Antoine DEVASLE
Associate Founder, CREALISE
Director, Digital College Meeting
Indian Ocean Representative, Collège de Paris
- 01:46 Leadership is a consequence – a result of value alignment
- 04:18 Solidarity and trust: key values enabling optimal self-development
- 08:10 How to ‘manage’ change in uncertain environments?
- 10:21 How can we best prepare for life in a rapidly changing society?
- 17:20 Process for implementing what we truly care about
- 25:50 “Dear Little Antoine, don’t worry too much about life…”
- 28:34 Beware of “false excuses”…
- 33:05 Why a rocket-shaped avatar…
Stella BIDA, in conversation with Antoine DEVASLE, Associate Founder of CREALISE, Director of Digital College Réunion, Indian Ocean Representative of the Collège de Paris
Summarised conversation transcript
This is a summarized version of the conversation. You’ll find even more details and tips shared in the video.
STELLA BIDA : Hello everyone, I’m Stella Bida. For this new conversation, I’m not alone. Today I’m welcoming Antoine Devasle. Antoine, who joins us from Reunion Island. He’s an extraordinary person, with exceptional leadership. With a prestigious network of schools, he’s responsible for developing establishments throughout the Indian Ocean region. I’m very pleased to welcome him. Antoine, welcome to this conversation!
ANTOINE DEVASLE : Thank you, Stella, I’m delighted to be here. Hello everyone!
STELLA BIDA : What would you like to share with us before we begin our conversation?
ANTOINE DEVASLE : I think you summed it up well. I would add that the name of the prestigious network is the Collège de Paris, and the name of the school is Digital College. There are several schools in the network today. We are indeed mainly in the Indian Ocean, on Reunion Island, with a campus that has 160 students.
Leadership is a consequence of an alignment of values
STELLA BIDA : What does “leadership” mean to you, Antoine? I’ve observed your leadership style, and it’s exceptional with your students!
ANTOINE DEVASLE : Leadership is, above all, a state of mind. I think it’s almost a consequence of aligning what we’re made for, what we want to carry, the values we defend, the values we embody. From the moment all of that aligns, we radiate something that, for me, is this notion of leadership, which makes people want to achieve a vision.
The notion of leadership has nothing to do with the notion of authority.
The notion of leadership is really focused on support, and often by setting an example first, to then make others want to support us.
With students, I think there’s a climate of trust. From the moment we establish a climate of trust, as the foundation of the relationship, it ultimately allows people to develop their full potential. This is a personal opinion; this is how we see things at CREALISE and Digital College in general.
Solidarity and Trust: key values enabling optimal self-development
STELLA BIDA : I like that you define leadership as a consequence of an alignment of values. In your opinion, what are the values that align and help create this climate of trust on your campuses?
ANTOINE DEVASLE : There are different values that will be highlighted and developed. These are values that we want to uphold, that we convey and embody on a daily basis, and that’s important.
For us, one of the values that is really important is this notion of solidarity, of trust. I come back to this because it is the basis, the foundation that will then allow everyone to move in the direction that seems most relevant to them, to develop the things that seem interesting.
With what we are experiencing today, values are even more exacerbated by the need for meaning, knowing what the meaning of what we do, of our lives, is. It’s about defining the usefulness of our work, our profession, our missions, what we do on a daily basis, and then understanding the contribution and added value for our direct or international ecosystem, the social and environmental impact.
Reunion Island is probably one of the best examples of “living together,” meaning that our diversity is experienced and felt every day. It’s a real strength for our human and entrepreneurial ecosystems.
How to 'manage' change in environments of uncertainty?
STELLA BIDA : I receive requests today from many organizations seeking to manage change in environments of uncertainty and diversity. What do you think is the best way to approach this, taking into account the challenges that exist?
ANTOINE DEVASLE : I think collective intelligence is essential. Embracing change and participating in change are two different concepts. Participating in change means that, collectively, we ask ourselves the simple question of what the vision is, and whether it is shared by everyone. Once this foundation is laid, people will gradually want to move toward the defined vision. With the concept of collective intelligence, we can involve everyone in a shared vision.
How can we best prepare for life in a rapidly changing society?
STELLA BIDA : Within the institution, are there specific courses that contribute to the variety and richness of the student experience?
ANTOINE DEVASLE : So, these are really things that came from Collège de Paris and Digital College that we tried to take on. Our mission is to ask ourselves how best to prepare our students for this society. When students start at CREALISE and Digital College Réunion, the first class they expect is to open a computer. That’s not at all what happens. During the first class, they work on themselves, to discover their values, their talents, their passions, their gray areas. They work individually, but collectively, by sharing. From the very first days, this creates solidarity with the group.
Then there are all the activities we organize. These include our Masterclasses and our Start-up Weeks. All our students work together on different projects, with different infrastructures, and with different vocations and projects.
We are preparing them for three things that are important, in our humble opinion, for the future. The first thing is the notion of creativity. It can be linked to the richness of the cultural mix I was talking about earlier, for example, to diversity. The second element is the notion of adaptability, agility, particularly in the rather uncertain and unstable society in which we live. Finally, it is about knowing how to use the new technologies that are emerging, knowing how to quickly get out of the habit of the old ones and get back into the habit of the new ones.
These three concepts are important. We see the results with our students, who are extremely adaptable, and it’s great to see!
Process for implementing what we truly care about
STELLA BIDA : I really liked when you talked about that first class, about encouraging students to learn more about themselves. It’s not always an easy step to take—self-knowledge. Compared to what you’ve experienced, what has been the greatest lesson in self-discovery for you in your journey?
ANTOINE DEVASLE : I’ve always lived with a lot of positivity and perspective on the challenges I’ve faced. During my career, I had the opportunity and the good fortune to work in Mauritius for a long time. It was a culture shock, as a native of Réunion. So I learned to adapt. I learned to implement strategies, which taught me how to deal with different personalities.
With the arrival of my first child, there was a radical change, because from one day to the next, the way we see the world completely collapses. The way we see the world changes, the pressure is not the same, the desires are not the same, the stress is totally different. I wanted to build things differently.
Two years later, I almost lost my two children and my wife when I returned to Reunion Island. Where we lived burned to the ground. They had time to get out, but everything burned. So our whole life, the one we had managed to bring back from Mauritius, was gone. That was my second turning point. I told myself that if I don’t understand that this is the time for me to put in place things that are really important to me, I don’t think I’ll ever understand it.
Despite not having much, I went there with heart, guts and the desire to make a vision come true.
When I reflect on my journey, I see myself as a child, I think I was six or seven years old. I came across a lawyers’ show. I dreamed of being a lawyer, I thought it was amazing and fabulous! I’m not a lawyer today, but I think there’s definitely a link with the way I’ve grown up.
STELLA BIDA : Do you think you have to go through a period of shock to finally do what you really want to do?
ANTOINE DEVASLE : For a long time, I believed that it was inevitable that someone would experience a shock. We have many examples of successful entrepreneurs who have experienced violent shocks in their lives.
Except that today, I’m revising my copy a little. We have students at our house who are very young. I realize that from the moment we plant seeds in them, even without providing answers, we generate questions in them. These questions in turn will generate triggers. Things take shape for our students, and that’s when it becomes interesting! We can fail, but I want to say that it’s by failing that we learn, and that we grow – as we say here. From the moment we take action, whatever happens, we always take away something that allows us to explore other avenues.
"Dear Little Antoine, don't worry too much about life..."
STELLA BIDA : Antoine, if you had the opportunity to have a conversation with 10-year-old Antoine, what would you say to him?
ANTOINE DEVASLE : The first thing that comes to mind is to tell him: “You’re going to struggle, but you’re going to have fun!” Honestly, that’s an excellent question. I want to tell you that there are probably things I would do differently, but I don’t regret much of what I’ve done to be honest. Because I’ve tried things that were very successful, others that were less successful. But I also think that it’s thanks to these less successful things that I’ve been able to refine some of my desires, my values, my desires, my goals, my ambitions. To little Antoine at 10, I would be quite confident for him, and I would say to him: “Don’t worry too much, and enjoy the journey, even if you still don’t know the destination…”
Beware of "false excuses"...
STELLA BIDA : How beautiful, thank you for sharing, Antoine. What do you think is the question I didn’t ask that would give the people watching us confidence? I often feel that for many, it’s a question of a field where there are lots of little seeds planted, but which don’t manage to grow.
ANTOINE DEVASLE : They don’t grow because they’re probably not watered. It’s difficult to give the perfect method for doing this. What helps are triggers, which can also be discussions with someone you identify with; it could be a book, a video, a film, a shock…
There are also the “false excuses” that block a lot of people – I don’t have enough money, I don’t have enough time, I don’t have the network. You have to find within yourself what makes you tick, identify what moves you. For me, that’s what a leader is, having the ability to give yourself the right to go there, by controlling your power.
Gandhi’s example as a leader is undisputed, with the power to have an impact that surpasses him. Humbly, this is not my case, but I think that the leaders who have left their mark on us go beyond what they themselves thought they wanted to do, and that’s beautiful!
Why a Rocket-shaped avatar...
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