Since its creation in 1976, ORSYS has placed the transmission of knowledge and people at the heart of its history. To celebrate these 50 years of adventure, our trainers share their memories, their experiences and the moments that have marked their career with ORSYS. From the company's beginnings to developments in the training profession, these testimonials reflect the spirit of trust, proximity and sharing that has driven ORSYS for half a century.
Testimony of Jean Hugues: ORSYS, a history of encounters
In 1986, relational systems were booming. At the time, Georges Gardarin was a key figure in France in the field of databases (Oracle, DB2, etc.). ORSYS offered a seminar on DBMS led by Georges Gardarin. I signed up for the course, without imagining that it would mark the start of a forty-year adventure.
During the lunch break, we all had lunch together in the gardens of the Mercure hotel. Someone from outside the course sat down next to me and struck up a conversation. He asks me if I know anyone who has mastered MERISE, an emergent design method that is much talked about. I told him that I had just co-authored a book on the subject with two friends, published by Dunod and available in bookshops the following week. He suggested we continue the discussion after lunch...
This meeting, which was as unexpected as it was decisive, marked the starting point of my training career at ORSYS.
Over the years, many memorable moments have marked this adventure. Two years after I started, ORSYS sent me to work alongside Georges Gardarin to run two week-long seminars at Club Med in Marbella, Andalusia. It was an experience that was as rewarding as it was unusual, and the participants were particularly proud to see their trainers - master and pupil now colleagues - win the club's great petanque competition.
Another striking memory: in 1998, during a training course at the Mercure hotel, the participants didn't return after the afternoon break. After some searching, I found them all together in the lounge, captivated by a football World Cup quarter-final involving France. We find a compromise by pushing back the last session by an hour. The result: 14 excellent evaluations out of 15 participants... the last of whom was clearly not a football fan!
Anecdotes aside, what is striking is the spectacular change in training conditions.
When I started out, I used a noisy overhead projector and felt-tip transparencies - in colour, though. Decades later, I was conducting my last training courses from home, in front of remotely connected participants, in the midst of a pandemic. The tools had changed radically, but the same passion for transmitting information remained.
If I had to sum up this experience in one sentence, it would be above all a story of encounters. Denis, Michel, Estelle, Dominique, Geneviève, Laurent, Karine, Raphaëlle, Véronique, Sylvie, Emmanuelle... and many others. A team that has never stopped growing, just like the pleasure of sharing and learning together.
Testimony of Serge Fdida: ORSYS, a human and friendly spirit
I'm certainly one of ORSYS's longest-standing and most loyal collaborators, having started working with the company when it moved to Porte de Versailles under Denis Levy-Willard.
Since our first meeting, I've always been impressed by Denis' vision and professionalism, but also by the human and friendly spirit that he has instilled in ORSYS.
At the time, we had a very small team and everyone contributed to creating this warm atmosphere. I particularly remember Mrs Allen, who was responsible for welcoming, organising and running the lunches with the participants, giving us a real opportunity to exchange ideas and take a breather during the training days.
If I had to sum up this experience in a few words, I'd say it was a wonderful, long adventure of sharing.
Testimony of Frédéric Lung: immense admiration for Denis Levy Willard
I created the whole technical training branch at ORSYS. Before I arrived in the mid-80s, ORSYS didn't yet offer practical training. The company specialised mainly in seminars for company managers, generally lasting one day.
I've had a lot of fun developing a very wide variety of courses, gradually but at a steady pace, and I'm extremely proud of that.
In the early years, the courses were even run on top-quality Sun machines that I personally owned.
As the business grew, I was instrumental in bringing many top experts into the ORSYS community of trainers, some of whom are still with us today.
I'm often reminded of an anecdote. In the early days, there was just one classroom on rue Firmin Gillot, with just three sessions a year - one week devoted to UNIX and another to the C language, both run by myself.
With Dominique Aquaviva and Marie Buffard, we got down on all fours to prepare the room and fix the cables to the table legs, which were extremely rudimentary, to prevent participants tripping over them!
If I had to sum up my experience at ORSYS in one sentence: I have immense admiration for Denis Levy Willard.