Shared ambitions for technological training programs to support industry in the context of digital and energy transition.
The Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers and the Lycée Vauvenargues, which carry out complementary activities in different areas of technological training, have decided to combine their strategies by creating the Campus Aixois de Technologie (CAT) in the heart of Aix-en-Provence.
Formalized by the signing of an agreement in 2018, the CAT offers a shared set of services, skills, human and material resources, educational innovation, and cooperation, making it a place for living and learning where different groups (students, teachers, researchers, local academic and industrial partners, staff) interact.
French engineering education is recognized and highly regarded for three good reasons: project-based teaching, strong interaction with companies in the training process (professional input, internships, work-study programs), and the educational excellence of post-baccalaureate programs offered by high schools: CPGE (and STS), the main recruitment pools for engineering schools.It is within this framework that the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers and the Vauvenargues high school are working together to create a center of excellence for technological education from high school to doctoral level. The CAT currently has a population of 3,000 students and produces 300 engineers and 10 PhDs per year, most of whom go on to work in industry.
Shared ambitions
The primary purpose of the CAT is to:
- make training courses in the technology sector and related professions more visible and attractive,
- provide career prospects to encourage high school students to consider higher education in science and technology,
- promote science, technology, and industry among young people (conferences, open houses, academic support, promotion of engineering as a career, incentives for entrepreneurship, etc.).
Pooling resources: new advances
Supporting joint educational projects by pooling human and material resources is at the heart of CAT's service offering: mutual provision of classrooms, laboratories, lecture halls, sports facilities, and support for CPGE students in their Supervised Personal Interest Projects (TIPE) through access toArts et Métiers technical facilities and documentary resources.
This partnership is now opening up new opportunities for progress in terms of shared projects involving space and resources with:
- The creation of a fablab at Vauvenargues High School run by a dedicated teacher with experience in project-based teaching and industrial project implementation. Students of different levels and from different departments will thus have a common space where they can discover and compare projects from other departments and other levels. It will also serve as a showcase for technology and creativity within the high school for middle school students entering secondary school. The project has been approved by INNOVATHEQUE and will receive support from the Region for its real estate component.
- a training platform for Industry 4.0 manufacturing on the Arts et Métiers campus, a new shared multi-process workshop for teaching, research, and industry in a digital context. The target audience will range from high school and vocational school students to doctoral candidates, with a focus on lifelong learning. The project is subject to the 2020-2025 State-Region Plan Contract (CPER).
The industry lacks engineers (and technicians) to successfully achieve this transformation: 60,000 new hires per year
Currently, 37,000 engineers are trained each year in 200 engineering schools (15% through apprenticeships, with 28% women).
Philippe Collot, director of the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers , explains:
We are taking our place alongside manufacturers and educational institutions to support them in this fourth industrial revolution.
