The École Nationale SupérieureArts et Métiers France and the Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) in Germany, two leading institutions in the fields of research, education, and innovation in engineering, celebrated the 25th anniversary of their Franco-German dual degree program in engineering and mechanics. The year 2022 also marks the 5th anniversary ofthe Franco-German Institute for the Industry of the Future, an organization that strengthens synergies between training, research, and innovation at both institutions.
25 years of collaboration between KIT and Arts et Métiers
On Tuesday, March 22, 2022, the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers Metz and KIT celebrated 25 years of partnership at an anniversary conference organized as part of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union (PFCUE).
To celebrate this anniversary, many prominent figures were in attendance:
- Marianne Therre-Mano, Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany in Strasbourg,
- Jean Rottner, President of the Grand Est Region
- Dr. Hans J. Reiter, Ministry of Science, Research, and the Arts of Baden-Württemberg
- François Grosdidier, President of the Eurometropolis of Metz, Mayor of Metz, and Vice President of the Grand Est Region
- Prof. Eva Martha Eckkrammer, Vice President of the Franco-German University
- Prof. Laurent Champaney, Managing Director, Arts et Métiers
- Prof. Thomas Hirth, Vice President for Transfer and International Affairs, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
This event was also an opportunity to pay tribute to Wolfgang Seemann, a professor at KIT who passed away in February 2022. To honor his memory, the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers Metz decided to inaugurate its hall during this ceremony, renaming it the "Wolfgang Seemann Hall."
850 students with dual French-German degrees
"The academic cooperation between the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers Metz and the Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, which has been highly successful for 25 years, is an important element in Franco-German relations and for a united Europe. Cross-border cooperation and joint research activities build trust, knowledge, confidence, and courage. At the same time, they represent a strong commitment to the future, ensuring that future generations will be able to master the great challenges of our time—also and above all across national borders,"said Dr. Hans Reiter, Ministerial Director at the Ministry of Science.
The founding idea behind the binational cooperation in 1997 was to enrich the mechanical engineering curriculum at KIT and the engineering sciences curriculumArts et Métiers a dual French-German degree. Since then, more than 850 mechanical engineering and industrial engineering graduates have taken advantage of this opportunity and benefited from the experience and network of cross-border cooperation.
François Grosdidier, President of the Eurometropolis of Metz, believes that this dual degree "is also a way to bring Germany and France even closer together, to help create a network between our two countries to link the territory around industry but also health."
The Franco-German Institute: promoting new scientific collaborations
The year 2022 will also mark the fifth anniversary of the Franco-German Institute for the Industry of the Future, which aims to bring together academics, researchers, industrialists, start-ups, and students within a Franco-German collaborative platform and to strengthen research, innovation, and higher education for the industry of the future.
"Scientific excellence is inconceivable without cross-border cooperation, and thanks to the dual degree program, graduates benefit from the fruitful binational cooperation that has existed for many years and has been strengthened by the Franco-German Institute for the Industry of the Future, which was created five years ago," explains Professor Thomas Hirth, Vice President for Transfer and International Affairs at KIT.
