A World Taiji Champion Intern at Poclain

While many high school students are doing their internships across France, Poclain welcomes 8 interns. Among them is Yann Nguyen, student from La Providence High School in Amiens and junior world champion in Taiji Jian.

5 min read

Yann Nguyen, 16, studies at La Providence High School in Amiens. This week, like 8 other students, he is at Poclain for his internship. It's an opportunity for him to learn more about the industrial world and for Poclain to discover Taiji.

Exploring the corporate world and the engineering profession

From the moment he arrived, Yann was struck by the size of Poclain. "I didn't expect the company to be so big, with several buildings and a large park," he says. "They also practice eco-grazing, which is great for preserving the environment."

Today I don't know exactly what I want to do in the future. I'm interested in engineering, but I'm not sure which field to choose.

His internship at Poclain allows him to learn more about the different professions in our industry by meeting several employees throughout the week: IT, electronics, data, design, development, IoT... so many fields he's exploring to maybe find one that appeals to him. "I thought engineers were mainly developers, but I realize that's not necessarily the case. There are a lot of different jobs here."

Junior World Champion in Taiji Jian

Yann Nguyen was crowned Junior World Champion in Taiji Jian in 2022 in Tangerang, Indonesia. "I trained hard for the World Championship and it paid off!"

Martial arts run in Yann's family. "I started at the age of 3 because my father is a Wushu teacher," he says. At 8, Yann specialized in Taiji. At 16, he already has an impressive track record:

2022: Gold medal in Taiji Jian and bronze medal in Taiji Quan at the World Championships, a title he will defend in August 2024.
2024: Gold medals in Taiji Jian, Taiji Quan and Taiji Shan at the European Championships.

During his internship, Yann led some beginner-friendly Taiji sessions in Poclain Park. This unique opportunity allowed the teams to learn more about this discipline and to try out some movements. "I was a bit nervous. It was the first time I taught my sport to strangers. But it went very well !" confides Yann.

I was a bit nervous. It was the first time I taught my sport to people I didn't know. But it went very well !

The session began: Yann leads the way. Some of the group recognize a few warm-up movements that they do every day before starting work in the production workshop. Once warmed up, the session continues with specific Taiji movements.

After a few selfies and a lot of positive feedback, Yann leaves feeling reassured about his choice of classes for next year: math, physics, digital and computer science.

A big thank you to Yann Nguyen for these moments of sharing.