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The Francis Bouygues Foundation
Missions: to help and to advise 2
Why was the Foundation created? 3
Why was the Foundation named after Francis Bouygues? 3
The Grant holders 4
The Mentors 8
The Board of Directors 9
A few words about the Francis Bouygues Foundation 10
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THE MISSIONS: TO HELP AND TO ADVISE The Francis Bouygues Foundation provides support for school leavers with social or financial difficulties to finance their higher education studies and fulfil their professional ambitions. To do this, the Foundation has set itself two main priorities: To help Each year, the Foundation awards around 60 grants, ranging between €1,000 and €8,800 per year until a higher education diploma has been obtained, to:
French Baccalauréat (A-level) holders (with A and B grades) from general and technical secondary schools and colleges,
Foreign Baccalauréat holders who have studied at French schools abroad,
Baccalauréat holders who have taken a short course and who would like to continue their studies. Grants can be allocated either when the selected candidates get their Baccalauréat diploma or during their higher education. To advise Each grant holder is mentored by a Group employee. Mentors provide support for grant holders throughout their higher education studies. Mentors join the programme for a period of between two and six years. Their role includes meeting their student at the beginning and end of each academic year, monitoring course marks on a quarterly basis and submitting an end-of-year report to the Board of Directors, which will then decide whether to extend or adjust the student’s grant.
This mentoring system is designed to facilitate a permanent and personalised exchange between student and mentor as well as to keep a check on the quality of academic results.
Each grant holder can also benefit from support and assistance from Board members.
Every year, the Francis Bouygues Foundation assesses the diligence, behaviour and results of the students before deciding whether to renew the grants or not
Students always remain free to make their own professional choices. The Foundation's aim is not to recruit future Bouygues group employees, but to trigger success regardless of the student’s project or area of activity.
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WHY WAS THE FOUNDATION CREATED? “I have always found it grossly unfair that gifted and hard-working young people should be prevented from studying for social or financial reasons. Our Foundation can help some of them.”
Martin Bouygues, Chairman and CEO, Bouygues
There are several reasons behind the creation of the Foundation. People are the Bouygues group’s core value. Their skills, the work they do and their mindset are a key concern. Passion and the willingness to take up a challenge can be decisive factors in undertaking a project, whether in the workplace or in the classroom. The aim with the Foundation is to remain true to Bouygues values by considering the merits and motivations of each student who receives a grant. There is another reason why the Foundation was created: Martin Bouygues’ determination that the Group should uphold its place, not just in the French economy, but in French society as a whole. By doing so, and within the limits of its resources, Bouygues helps to restore the balance within society. By taking public interest initiatives in the educational field, the Francis Bouygues Foundation promotes equal opportunity for all.
WHY WAS THE FOUNDATION NAMED AFTER FRANCIS BOUYGUES? “I wanted this Foundation to be named after Francis Bouygues, the founder of our Group, a talented entrepreneur and a staunch defender of merit-based social advancement throughout his life.”
Martin Bouygues
Naming the Foundation after Francis Bouygues, the Group’s founder, is a tribute to a man who, having started small, understood the need to take an interest in all his employees, even the humblest. Francis Bouygues believed that a company is a human adventure and that the people in it, wherever they come from, should enjoy the same opportunities and advance on the basis of their skills and determination. That is why, in 1963, Francis Bouygues created the Minorange Guild to distinguish and reward the best site workers.
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Francis Bouygues (1922-1993)
Francis Bouygues founded Bouygues in 1952 and was its Chairman and CEO until 1989. He graduated from the École Centrale de Paris, an elite engineering school. At the age of 29 he founded Entreprise Francis Bouygues, a company specialising in building and industrial works in the Paris region. Francis Bouygues started to diversify in 1956, first into property development, then into civil engineering and public works, setting up regional construction subsidiaries throughout France. Named “Manager of the Year” by business magazine Le Nouvel Economiste in 1982, Francis Bouygues continued his diversification strategy by becoming the operator and largest shareholder (25%) of TF1, the leading French TV channel, in 1987. At the age of 68 he moved into a new business, feature film production, with the creation of Ciby 2000. Hits included Pedro Almodóvar’s “High Heels” and Jane Campion’s “The Piano”.
THE GRANT HOLDERS Selection criteria To be eligible for a higher education grant from the Francis Bouygues Foundation, candidates must:
have achieved grade A or B in the French Baccalauréat (A levels),
demonstrate a high degree of motivation,
have difficulty financing a higher education course that offers genuine career opportunities.
How to apply Applications may be submitted to the Foundation:
by the applicant directly,
by school heads, who may send in applications for pupils who meet the criteria and whom they consider to be particularly deserving,
or by any other means.
The selection panel chooses applications in a three-stage process.
It meets in June to screen and preselect the applications received.
It meets again in July after the candidates selected at the first meeting have been interviewed.
In July, after the Baccalauréat results have been announced, the panel selects the students who will be awarded grants and decides the amount of the grants for the year.
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The 7th intake In 2011, the Francis Bouygues Foundation received 808 applications, 759 from pupils at French secondary schools and 49 from pupils at international secondary schools. Some information relating to the seventh intake: Education authority to which
grant holders belonged
Breakdown by gender Baccalauréat courses
Baccalauréat (A-level) results
Courses taken
Type of career sought
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Promising results At 1 September 2011, 365 students had grants from the Foundation. Some statistics relating to all intakes:
Geographical origin of grant holders (all intakes) Breakdown by gender (all intakes)
The students from the first intake (2005/06) have already entered working life.
One has graduated from the École Centrale de Lille and been taken on as an automobile engineer by BMW.
Another has graduated from the École Supérieure des Travaux Publics and been taken on as an engineer by Technip.
A third has graduated from the École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Paris and joined Louis Vuitton as a methods engineer.
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Grant holders’ stories How is the Foundation helping you throughout your studies and in your choice of future professional career? “Of course, the financial support provided by the grant helps me do something that I am passionate about. However, the Foundation has also made me far more confident, because I am being supported and believed in.”
Adrien “My grant helped me follow a challenging course of studies whilst sparing my parents the financial cost at the same time. Without this very special help, I probably would have never been able to leave my family home. Thanks to the Foundation, my parents have not had to worry about the cost of my studies and I was able to make a dream come true: carry out an internship at the French consulate in New York.”
Réjane “Thanks to the financial help provided by the Foundation, I am able to devote myself entirely to my studies and I don't have to take a part-time job. It encourages me to give the best of myself.”
Aurélie “It provides major financial support and peace of mind: as a student, I believe that the ability to focus entirely on my studies without fearing that my plans and hopes will be compromised by a lack of money is priceless. The advice given by my mentor is just as valuable: he was the first person amongst the people I knew that was able to get me to ask the right questions of myself, since he was the only one to have the experience related to my future career choice.”
Romain Describe the relationship with your mentor? What has this mentoring provided you with? “My mentor supported me throughout my three years of engineering school. We were in permanent contact and he was able to provide a strategic view of my situation by listening to me and he also gave me sensible advice at critical moments.”
Joseph “My mentor opened the doors of the world of business to me, which was a universe that I was not familiar with. Our relationship has inspired me to become an entrepreneur too and has taught me to plan for the long term. We meet regularly when I come to Paris. He is following my path through university and has helped me to look for internships too.”
Soline “My mentor is a both point of reference and a shoulder to lean on for me. The relationship that I have built up with my mentor is precious since he has become an older brother, counsellor and legal adviser, etc. to me. Without the mentor, the Foundation would lose its meaning.”
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Rémy
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THE MENTORS
The Francis Bouygues Foundation aims to maintain a permanent link with student grant holders by appointing a mentor for each one, chosen from among volunteer Bouygues group employees. They are selected according to their particular skills and the region where they live so as to be as close to the student as possible. Mentors’ missions
Interview grant holders at the beginning and end of the academic year
Track grades on a quarterly basis
Be available by phone or in person as necessary
Advise grant holders on their studies and career choices
Help them to find internships during summer vacation and as part of their course
Take other initiatives to extend the knowledge and skills of grant holders
Monitor their financial needs so that the amount of the grant can be updated if necessary
Make an end-of-year report to the Board Mentors’ stories
“Funnily enough, Olivier and I have followed very similar paths: the same higher education establishment (INSA Lyon), the same Civil Engineering and Urban planning option, the same strong passion for sport (athletics for him and rugby for me) and finally the same desire to travel (Canada, Senegal, the UK, Czech Republic, the US and Brazil between us). Our relationship very quickly cemented itself around what we had in common. The Francis Bouygues Foundation first brought us together some four years ago. For me, the
most important aspect is the human contact. At the end of the day, we are both “friends”, when we talk about our interests or when we compare our sporting performances, as well as “disciple and mentor”, when Olivier asks me what orientations he should follow, for advice and for help in answering his questions. I aim to provide him with my experience and maturity. He provides me with his enthusiasm and youth. And he has made me realise that I can be just as useful by helping him on his path forward as when I help to draft a tender dossier.”
Benoit
“I mentored Sylvain for three years until he was accepted recently into FEMIS, France's most prestigious film school. Our student-mentor relationship was based on respect for each other and sincerity. I advised Sylvain like I would have done for any member of my family. He asked me for advice on a number of key decisions about what course he should follow at university. Since Sylvain is both gifted and hard-working, that fact that he was able to get into FEMIS at the first attempt did not surprise me and it makes me feel very proud.
The Foundation discovered Sylvain and supported him when he needed it the most. His talent and pluck did the rest.”
Laurent
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■ THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS The Francis Bouygues Foundation has a Board of Directors that comprises 12 members from the business and education sector. The Board meets at least twice yearly. The members are appointed for a renewable three-year term.
Chairman
Philippe Montagner, Director, Bouygues Telecom
Members
Joël Adrian, Headmaster
François Bertière, Chairman and CEO, Bouygues Immobilier
Sylvie Bocognano, Internal Communications and
Corporate Sponsorship Director, Bouygues Telecom
Martin Bouygues, Chairman and CEO, Bouygues
Yves Gaudemet,
Academic Jean-François Guillemin,
Corporate Secretary, Bouygues
Jean-Manuel Soussan, HR Dir., Bouygues Construction
Philippe Mahrer, Academic
Catherine Nayl, Director of News and Information, TF1
Jacques Staniec, Academic
Philippe Tournier, HR Dir., Colas Catherine Sica, Corporate Secretary,
The Francis Bouygues Foundation
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A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE FRANCIS BOUYGUES FOUNDATION FROM GRANT HOLDERS “The Foundation filled me with lots of confidence, gave me considerable support and, above all, an ambition that I would never have been able to imagine by myself.”
Réjane “It has been very significant and fulfilling for me and is very aptly named since it pays homage to a man who founded one of the biggest companies on the CAC 40 stock index.”
Samir “The Foundation is a winning bet and the mentor is always near-at-hand.”
Adrien
“The Foundation enabled me to build my future with confidence and to develop my personal projects. It helped me to get the best from my academic achievements and opened my mind to new possibilities.”
Soline “It is a springboard to success in higher education and helps you forget about sometimes oppressive financial worries so that you can focus on learning the ropes of your future career. It is also a springboard to building new relationships and sharing in the cultural capital of the other grant holders. It is a forum for exceptional encounters.”
Joseph “It provided me with comforting support and enormous confidence so that I could flourish both professionally and socially.”
Romain
Catherine Sica Corporate secretary of the Francis Bouygues Foundation
Tel: +33 (0) 1 30 60 21 21 - E-mail: [email protected] http://www.fondationfrancisbouygues.com/
Bouygues press office
Tel: +33 (0) 1 44 20 12 01 - E-Mail: [email protected] www.bouygues.com
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Photo credits: Alain Pérus/l’oeil du Diaph ; M. Pelletier ; J. David ; J. Graf ; Agence Rush/ M. Barret ; A. Da Silva – Graphix ; Joachim Bertran
