Launched on August 28, 2025, on the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers Bordeaux-Talence, the Franco-German GENIUS (Next Generation Industry) chair is jointly run with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and supported by the Franco-German University (UFA).
Strategic and sustainable cooperation
GENIUS builds on nearly 30 years of academic cooperation and 10 years of scientific collaboration between Arts et Métiers KIT, brought together withinthe Franco-German Institute for the Industry of the Future.
The chair receives €150,000 in funding over three years from the UFA, supplemented by support from local authorities (Grand Est Region, Moselle Department, Eurométropole de Metz).
With more than 12 binational research projects, 20 researchers involved, 900 graduate students, and 8 associated laboratories, GENIUS aims to become a true Franco-German catalyst in education, research, and industrial transfer.
Supporting industrial transition
The main objective of GENIUS is to support the transition of industrial systems towards more resilient, sustainable, and competitive models. To this end, the chair structures its work around four strategic areas:
Collaborative design and virtual validation using immersive technologies, including customer-in-the-loop simulation;
Advanced manufacturing, remanufacturing, and recycling with the development of innovative processes offering high added value, particularly for complex components;
Assembly and disassembly with optimization, reconfiguration, and decision support tools that enable operators to anticipate system changes;
Circular economy, particularly incorporating the activities of the Bordeaux Institute of Mechanics and Engineering (I2M) and KIT
Training a new generation of engineers
By combining research projects, innovative teaching methods, and joint doctoral programs within the framework of the Franco-German Doctoral College (CDFA 03-19), GENIUS aims to train a new generation of engineers and researchers capable of tackling today's major challenges: ecological transition, digital transformation, technological sovereignty, and production chain resilience.
With GENIUS, we are consolidating a strategic Franco-German alliance to prepare industry for the challenges of the 21st century. By combining our academic and industrial expertise, we aim to train a new generation of engineers capable of thinking and acting sustainably, serving their local regions and, more broadly, Europe.
Jean-Rémy Chardonnet, Deputy Director of the Arts et Métiers Institute Arts et Métiers Chalon-sur-Saône, co-head of the Franco-German Institute for the Industry of the Future and co-holder of the chair.
A European ambition for the industry of the future
By bringing together the expertise of two institutions of excellence and the support of institutional partners, GENIUS is positioning itself as a strategic lever for a sustainable European industry.
Through this chair, Arts et Métiers KIT are affirming their desire to actively contribute to the reindustrialization of regions, while strengthening Europe's technological and industrial sovereignty.
The first theories put forward
Developing the reusability of reconfigurable production systems (RPS): studying the modularity, scalability, and technological, economic, and environmental efficiency of RPS from a circular economy perspective.
Study of a combined additive manufacturing and forging process for fiber-reinforced polymer matrix composites: design of an innovative process for producing lightweight, complex, and optimized parts with improved properties.
Contacts
Jean-Rémy Chardonnet (jean-remy.chardonnet@ensam.eu) co-holder of the chair, Paul Stief (paul.stief@ensam.eu) scientific director of the chair
