Cédric Tomasini earned his Master's degree in Digital Humanities in 2022, after a Bachelor's degree in Communication Systems. Faced with a sense of unease in an environment that pushed him to develop a great deal of technology without taking the time to analyse its local and personal impacts, even to dehumanise the way we think, he chose to refocus by developing his own potential and that of others, teaching computer science at the Gymnase de Bussigny.
When he joined EPFL, Cédric Tomasini imagined doing great things. Yet a few doubts were already present. “I joined the School because I enjoyed computer science, but also out of social pressure and conformity: friends had chosen this section.”
He quickly felt a gap between his aspirations and the expectations of the academic staff, as well as the ambitions of the other students.
“Lausanne is, for me, like an ocean of concrete. I grew up surrounded by nature, in a village of 2,500 inhabitants. Developing revolutionary technological innovations that were going to help the whole world seemed out of all proportion to me.”
The little room given to critical thinking*, which would allow one to question the reasons for doing things, also affected him greatly. The arrival of Covid, with two-thirds of school time online, did not make exchanges any easier either.
Fortunately, Cédric thrived in his extracurricular activities: theatrical improvisation with the Impro Academy and Heidi troupes of UNIL and EPFL, in which he found strong collective values, as well as teaching assistantships, which contributed to his discovery of teaching.
An internship at Arcanite, an IT company co-founded by several EPFL alumni, also helped give him a fresh breath of air. “As an employee, I had the chance to prepare discussion groups on how the company was run, such as on the four-day week (which was not ultimately introduced, but it allowed us to consider the question together) or on the layout of the premises. There was the possibility of raising topics. I appreciated their simple, human values.”
Two other events prompted him to consider a career change. On the one hand, the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which revealed the illegal use of the personal data of millions of Facebook users, combined with reading books such as The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff, left a deep mark on him.
On the other hand, a lecture at EPFL by Jean-Marc Jancovici, a specialist in energy and climate issues, which summarised the major socio-ecological risks if we do not change course.
“It changed my view of the world, reaffirming the importance of intersubjectivity and showing the impossibility of making our bodies disappear to meet the needs of a highly technological society.”
His studies continued with a doctorate linking the arts, psychology and science. “I went into educational sciences and was supervised by Simon Henein. I really liked the bridges he built between research and dance improvisation, which I had caught a glimpse of in his Improgineering course.”
However, after a few months, he no longer felt he belonged. With his engineering background, he did not feel he was bringing anything to the team already in place.
Cédric ended his doctorate and enrolled at HEP Vaud. “This qualification was far more rewarding than the previous ones. I had scaled back down, and that did me good.”
Now a teacher, he does not regret having given up a career in science and technology. Since 2022, he has thrived with the 168 pupils who make up his eight classes.
Teaching answers his need for closeness and to feel useful.
“I feel the pleasure of knowledge for its own sake. It allows you to grow personally and opens up new possibilities. That's what I now want to pass on.”
Cédric also continues to practise theatrical improvisation and a little improvised dance, which he sees as an exercise in self-effacement in the service of the group.
“If I had to give one piece of advice,” he concludes, “it would be to never betray yourself, to stay true to your values.” A principle that has guided his choices and allowed him to find his path.
*Critical thinking is one of the key transversal skills in the field of education for sustainability, increasingly integrated into curricular thinking at EPFL.