For their first fifteen days back at school, first-year students in the Grande Ecole Arts et Métiers program at the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers Cluny took part in the Amarres project (Arts et Métiers pour la Réussite et la Réflexivité des Etudiants, orArts et Métiers et Métiers Welcome for Student Success and Reflection).
Amarres objectives: to welcome students to their new environment, help them identify key resources, and give them an understanding of the skills required ofan Arts et Métiers engineer in order to give meaning to their training. Led by Agnès Bourg, head of the Management Sciences department, Christine Chevignard, head of the library, and David Prat, machining instructor, who spearheaded this project in collaboration with Régine Geoffroy, ICIFTech, some sixty instructors and administrative and technical staff from the campus rallied together.
Two highlights mark this fall program:
- The Sesam serious game (Services Equipes et Site aux Arts et Métiers): 26 teams of 6 students had to solve 35 puzzles as a team to find the fake treasure of the abbey's coins and its counterfeiter. This game allowed them to discover the school and the abbey, meet the campus staff, learn about projects and facilities, and get to grips with digital platforms. They were able to appreciate the great diversity of all the entities that make up the campus in a friendly and fun way (more information on the real treasure of Cluny).
- With Project-Based Learning, students are placed in a new educational program based on "Initial Project-Based Learning" with real-life engineering project situations, such as the construction of an adjustable and transportable climbing wall. This allows them to discover the skills and knowledge of the Grande Ecole Program, project-based work, and the skills that define an Arts et Métiers engineer. Students organize their working groups independently and meet with Arts et Métiers engineers who share their experiences and expertise. Teachers act as mentors, guiding students in their thinking without giving them the answers.
This back-to-school program received two grants following calls for projects encouraging educational innovation, for which the campus applied to the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region with its RITM BFC project (Réussir – Innover – Transformer – Mobiliser en Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, or Succeed – Innovate – Transform – Mobilize in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté). The results will be evaluated for dissemination throughout the region.
