The Importance of French Education for Engineers

French education for engineers is significantly different from that of the United States. This incident will be the topic of this paper as well as the sequencing of French education. There argon four schools in France that provide for the absolute majority of the engineer education after high school. These atomic fall 18 called National Instituts For employ Sciences or INSA. These institutions argon really comprehensive and high train.The National Instituts For apply Sciences or INSA engage students who birth completed their secondary school studies and claim them on the basis of their examination payoffs and their academic records. The recruitment is highly selective. In 1991, 11,000 candidates with a science baccalaureat applied for about 1,200 places.1 It is thitherfore obvious, that the INSAs attract students with a high take of scientific education in mathematics, physics and chemistry.The studies let with a twain-year basic test broadcast in the premier Cycle, which is comprised of general science courses in mathematics, physics, chemistry, mechanics and computing device science. These courses atomic number 18 withal complimented with courses in the Liberal Arts. The students who pass the commencement ceremony and second year exams atomic number 18 admitted to the plan De tellments where they continue their studies for three additional eld. This enables the students to specialize in roughly all the different engineering sciences computer studies, mechanics, physics, chemistry and biochemistry. One pilot film aspect of the INSAs is that, the number of students in a department can diverge depending on the state of employment prospects. All the INSAs train their students according to the homogeneous principles and curricula as the separate four institutions.The First roll is a devil-year program of common core classes that welcomes secondary school graduates. Its goal is to coiffe students for entry into i of the Institutes specialized departments. The initial qualifications of those who apply for admission to INSA underwrite the high quality of the students 80% of them graduate in 5 years and 5% in 6 years. 1 Engineering studies start concurrently with the first year of their pedagogy. After a two-year preparatory phase, the first rhythm method begins putting an ambitious regiment into place.The goal of this regiment is, first of all, to base students the common scientific, technical, and liberal arts training necessary for all departments. In order to achieve this goal, course work is divided into modules that are separate of each other. The second goal of the regiment is to encourage students to make the transmutation from high school student to a responsible higher level student with clearly defined professional goals. As a result of the quality of these different goals, the first cycle plays an important role in well-nigh(prenominal) engineering sciences as well as the liberal arts throu gh both years.EURINSA is another two-year European first cycle in engineering studies that has, since 1991, been training European students (including French students) to be part of an international team. The scientific training, conducted in French but adapted to engineering students from different backgrounds (language abilities), allows the students to enroll in any one of the four INSAs in France or even in one of their European counter parts. The program is open to around carbon students (at each institution) of whom 1/3 are French, 1/3 are from other European countries, and 1/3 from Central and Eastern Europe.3The INSAs produce highly qualified engineers. There are nearly main differences between studying at an INSA and in the universities of the other European countries. One difference is that French students specialize only at the end of the first two years (the Premier Cycle). This skeleton of training provides them with a vast scientific background, which guarantees a good boilersuit training in the engineering sciences. This method likewise allows them to change their subject of concentration, if necessary during the course of their career.As the INSAs and the Grandes Ecoles are highly selective, very a couple of(prenominal) students drop out during the Premier Cycle whereas, in the traditional university system, in that location is a high dropout rate or at to the lowest degree a decision to change their course of study. Unlike the University system, the students at an INSA have numerous general courses. Although all European countries announce a training design which lasts approximately 5 years, the fact that attendance is not 100% and that students are permitted to repeat years, means that becoming a qualified engineer could take two or three years longer.3Engineering training field and engineer status differ widely among countries. In other European Countries as well as the United States for example, the seemingly simple task of corr espondence among degrees, not to mention equivalence, is far from being solved, and the notion of harmonizing the numerous systems does not seem realistic. Educational systems specifications are deeply rooted in the countrys culture, industry and economy.Large discrepancies appear in Europe between kinds of high-school studies and their space before college entrance, means of student recruitment, length of training (in terms of number of years of study), degree awarding, academic recognition, professional recognition, etc. In some countries, two engineer profiles coexist a design engineer with a broad background training, and a production and application engineer. For each profile, there are nevertheless important national particulars.With such diversity, one may understand why a extraneous candidate admission in a French engineering college does not assume automatic level equivalence rules. Instead results from various factors number of study years, major and little fields of studies, major regards, etc. Therefore, there is only one European general objective in this area, dealing with recognizing degrees obtained after at least three higher education years. These are apprised for entrance in professions having regulated access. Beca single-valued function of this definite lack of equivalence standards, Europeans have decided to trail student and professional mobility by recognizing and validating studies engaged in at colleges in other countries .This process has strongly developed in some cases, through the development of programs leading to double degrees, or through the E.C.T.S. project (European Credit Transfer System), based on academic credits which are transferable within higher education institutions of the European Union.3 Institutions wishing to embark in E.C.T.S., particularly those following non-university framework, must make great efforts to adapt. They have to reorganize their training programs or curriculum with credit hours and they have to use a universal grading scale.The University of Technology of Compiegne (UTC) was the first French engineering school to engage in ECTS in the field of mechanical engineering. opposite schools, like INSA of Lyon have more recently done the same. Apart from this very structured system, recognition of study periods among institutions from several countries appears more and more to be an essential component of an international open policy.Partnership agreements exist also with American universities, for instance between the Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine and Kansas State University and University of Wisconsin at Madison. ontogenesis this practice and expanding the student exchanges depends on firm relationships between foreign schools. A new attitude has developed, where one takes notice of differences between systems, without making value judgements. Thus, these new relations are creating more awareness of the equivalence occupation and providing better methods for rectification.The cole Polytechnique constitutes the graduate schools. It takes 2 to 3 years of study and, in 1993, there were 46,000 students enrolled in the second cycle.3 Each year, the cole Polytechnique admits passably more than 400 students into the Second Cycle, via traditional competitive examinations.4 These students are of both sexes, may be either French or foreign, and are approximately 21 years old. The instructional program for the Second Cycle consists of two years of advanced courses in the fundamental sciences. The program is evenly divided between a core curriculum, and an elective curriculum that includes individual seek projects.All students follow the core curriculum, which includes courses in pure and applied mathematics, computer science, mechanics, physics, chemistry, biology and economics. The core curriculum also includes courses in the humanities and brotherly sciences, as well as in several modern languages.Upon successful completion of these two years, students are awarded the diploma of Ingenieur de lcole Polytechnique. Relatively fewer of them begin their careers upon graduation. The vast majority of graduates choose to follow their studies with specialized training in engineering or business administration, or with the preparation of a doctoral degree.The French nationals, in view of the obligations of their status as polytechniciens, may choose to pursue technical training in France, at one of its engineering schools (such as the cole des Mines, the cole des Ponts et Chaussees, or the cole des Telecommunications) They complete their last two years of education, and tempt the corresponding Diplome dIngenieur.Since 1996, French nationals have contractn such training at foreign institutions, in Europe, America or Asia they have a choice among 100 different instructional programs, at 29 foreign institutions, leading to an Engineering degree or a Masters of Applied Science or Engineering, depending on the institution sel ected.3 These programs generally require between two and two and a half years. Special put togetherments with the cole facilitate admission to some of these institutions.After inquiry training in France or at a foreign university, engineering school, or public or private research center, approximately four years, they obtain a doctoral degree, a Ph.D. or a similar degree in a basic or applied science. For business studies abroad, after several years of practical experience, they befool an MBA degree at one of seven institutions. Foreign students may undertake specialized training or prepare dissertations at institutions of their choice, including, of course, their home institutions. The historical shows, however, that they tend to favor the programs offered to their French classmates. In any case, the cole attempts to arrange that the two years of study at Palaiseau be properly authorize in the programs of the students home universities. Foreign students are entitled to the sa me agreements as those offered to French nationals.The cole Polytechniques Second Cycle in the fundamental sciences together with a specialization acquired at another first class institution, represents a training that is proving to be in particular demand in todays economic market place. Indeed, each year large corporations come forward with expressions of their need and suggestions as to where they believe the necessary applied training may silk hat be obtained.