At the Bordeaux-Talence campus of the Arts et Métiers , the in-depth study week is a highlight of the program. Organized around a variety of themes, it allows groups of students to explore and deepen their knowledge of technical subjects related to industrial and research challenges. This week draws fully on the campus’s educational and technological environment—the “ Evolutive Learning Factories ” (ELF)—which promote experimentation, real-world simulations, and hands-on learning.
Educational equipment used as part of the enrichment week
Organized over a full week and structured around small group work of about ten students, the intensive week allows for a focused exploration of a technical theme. Within this framework, students in the Grande École Program (PGE) utilize the resources of the Bordeaux-Talence campus to experiment, prototype, and test their work in realistic situations.
The tensile testing machine with optical measurements, installed in November 2025, is a particularly significant example. Quickly integrated into the curriculum, it is now widely used in practical mechanics lab work. It allows for tensile, flexural, and compression tests to be carried out on a variety of materials (aluminum alloys, steels, polymers, and composites), and provides students with concrete support for their mechanical behavior analyses.
Other campus equipment is also being used in this dynamic, such as the PrintBO additive manufacturing platform, used for rapid prototyping and student projects, or the 4.0 folding machine, integrated both into teaching and into recurring projects, particularly around the oscillating motor manufactured on our Bordeaux-Talence campus.
In-depth themes informed by experimentation and research
The projects carried out during this week allow us to explore technical issues closely linked to research and industrial practices, using the tools available on campus.
For example, students use the EMIRE augmented and virtual reality platform to deepen their knowledge and manipulate complex concepts in an immersive environment. The topic of hydrogen is addressed and relies on simulation tools such as COMSOL to analyze electrochemical energy conversion phenomena and their applications.
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Robotics also constitutes a field of experimentation, particularly thanks to cobots funded within the framework of the Evolutive Learning Factories and used in projects such as WAAM. These devices allow students to work on concrete problems of automation and advanced manufacturing.
By combining thematic projects, state-of-the-art equipment and an experimental approach , the advanced week fully illustrates the richness of the pedagogical approach of the Bordeaux-Talence campus.
