On February 2, the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers Bordeaux hosted a morning of discussions dedicated to discovering research, bringing together first-year engineering students and researchers from the Institute of Mechanics and Engineering (I2M*).
Discover research and its opportunities from the very first year
On Monday, February 2, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers Bordeaux hosted a research outreach event for first-year engineering students in Grande Ecole Engineering Programme PGE). Organized at the initiative of Jérémie Girardot, a researcher at the Institute of Mechanics and Engineering (I2M*), the morning’s goal was to bring students closer to the world of research and introduce them to the opportunities offered by the Arts et Métiers degree in the fields of R&D and industrial innovation.
" The idea is to show students early on that research is an integral part of the engineering profession, and that it is not reserved for a separate career path," explains Jérémie Girardot. " The Arts et Métiers program Arts et Métiers many doors to innovation, whether in business or academia."
After six months spent at the heart of their general engineering training, students were invited to gain a better understanding of what research-based training can bring to their professional careers. The morning began with an introductory lecture attended by Xavier Aubard, campus director , Thierry Palin-Luc, director of I2M, and Azita Ahmadi, head of the doctoral school in Bordeaux.
The discussions highlighted the close links between training, academic research, and industry, as well as the opportunities for projects, internships, and doctoral studies throughout the program.
"Research is a powerful lever for understanding and innovation for engineers," Thierry Palin-Luc pointed out. "It allows us to take a step back, develop scientific rigor, and better understand the complexity of industrial systems."
Meet researchers and explore the themes of tomorrow's engineering
After the lecture, the students met with more than twenty researchers from I2M who were on hand to talk directly with them about their research topics, their scientific careers, and life in the laboratory. The format was deliberately informal, taking the form of discussion groups and dynamic posters, encouraging direct and friendly exchanges over coffee and pastries provided by the research laboratory.
For many engineering students, this approach has made research more concrete and accessible. "We realize that researchers often have backgrounds very similar to ours and that research is directly linked to industrial applications," says a first-year student. "It's reassuring and motivating for the rest of the program."
Students were able to discover a wide variety of topics illustrating the richness of the work carried out at I2M, ranging from innovative materials and processes to biomechanics, energy transition, and new digital engineering tools.
Designed as a bridge between education and research, this initiative helps enrich the general engineering curriculum and make research programs more appealing to students, while also providing a unifying moment for the class around the technological challenges of tomorrow's engineering.
* Institute of Mechanics and Engineering (I2M / Arts et Métiers, CNRS, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux INP, INRAE)
