The NFI's

New engineering programmes

 

General framework

NFI (literally : «Nouvelles Formations d'Ingénieurs», New Engineering Programmes), also called «Decomps Programmes», were created after 1990 through partnerships with companies in order to train more technologically oriented engineers. Creating these programs was a strong innovation : new programmes were designed on the entirely new idea - at that level - of alternating academic periods and long internships within companies.

Compared to other engineering programmes, NFIs have shorter and lighter courses, and much greater periods within companies under the leadership of advisers (alternating education ).

They also innovated by introducing apprenticeships at the engineering level.

NFI studies organisation

Initial education leads to entering the NFIs at the Baccalauréat level: in this case, studies last 5 years and include 3 years of academic training and 2 years within companies.

Other NFIs may be entered at the bac+2 level, after DUT or BTS graduation ; in this case, studies last 3 years including 2 years in companies.

Training may occur through apprenticeship.

Training curricula in NFIs differ from traditional curricula essentially on three points :
  • periods of training within companies alternating with academic education, under joint leadership of an industrial adviser and faculty members ,
  • specific, tangible, lightened education, built upon experimentation,
  • specialized programs adapted to the needs of companies : NFIs cover the largest job-offering sectors, mainly electronics and mechanics.

Academical teaching approximately represents 3.200 hours of training after Baccalauréat, or 1.600 hours after bac+2. In a 5-year program, the first two years are usually based upon an existing training cycle (first university cycle, IUT or STS) and aim at consolidating fundamental knowledge (mathematics, physics) and introducing the specialty. In the second cycle (the 3 last school years), courses are mainly focused on the specialization domains, methods, engineering methodology and management training.

NFI graduates get an engineering degree recognized by CTI ("Commission des Titres d'Ingenieur").

 claude.maury@wanadoo.fr Leave any suggestions, ideas or improvements that could be used.
http://www.cri.ensmp.fr/~cefi/