Denis Lagadrillère, a senior technician at AMVALOR, will receive his Master of Science degree in Materials and Surface Engineering in May 2023, having earned it through the recognition of prior learning (VAE) program.
"Aligning my status with my duties and responsibilities"
An employee of theArts et Métiers valuation structure since March 1984, Denis enrolled at the CNAM to obtain a master's degree in metallurgy (BAC +4) in 1995. In 1998, he became head of industrial transfer activities in the field of materials and damage analysis and was involved in all the characterization needs of doctoral students enrolled in the campus research laboratory, the Laboratoire des Matériaux et Procédés (LaBoMaP).
Over the years, his desire to obtain a status commensurate with his responsibilities grew stronger, but to do so he needed to take one last step in his education by obtaining a master's degree.
"Revisiting my career path"
Given his professional experience, the option of the Validation of Acquired Experience (VAE) became an obvious choice, as did the Master of Science in Materials and Surface Engineering program offered by Arts et Métiers. The focus of this program was perfectly aligned with Denis’s profession and experience. In fact, he has been involved for several years as an instructor in one of the course units (UE).
While it was necessary to take certain UE courses alongside the young students in the traditional program, the bulk of the work involved revisiting his professional career. This resulted in identifying all the equivalencies with the program’s themes in a document that was as comprehensive and clear as possible. In the end, this amounted to a manuscript of about a hundred pages.
"A challenge a few years before the end of my career"
"This work, which took over a year to complete, was an intense and very rewarding exercise. It was a kind of self-portrait that allowed me to relive several stages of my career and appreciate the diversity of this profession, which is what makes it so interesting, thanks also to the formidable technical and scientific framework provided byArts et Métiers. Challenging myself a few years before the end of my professional career was also a challenge in itself, especially as I was the first to use the VAE (validation of acquired experience) system for this degree, even though it has been in place at Arts et Métiers 2005."
"Recognition of my professional progress"
On June 2, 2022, Denis defended his thesis before an experienced panel, which awarded him a Master of Science degree in Materials and Surface Engineering. This achievement was recognized by his employer, AMVALOR, which granted him the status of engineer:“For me, this degree is a form of recognition of my professional growth in a career that I have spent entirely at Arts et Métiers, and which has been deeply enriching.”
On May 27, 2023, Denis will be invited to the graduation ceremony to be held in Cluny.
