This is the first year that the Nancy-Metz Academy has had so many candidates for its academic final of the Engineering Science Olympiads: nearly 100 compared to 30 last year. There is growing interest among high school students, but also among companies, as three divisions of the Vinci Group, as well as Mathworks, attended the jury and presented awards to the participants. This was a first for these Lorraine finals, which were hosted by the Metz campus.
Future engineers who are of interest to companies
On April 27, 97 high school students from all over Lorraine came to present their projects. A connected knee prosthesis, a booster seat for supermarket carts, a bicycle water bottle that fills itself... All 27 projects were carried out by high school students from Lorraine, most of whom are pursuing engineering studies. Motivated, they did not hesitate to work evenings and weekends to present a functional project. This information did not escape the attention of Vinci Energies, Vinci Constructions, Eurovia, and Mathworks, who came to present awards to these high school students, but also to discover the future generation that will join their companies tomorrow. Five teams received awards, and two of them will continue the adventure in the national finals on May 17 in Palaiseau at the Thalès group's premises: the Loritz high school in Nancy and the Louis Majorelle high school in Toul.
Intuitive steering and automatic cradle
It is worth noting that only high school students in their junior year who participate in these academic finals qualify for the national finals. This is a great success for the youngest participants in this edition, who admit that they were motivated above all by "the technical aspect of their project rather than the practical side." However, the jury was not mistaken. Controlling a model car with hand movements is indeed a technological innovation that can be applied in everyday life (lawnmowers, small city cars, etc.).
The second project selected for the national final is an automatic cradle that activates when babies cry. Defining the functional scope of existing systems, adding additional functions, writing an algorithm to differentiate between a baby's cries and other noises, working in project mode, etc. The high school seniors demonstrated a scientific and technical approach that impressed the jury members.
A breath of fresh air from Industrial Science and Technology teachers
The UPSTI (Union of Industrial Science and Technology Teachers) has been organizing these Olympiads for eight years now. For them, it is an opportunity to promote scientific projects and enable high school students to discover science and engineering in a fun way. This vision is shared by partner companies as well as Arts et Métiers also awarded a prize at the academic level.
