In Cluny: On Friday, May 6, 2022, Isabelle DUBAND visited the Jules Ferry Middle School in Génelard with two second-year students in the Grande Ecole Program: Karine GAUTHIER and Antoine THEVENET.
In Paris: On March 30, 2022, the campus welcomed eighth-grade students from five middle schools in Paris to explore the campus and its laboratories.
In order to help guide primary and secondary school students, as well as those in preparatory classes for the Grandes Ecoles, to promote diversity in their backgrounds and profiles, and to encourage their success in their chosen fields of study, the government has established the "Les Cordées de la réussite" program.
At Cluny
Objective of the action
The Collège Jules Ferry in Génelard (71420) is a middle school in a rural area. For Isabelle, it is important to reach out to young people in isolated areas to introduce them to the range of engineering professions and the diversity of sectors involved in engineering. Another concept promoted by OPTIM is to encourage girls to no longer be afraid to consider studying engineering and pursuing a career as an engineer.
Isabelle DUBAND (teacher, equality officer, and leader of the OPTIM success network)
The idea is to encourage young girls in particular to take an interest in science and technology studies.
This initiative was aimed at 8th grade students and focused on the following topics: health, personal care, education, agriculture, industry, and construction trades.
Antoine and Karine therefore spoke with three groups of middle school students (23 students in total) about:
- what an engineer is,
- their backgrounds and motivations,
- questions from middle school students.
Students returning
Antoine THEVENET (2A student, OPTIM tutor for the second consecutive year)
Our visit to Génelard Middle School gave students the opportunity to take a step back and consider their future career choices in general, while introducing them to the field of engineering.
I was pleasantly surprised by how attentive the fourth graders were.
I think this is something we should do again!
Karine GAUTHIER (2A student, OPTIM tutor in 2020-2021)
This afternoon was very rewarding, and I was happy to help middle school students who are starting to build their career plans.
In Paris
The work of the Arts et Métiers Campus Arts et Métiers Paris
For the second edition of the "Ambition Sciences ParisTech – ENCPB" mentoring program, eight student mentors were recruited on the Paris campus. The mentors first receive training to learn how to pass on their knowledge to high school students, and then the mentoring takes place from late October/early November 2021 to April 2022.
Emmanuel Richaud, University Professor and researcher at the PIMM Laboratory, where he heads the Polymers and Composites team, is the lead researcher for this project on the Paris Campus.
His participation in the Arts & Métiers Think Tank in the working group, "Strengthening the appetite for technology," led him to question the career choices of young people, and he wanted to become part of Cordées de la réussite.
Emmanuel Richaud recruits and supervises student tutors, disseminates information, and organizes events related to Les Cordées. His current goal is to ensure the long-term viability of this program, both logistically and pedagogically, with increased participation from students on the Paris campus.
On March 30, 2022, the Paris campus welcomed ninth-grade students from five middle schools located in Paris: Boris Vian, Gerard Philipe, Georges Sand, Jean Perrin, and Marie Curie.
Accompanied by their teachers, the students were able to discover:
- the PIMM laboratory;
- the LIFSE laboratory;
- the CPI laboratory and its 4.0 platform.
The goal was to enable students to learn about the various engineering careers offered by Arts et Métiers combat self-censorship and inspire academic ambition in students.
A guardian's testimony
Wassim Ben Salah (Ch.219), tutor during the 2020-2021 academic year for three to four hours every two weeks, helped students in the preparatory classes for the Grandes Ecoles at the Lycée Pierre Gilles de Gennes with mathematics and physics, as well as providing various advice on their future career paths: "Participating in this mentoring program has been enriching for both the students and myself, as it has helped them better understand their coursework and their future after preparatory classes. It is always a pleasure to share my experience with people facing the same difficulties I once faced."
During a conversation with one of the students he was tutoring, Wassim mentioned a topic that interested him: soft robotics. The student researched the subject and told Wassim about a project being carried out by INRIA Lille.INRIA Lille. After studying the project, Wassim contacted the relevant people and was ultimately selected to do an additional internship during his second year as part of a joint research project between INRIA Lille and the company Robocath. "I inspire them and they inspire me," smiles Wassim.
The Paris Board of Education and the Prefecture of the Ile-de-France region have granted financial support to the "Ambition Sciences ParisTech – ENCPB" climbing team.
