project: business development, solution design, user support, and training in AI tools.
▷ Did this entrepreneurial experience in AI play a role in your path to your current position?
“Juggling both was too time-consuming, so I chose to focus on my role at Dassault Systèmes. However, that entrepreneurial experience was crucial in helping me land this job: I probably wouldn’t have gotten it without it. It allowed me to demonstrate my ability to work independently, to get users to adopt solutions, to develop them from start to finish, to train people on them, and to organize my work using the latest tools.”
First Steps, First Instincts
▷ What advice would you give to students who are about to start looking for their final-year internship or their first job?
“I’d say don’t limit yourself to a specific position or industry when you’re looking: it’s important to seize the opportunities that come your way, because it’s only later, once you’re on the job, that you can be proactive and come up with new ideas—and thus help shape the nature of your role from the inside.
Today, I also think it’s essential to know how to use AI effectively. Not to have it do our work for us, but as a tool to accelerate learning: to learn faster, discover new things, and develop our skills more quickly.”
An Alumni to follow!
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