EEIGM Ecole Européenne d’Ingénieurs en Génie des Matériaux - an example of a transnational engineering education.

Introduction

EEIGM is in principle a normal French semi-independent Grande Ecole, one of seven engineering schools together forming the Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine (INPL) in Nancy. In fact it represents something new and original, an engineering school based on a close cooperation between four countries, an international school where each student spends an important part of his or her studies in at least two, and sometimes three, countries.

The school started as a common project by INPL, the Faculty of Engineering at the Universität des Saarlandes and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya in Barcelona. In 1991 the first 60 students were ad­mit­ted in Nancy and at the same time a handful started their corresponding studies in Barcelona and in Saarbrücken.

In 1992 it was decided to enlarge the group of schools and to include Luleå University of Technology. In 1993 the first 30 Swedish students were admitted to the programme.

The curriculum

The objective is to educate engineers with a broad knowledge of development, production, transformation and use of materials, be they metallic or non-metallic. The focus is on structural rather than on functional materials. Process technology plays an important role in the curriculum, with a special emphasis on parts important for the properties of the produced material. On leaving EEIGM each student should master French and English and at least one of the languages Spanish or German and be well prepared for an international career.

The curriculum takes a minimum of 5 years to fulfil. French, Swedish, Catalan and German students take the first two years at their home university. According to the plans 20 students should be ad­mit­ted in Saarbrücken and in Barcelona.  In Luleå 30 students follow a specific curriculum similar to the corresponding French programme. These first two years consist not only of basic courses in mathematics and natural sciences and an introductory course in materials engineering but also of courses in French and Spanish or German. The language courses give 18 ECTS credit points.

After year 2 all EEIGM students from Luleå, Barcelona and Saarbrücken join their French counterparts for three semesters in Nancy. The main part of the curriculum during these semes­ters consists of courses in basic engineering subjects. In addition students study at least two foreign languages; French as a foreign language, English, Spanish, German and/or Swedish. The language of instruction is French.

All students leave Nancy during the spring/summer semester of the fourth year and spend that semester in Luleå, Saarbrücken or Barcelona, where a number of different and more specialised courses are offered. A student is should normally not return to his or her school of origin and is expected to base the choice on those specialities offered by a certain school rather than on his or her linguistic preferences.

The language of instruction is the language of the host country, except for Sweden, where courses are given in English. A course in Swedish is, however, a compulsory part of the Luleå curriculum for non-Swedish speakers. Most of the EEIGM students coming to Luleå for their final semester(s) also have taken an optional course in Swedish in Nancy.

The last year consists of two parts, a 3-month course period spent at one of the four universities and a 6-month final year project performed during an industrial placement.

The industrial placements - “stages”

In principle a student should fulfil 4 “stages”:

The first linguistic stage only concerns the French students. They have to spend at least 4 weeks in an English speaking country during the summer vacations and to write a report (in English). The second linguistic stage, after the third year, takes place in a German or Spanish speaking country and lasts for at least 4 weeks. A report should be written in German or Spanish

The blue-collar industrial placement period, often the students’ first contact with the industrial world, takes place after year 2. It may be combined with the second linguistic stage. It should last for at least 5 weeks. (6 weeks for the Swedish students, 12 weeks for those aiming at the Dipl.-Ing.-degree),

The final year project lasts for 6 to 7 months and is performed in industry. The student chooses which of the four universities should be responsible for the supervision. The industrial placement/final year project is then supervised and assessed according to the normal practise of the responsible university. All students must make an oral presentation and a defence of their final year project report. For more details: see the attachment.

The industrial placement does not necessarily take place in the country of the supervising university. It has in fact become more and more common that EEIGM students carry out their final year projects in countries different from where the super­visor is stationed.

The students

About 50 - 60% of the students in the final years of EEIGM are French, the others com­ing mainly, and in roughly equal numbers, from Sweden, Germany and Spain. The total number of students in each of the three final years is at present between 60 and 70. According to the plans this number will grow and eventually attain 100. Worth noticing is that a high proportion, more than 50%, of the Swedish EEIGM stu­dents are women.

The way students choose Luleå, Saarbrücken or Barcelona for their 8th semester and between Nancy, Luleå, Barcelona and Saarbrücken for the final year is fairly well balanced, although the figures vary from year to year

Degrees

The school and the curriculum are accredited by the French Commission des Titres de l’Ingénieur and on graduation the students thus obtain the French State Engineering Di­ploma Ingénieur Diplomé de l’EEIGM.  This French diploma is signed not only by the French authorities, but also by the vice-chancellors of Luleå University of Technology, the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and the Universität des Saarlandes. The Swedish students also get a civilingenjör de­gree from Luleå.

In addition an agreement has been signed between EEIGM and the partner universities essentially granting students having obtained the EEIGM diploma and having spent the last three semesters in (or under supervision from) Luleå, Barcelona or Saarbrücken the right the obtain the national degree (civilingenjör, Dipl.-Ing. Werkstofftechnik or Enginyer de Materials).

Experience

The first students graduated from EEIGM in July 1996 and the first group of Swedish students in July 1998. Generally speaking the programme seems to work well and the ideas behind the creation of the school are still valid. The EEIGM students carry­ing out their final year projects in Luleå have given proof of a good scientific back­ground and have shown a high ca­pacity for research and development work, industrial as well as academic. The results obtained by the Swedish students at exams in France are in most cases satisfactory. The estimated median time before graduation for the Swedish students will be more than 5 years, but not signi­ficantly higher than what is considered acceptable at Swedish univer­sities of technology. The programme is demanding but the drop out rate does not differ significantly from other engineering programmes in Luleå.


Rules for the final year industrial placement at EEIGM.

Rappelons que ce stage fait partie des 4 stages obligatoires du cursus universitaire. Il est donc, considéré comme un module à part qu'il convient de valider pour obtenir le diplôme d'ingénieur.

Objectifs : Découvrir le travail d'un ingénieur au sein d'une entreprise. Prendre conscience des aspects techniques de la fonction ingénieur mais aussi des facteurs humains, économiques et sociaux qui l'accompagnent. S'intégrer dans le monde industriel et mettre en application ses connaissances par la réalisation d'études concrètes pour l'entreprise d'accueil.

Durée: 6 mois minimum et 7 mois maximum (6 mois maximum si le stage se déroule à l'étranger).

Période: 1er septembre à fin février (fin mars au plus tard)

Lieu: Ce stage a lieu dans l'industrie, sans privilégier les services de recherche. Il peut se dérouler en France, en Allemagne, en Espagne, en Suède ou dans un autre pays étranger, à condition que sa préparation et son organisation correspondent aux critères énoncés.

Sujet: Le sujet doit être un problème réel et d'actualité pour l'industriel. Il doit être adapté à la durée du stage. Il est souhaitable que ce sujet soit défini rapidement.

Convention: Ce stage fait l'objet d'une convention entre l'Ecole et l'Entreprise. Cette convention doit être signée en trois exemplaires par un responsable de l'entreprise, par le directeur de l'école et par l'étudiant avant le début de stage.

Encadrement: L'encadrement du stagiaire est assuré par

Présentation orale:

Après chaque soutenance, le jury délibère; Il rédige une fiche d'évaluation permettant de savoir si le stage est validé ou pas.

Rapport écrit

Diplomarbeit : Pour les élèves préparant un Diplomarbeit, la durée de ce stage est ramenée à 4 mois: du 1er septembre à fin décembre (avant la préparation du Diplomarbeit). Pour la validation du stage ingénieur EEIGM, il faut une copie du rapport et une attestation de validation du stage.

Questionnaire du stage Ingénieur: Un questionnaire vous sera donné avant votre stage Ingénieur. Ce questionnaire permet:

Nous insistons sur le fait que ce questionnaire est un élément essentiel à une bonne communication entre tous les intervenants du stage. Pour que le stage soit validé, ce questionnaire doit être rendu au service des stages le plus tôt possible et au plus tard dans la première quinzaine de septembre.

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