Launched in 2024 and led by the CNAM as part of the France 2030 plan “Excellence in All Its Forms,” the ConfluencES project aims to align educational offerings with the needs of a constantly evolving economy. With a budget of €13.3 million granted by the ANR over eight years, the project seeks to improve career readiness by evolving the educational offerings of its partner institutions—from the first year of higher education through the doctoral level—to address the digital, ecological, and demographic transition challenges facing regions. 

With close ties to the French industrial sector, ConfluencES meets the needs of all regions for both initial and continuing education through blended learning programs (online courses, project-based learning, etc.), and offers flexibility by combining new skills with existing credentials. 

Organize training into four main areas of focus

ConfluencES aims to continuously rethink training—in terms of its content, formats, and learning environments—to better respond to rapid changes in the workplace, through four main areas: 

1. Innovating in the development of training programs
   Identifying the skills, training, and job needs of each region to improve lifelong employment integration and career transitions. 
2. Transforming Educational Spaces
   Creating new, flexible, and immersive learning spaces that combine digital visualization, hands-on tools, experimentation, and accessibility for diverse audiences. 
3. Encouraging new research initiatives
   Developing research on training issues tailored to the local needs of high-demand sectors, based on data provided by the Octopilot tool. 
4. Developing new learning methods
   Expanding the range of training programs in key areas covered by the consortium (digital transition, sustainable development, training for support professionals) and tailored to the challenges of the future. 

Reinventing Learning Spaces Through Evolutive Learning Factories 

As coordinators of ConfluencES’s Axis 2, Arts et Métiers to transform learning spaces through the development of Evolutive Learning Factories ELF)—connected school-factories—across all campuses.  

To support France’s reindustrialization, these small-scale factories encompass the various stages of a production chain—from design to material recycling—while incorporating new technologies 

ConfluencES thus contributes to the modernization of buildings and their facilities, the design of these new spaces, and the training of engineers by emphasizing two key elements: an interdisciplinary approach to teaching and research within these structures, and their accessibility to a broad audience (from schools to businesses) in order to address the challenges of raising awareness about careers in industry and their socio-economic needs. 

To strengthen the research dimension provided by ConfluencES and in collaboration with ENSAM and ESAPLV, Loris Préaud is dedicating his thesis to studying the impact of ELFs on pedagogy and the link between artisanal know-how and industrial production. 

Project partners 

Coordinating institution

Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers 

Partners

National School ofArts et Métiers ENSAM), CESI, National School of Architecture Paris-La-Villette (ENAPLV), Association Ouvrière Compagnon Devoir Tour Franc (AOCDTF), French Institute of Fashion, Duperré Technical High School, Cap Métiers Nouvelle-Aquitaine 

Contacts 

• Arts et Métiers  Project Manager: Daniela Rodriguez
• Communications Manager,Arts et Métiers Emilie Dedieu
• LinkedIn page: @projet-confluences
• Web page: ConfluencES

This work received government funding administered by the National Research Agency under the Investments for the Future program. 

A historic partnership in Franco-German engineering education

The partnership between Arts et Métiers KIT began in 1996 at the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers Metz with the launch of the Franco-German dual engineering degree program. This dual degree laid a solid foundation for the collaboration, which expanded into research in 2016 with the creation of the Franco-German Institute for the Industry of the Future (IFA). 

Franco-German research in support of the industry of the future

Through this strategic partnership, the IFA helps to enhance the visibility and appeal of French and German expertise in engineering and in key scientific fields related to industrial transformation in Europe.

The research conducted at the IFA focuses on three scientific areas:

• Advanced manufacturing processes, including innovative production technologies  
• Production systems and robotics, designed to address the challenges of performance, flexibility, and automation in modern industries  
• Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality (AR/VR) for Design, Production, and Training  

These three research areas are complemented by two cross-cutting themes that address the full range of issues related to the industry of the future, in close alignment with technological and societal developments:

• Artificial intelligence, aimed at better integrating this tool to better support humans in the industries of the future
• Circular economy: This initiative, launched in 2025, aims to support the transition toward a more sustainable and responsible industry 

A network of leading laboratories

Around these themes, nine French and German research laboratories and institutes are pooling their skills, equipment, and expertise.

Partner laboratories and research institutes

 The Franco-German Doctoral College

In addition to training Franco-German engineers, the Franco-German Institute provides an ideal setting for training future industry experts through its affiliated Franco-German doctoral program.

Thanks to the support of the Franco-German University, the doctoral program offers:

• Ph.D. student exchanges between France and Germany,
• The establishment of joint thesis supervision arrangements.

To bring together young researchers from KIT andArts et Métiers, a thematic summer school is held annually, alternating between France and Germany 

The GENIUS Chair: The Franco-German Partnership in Action  

Launched in 2025, the GENIUS Chair aims to support the transition of industrial systems toward more resilient, sustainable, and competitive models.  

With more than 12 binational research projects, 20 researchers involved, 900 graduate students, and 8 partner laboratories, GENIUS aims to serve as a true Franco-German catalyst for education, research, and industrial transfer.

This momentum is made possible by the Franco-German Institute, of which it is a part.

A long-standing and well-established partnership

The Franco-German Institute receives support from the Franco-German University (UFA) for its entire academic program (dual engineering degree and doctoral school) as well as for the GENIUS Chair. Franco-German University

In general, the IFA receives institutional and regional support:

• the Metz Eurometropolis,
• the Grand Est region,
• the Moselle Department 

Contact  

• Jean-Rémy Chardonnet: Director of the Franco-German Institute for the Industry of the Future 

The Franco-German Institute for the Industry of the Future by the Numbers

• 1 Franco-German engineering program with three tracks
• 1 doctoral program with 5 theses in progress  
• 5 Arts et Métiers campuses and 2 institutes Arts et Métiers through 5 research laboratories  
• 4 research institutes at KIT
• About twenty faculty members and researchers  
• 1 research and teaching chair 

A European project

CircLean addresses a pressing need: to bridge the gap between the skills taught in higher education institutions and those expected by industry, particularly in the context of smart manufacturing. Three universities are collaborating: Arts et Métiers, theUniversity of Coimbra, and the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and it is supported by XL Training, a subsidiary of XL Group. The project develops innovative teaching modules, a methodology based on design-oriented research, and a portfolio of ready-to-use educational resources. Activities include designing instructional sequences, creating immersive “learning factory” environments, and conducting experiments with students. CircLean aims to enhance the employability of future engineers, improve the relevance of training programs, and widely disseminate its results to other institutions and stakeholders in the field of education.

In the long term, the project aims to transform teaching practices in the areas of lean, circular, and digital education, and to make these approaches easily replicable in other academic and professional contexts. 

Objectives 

CircLean aims to modernize engineering education by incorporating three approaches that are essential to the industry of the future: the lean, thecircular economy and the digital. The primary goal is to bridge the gap between academic training and the real-world needs of businesses, in order to improve students’ employability and prepare them for the challenges of smart, sustainable, and efficient manufacturing. 

To achieve this overall goal, CircLean is guided by seven specific objectives: 

1. Alignment with the labor market: ensuring that future graduates possess the skills sought by modern industry. 
2. Educational Innovation: Introducing learning factories that combine theory, experimentation, and immersion to transform teaching practices. 
3. Promoting Sustainability: Integrating the principles of the circular economy to support Europe’s environmental and green transition goals. 
4. Accelerating digital transformation: strengthening students’ digital skills to enable them to thrive in a highly digitized industrial environment. 
5. Flexibility and inclusion: developing modular and adaptable modules that can be used in various educational contexts, including vocational training. 
6. European cooperation and citizenship: fostering collaboration, a sense of responsibility, and shared values among students and institutions. 
7. Dissemination and transfer: sustainable Document and share the methodologies developed to enable their reuse in other institutions and maximize long-term impact. 

Implementation

The implementation is based on three main areas: 

1. Developing innovative teaching modules: The partners are designing educational content tailored to the industry’s current needs, including lean principles, the circular economy, digital tools, and technologies for the industry of the future. These modules will be immediately usable by teachers. 
2. Developing a common methodology based on design-oriented research: a structured approach enables the creation of coherent, testable, and replicable instructional sequences. It guides the design of immersive activities, learning environments, and resources intended to promote experiential learning (learning by doing). 
3. Develop a portfolio of ready-to-use educational resources: Upon completion of the project, a comprehensive set of materials will be made available, including structured lesson plans, learning factory-style environments, assessment tools, teacher guides, and digital resources. These materials will be tested with students at the three institutions to ensure their relevance, transferability, and effectiveness. 

Contacts

• Anthony Quenehen, project leader
• Claire Mandon, project manager

EDLB is the first network of schools dedicated to the battery value chain (raw materials, production, maintenance, recycling). As the winner of France 2030’s “Skills and Jobs of the Future” call for proposals, the EDLB project launched in November 2022 for a five-year term and is led by a consortium of 15 partners headed by Verkor. With a budget of approximately 20 million euros, it aims to develop a tailored training program to train 1,600 people annually in battery-related professions (operators, technicians, engineers, researchers, and trainers). 

Addressing the challenges of the electric vehicle industry

Against the backdrop of Europe’s reindustrialization, the energy transition, and the pursuit of energy sovereignty, the French electric vehicle sector plans to produce more than 2 million electric and hybrid vehicles by 2030. This ambition is accompanied by a massive need for skilled workers in the battery industry, at every level of its value chain. The national Battery School initiative was thus launched to address this need by training at least 8,000 people by 2030, from vocational certificates to doctoral degrees. 

Through training programs specifically designed for the battery ecosystem and in close collaboration with regional and national manufacturers, EDLB is committed to: 

• to attract new talent to the field of drumming, regardless of their age or background; 
• to develop a skilled and competent workforce through a network of battery experts; 
• maintain a continuous momentum in skills development by establishing a professional network and regularly assessing the needs of companies in the sector.

Educational programs focused on expertise

The Ecole de la Batterie is integrated into Arts et Métiers a range of projects and training programs focused on industry and the energy transition: 

• The Bachelor of Science and Technology, Sustainable Design Track, at the Chambéry campus, a three-year apprenticeship program; 
• Edouard Millet’s thesis, supervised by Tatiana Reyes and Tom Bauer, aims to define a methodological framework for creating sustainable value within the “battery” value chain 
• Magui Mama’s dissertation, supervised by Sofiane Khelladi, focuses on improving the thermal management of electric vehicle batteries 
• Several course modules (lectures, lab sessions, and student projects) within the Master of Science with a specialization in EGR in Chambéry, the SYSPEC Specialized Master’s program in Lille, the Master of Science , and the third year of the ENBACA expertise program in Paris, as well as the second year of the Grande Ecole Engineering Programme the Lille campus. 

The various project partners

• VERKOR (industrial battery manufacturer): Project leader 
• Industrial: CORYS (developer of training software and simulators) 
• Training Organizations (TOs): AFPA AURA / AFPA HdF; AFPI Isère (UIMM Training Center); CNAM; CEA-INSTN; CESI; ENSAM; IMT / CCI Grenoble; GIP FIPAG; University of Lyon 1 (IUT); Grenoble INP – UGA (including: DFP: Department of Professional Training; 4 schools: Phelma, Ense3, Pagora, Industrial Engineering; 3 labs (4 doctoral students): LEPMI, LGP2, GSCOP) 
• CMQe (Campus of Trades and Qualifications of Excellence): Smart Energy Systems Campus and CMQe Auto’mobilités 
• Competitiveness Clusters: TENNERDIS; Inno (formerly EIT-InnoEnergy) 

Contacts

• VERKOR Project Manager (Project Lead): Emilie Rondet
• EDLB Arts et Métiers  Project Manager: Daniela Rodriguez
• Communications Manager, EDLB Arts et Métiers Clara Magnin
• LinkedIn page: @ecoledelabatterie 
• Website: www.ecoledelabatterie.fr 

This project receives government support under the "Skills and Jobs of the Future" call for expressions of interest (AMI) as part of the France 2030 Program, administered by the Caisse des Dépôts (La Banque des Territoires).