After holding several senior positions at various engineering schools, Amandine Duffoux joined Arts et Métiers director of the Angers campus and the Laval Institute.
Committed to higher education and research for over 20 yearsAn expert in educational innovation and digital transformation in higher education and business, Amandine Duffoux is passionate about adapting training to major transition challenges (digital, environmental, and societal) and supporting learners.
After managing various activities and teams (training programs, educational innovation, academic administration, digital transformation, information systems, etc.) in an international and multicultural context, Amandine Duffoux, who is accustomed to working in a network, now wishes to put her experience to work for theArts et Métiers communityArts et Métiers the region.
It will support the development ofEvolutive Learning Factory ELF), a digitized factory-school with digital twins, offering learners and companies a unique framework for experimentation and projection into the industry of the future. This project is accompanied by a more comprehensive review of how to adapt the premises and industrial tools to today's major challenges, particularly in terms of corporate social responsibility (CSR), which is central to the institution's strategy.
An innovative, responsible, and integrated campus
"I am delighted to be joining Arts et Métiers the Angers-Laval campus. Beyond the undeniable quality of the teaching and research, I was impressed by the commitment of the entire community—faculty, researchers, staff, alumni, institutional partners, and businesses—to the institution. The teams, who are passionate about their work and their environment, are committed to the well-being and success of their students, while contributing to the local, national, and international reputation of the institution. We are truly fortunate to have a national institution of this quality and scope, which has managed to maintain its local roots and adapt to the needs of the regions, both in Angers for over 200 years and in Laval for over 30 years. This result is the fruit of regular and fruitful collaboration with various stakeholders over many years. Having spent more than 8 years at ESR Angevin, I am delighted to return to this environment and am committed to continuing these collaborations in order to offer training courses adapted to the requirements of today's and tomorrow's industry, particularly at the local level.
I am deeply committed to the values of equal opportunity and openness at the institution, and to its undeniable role as a social ladder, which is closely linked to our public service mission and support for alumni. We train future decision-makers with excellent scientific and technical skills, a great ability to plan ahead and tackle complex challenges, but also with strong values and remarkable organizational and managerial skills. The dual support they are fortunate to receive makes them unique future graduates, trained in innovation by research professors at the cutting edge of research and guided in their discovery of corporate culture by alumni with a spirit of mutual aid and solidarity that makes them a magnificent example of a dual construction rich in experience.
My goal is to help the Angers-Laval campus continue its transformation into a model institution in terms of the deployment of shared research and teaching technology platforms. The new technology hall, notably hosting the IRT Jules Verne, as well as the building incorporating our brand new learning centerThe Angers University Institute of Technology and the National School of Military Infrastructure Engineers are perfect examples of how pooling skills and resources can boost the region's influence. I am delighted that they will be inaugurated on November 7. We will continue our transformation by adapting existing workshops to integrate our Evolutive Learning Factory will also be open to our partner companies, while making the Angers campus a pilot site for energy-efficient buildings. In this way, we will make the Angers campus and the Laval institute the regional spearheads of a connected, innovative, and responsible industry serving society!"
His career
Alongside her research activities in the field of XML Mining, Amandine Duffoux quickly became involved in managing and developing international training courses and projects. First at ESAIP Angers, where she was responsible for international Bachelor's and Master's degree programs, offered at five sites in France and in partnership with a dozen European universities. She also participated in the deployment of continuing education programs on databases and decision-making with several European universities as part of various European projects in the Lifelong Learning Program. She then became head of the Computer Engineering and Networks program and in 2011, she joined EIGSI La Rochelle & Casablanca as coordinator of the Network and Information Systems Integration major, before becoming head of teaching and studies in 2014. She then held the position of Head of Educational Innovation before taking up the position of Director of Digital and Information Systems in January 2019. In addition to her role in supporting the institution's digital transformation, she has also served as Chief Information Security Officer and Data Protection Officer. Since 2020, she has led the Digital Strategies and Distance Learning working group of the Conférence des grandes écoles (CGE). She has also been a member of the jury for the Jean-François Fiorina Award for educational innovation in France's grandes écoles since its inception.
About the Angers Campus
The Angers campus is a key player in the industry of the future in the Pays de la Loire region. It has developed close ties with several competitiveness clusters (notably EMC2 and iD4Mobility) and relies on two major technology partners: IRT Jules Verne and CEA Tech. Arts et Métiers also participates in Angers Loire Campus (GIS of higher education institutions in Angers).
The campus's dynamism is also supported by the LAMPA laboratory (Angers Laboratory of Mechanics, Processes, and Innovation). It is now recognized nationally and internationally for its expertise in several fields: the durability of materials and structures, complex fluid flows, machining assistance, casting and additive manufacturing, superplastic forming of aeronautical structures, and design and innovation in virtual environments.
About the Laval Institute
The Laval Institute has established itself as an expert in virtual reality issues. The "Presence & Innovation" research team, which is part of the LAMPA laboratory, develops partnerships with industry, closely aligned with the needs of businesses. The aim of the work is to develop design approaches focused on the user experience. In June 2023, the Institute will launch the iPerform Chair on collaborative performance via immersive technologies and virtual worlds with Alstom, Chanel, and France Travail. Last June, the XRS Chair was inaugurated, initiated by the Laval Institute, HRV Simulation, and the Pays de la Loire Region. It aims to continuously innovate in the field of health through the use of XR.
The institute has also recently developed a partnership with Atlanpole Biotherapies, a health competitiveness cluster in western France.
