On Thursday, April 17, students from Saint-Exupéry Middle School in southern Mâcon had the opportunity to spend a day immersed in the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers Cluny. For one day, the students donned the uniforms of apprentice engineers and participated in a variety of enriching activities.
Morning: Foundry Workshop
The day began with a foundry workshop, where the middle school students watched a casting demonstration at the end of the session. This hands-on experience allowed them to learn the basics of metallurgy and understand manufacturing processes.
Afternoon: Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Workshop
The afternoon was devoted to a CAD workshop. The students, divided into five teams, worked on designing a smartphone docking station. At the end of the exercise, each team presented and defended its project before an audience, which voted for the most convincing proposal.
Guidance and support
Ten people from the campus supervised the day’s activities, including two professors, an engineer, a technician, a doctoral student, and five OPTIM tutors: “The middle school students were energetic and engaged throughout the day,” said Isabelle DUBAND, coordinator of the OPTIM Success Network, expressing her satisfaction.
Objectives of the initiative
The main goal of this event was to introduce young people to technology and to combat gender stereotypes in engineering education. “I hope this event will leave a lasting impression on our visitors and that for some of them, it will lead to a career path in science and technology—and why not a career as an engineer!” explains Isabelle Duband
