Meet Mahdi TALEBI, Alumnus of the IMESS Master!

- Hello Mahdi! You are an alumnus of IMESS Master* from Iran. You graduated in 2020 and you are now in the Netherlands. Can you introduce yourself and explain your background?

I am Mahdi Talebi, and I work as a hardware security engineer at SGS Brightsight company, located in the Netherlands.

I studied electronics and hardware design engineering in my bachelor's and master's degrees in Iran and for my second master's degree, I moved to France to study embedded security engineering.

- Why did you choose Esisar and the MISTRE master?
 

For me, the first time I came to ESISAR was during the period when I was doing my first master's in hardware design. But, I also wanted to learn about security and gain experience in this field as well.

Therefore, my supervisor suggested going to ESISAR Laboratory (LCIS) for an internship. After finishing the internship, I had every reason to choose ESISAR to study for another master's degree.

Many knowledgeable and experienced professors, close connection with industry, extremely friendly staff, having several friends whom I had made during my internship, the city of Valence which I loved, and several other reasons made me want to go back to ESISAR and study the IMESS master.

- What did you think of Esisar?

 

One of the best aspects of ESISAR for me was its close connection with industry. For example, when we were looking for internships there were several job fairs held in the school in which representatives from many companies would join and we had the chance to present ourselves to them and get the internship position we were looking for. Also, many of the projects and research conducted by Ph.D. candidates or even engineering students in ESISAR, are defined by well-known companies and research centers which makes students use their academic knowledge in real-world applications.
 

"One of the best aspects of ESISAR for me was its close connection with industry. "

- What did you think of Valence?

Yeah, Valence will forever remain in my memory. As I said I absolutely love that city. It's interesting that some people are not a big fan of small cities but for me it's the other way around.

I have very fond memories of Valence. Celebrating France's World Cup victory in the city center back in 2018, going to various music festivals in Champ de Mars, and going to bars (especially the Irish pub) are some of my good memories in Valence. Out of all the places in Valence, there is one special location that holds a special place in my heart, and that is the bridge on top of the huge river that connects the two sides of the city. I would always go there and watch the river while thinking about life.

- What are the strengths and weaknesses of this IMESS training according to you? How does this program get you where you are today?

As I mentioned, due to ESISAR's close connection with industry, a very good aspect of IMESS, especially for the ones who want to continue their path in the private sector and companies, is that it prepared us to enter the industry and start our careers in a relatively short time which was exactly what I also wanted.

Studying IMESS had a direct effect on my career direction, as the main focus of IMESS is embedded security, it helped me find a job in hardware security in one of the world's leading security and verification enterprises.

The downside of IMESS, actually is also its short duration. Especially in the first half of the program, we had to study around 10 courses, and each course had its own projects. At the end of the first half of the IMESS program, we had to pass 10 exams over a time of one week, So, I believe there is a lot of pressure on students in the first half of the IMESS program, but it's nothing students cannot handle. My suggestion for the students of IMESS in the first six months is to buckle up because it will be one hell of a ride!

Yes of course, participating in the IMESS program provides the chance to study in one of the best Universities in France, meet French and international students, be involved in several academic and industrial projects, and eventually start your professional career.



Thank you very much for this interview, and all the best for the future!

*Formerly MISTRE Master.