#Iconic_Audencians: Mathieu Aguesse (MS MDC 15), exploring possibilities

Mathieu Aguesse is a 2015 graduate of ICAM School of engineering and Audencia’s specialised master in Marketing, Design and Creation (MS MDC). From his offices in San Francisco, he runs the US version of Schoolab, an innovation studio that trains, advises and supports its clients in responsible innovation. Mathieu also teaches design fiction and ethical and collaborative innovation at UC Berkeley. ‘Deplastify the Planet’ is one of his flagship programmes.

Mathieu’s story is that of a boy with a passport full of stamps, who, from South Africa to Nigeria, has developed a taste for travel, discovery and relationships, which he carries with him everywhere he goes.

Our conversation takes place across an ocean and several time zones and we pick up the thread of our discussion that started two months earlier.
Mathieu has just returned to San Francisco after a stay in Vietnam to support the development of the local Schoolab subsidiary. As always, he has taken advantage of these few days to learn, enrich his already wide experience of the world and store up different ideas and viewpoints that will help him move his own projects forwards.

When asked if he is in San Francisco for the duration, he smiles as if the binary format of the question still puzzles him. For Mathieu, “Staying in the USA or returning to France” is an incongruous choice as the world is full of so many other possibilities too. Mathieu is giving himself time to choose but also time to welcome his third child in the coming days.

Mathieu sees life as a permanent and collaborative learning process in which everything always ends up making sense and aligning when you know how to listen and observe. Discreet and curious, Mathieu doesn't like to talk much about himself: he prefers to talk about his encounters, discoveries and projects. In short, anything that will enhance his perception of the world he lives in with eyes and ears wide open.

 

For the third year in a row, we are delighted and proud to showcase 12 new profiles of Audencians from around the globe. The alumni that you will discover have very generously given up their time for an interview for which we are immensely grateful.