[presscast]

>I have mixed feelings about the grandes ecoles.

To be fair, so do I, and I think you make a good point. The profile you can expect from a GE is:

- Extremely well-learned. They know a lot of stuff.

- Solutions implemented by GE engineeres will be principled, rather than ad-hoc.

- Not self-starters. They very much have an employee mindset.

And to be faire, there are plenty of outstanding employees (not to mention freelancers or entrepreneurs) who haven't gone through a Grande École.

Let me put it another way: you may not need a GE-graduate to build the next iPod, but you certainly need them for the next EuroTunnel.