This text is part of the special notebook 150 years of Polytechnique Montréal
“Engineers are specialists in putting technology to work for the good of humanity,” says Pierre Langlois, director of academic affairs and student experience at Polytechnique Montréal. For him, it is clear that these technical experts will be called upon to play a major role in facing the challenges of the future: climate crisis, cybersecurity, development of artificial intelligence, among others. To help them prepare, the university held the Forum on the engineer of tomorrowwhich will influence an overhaul of the programs.
First observation resulting from this forum: engineers are concerned about the environment. “Students want us to talk about sustainable development, protection of the planet, adaptation to climate change,” he notes. They are aware that technology is partly responsible for the climate crisis. » Aspiring engineers wish to play a central role in prevention and adaptation, by thinking from the start about the consequences of their projects and their ways of working.
To this end, Polytechnique Montréal will have to offer more opportunities for group work, indicates Pierre Langlois. “The new generation wants to think in multidisciplinary teams. Students want to be able to understand a wide range of problems. They want more flexibility in their journey. » This desire is particularly influenced by the changing profile of people sitting on school benches: “80% of students have a profile that was considered atypical 10 years ago,” underlines the director.
Teaching methods will also have to adapt to new needs. The inverted classroom model, already used by some teachers, is expected to become normalized. “The student must do the learning before arriving in class. When he arrives at the course, he already knows the subject and has understood the basic principles. The group period is used for active learning such as exercises and discussions, which allows you to be much more effective. »
More broadly, the university wants to encourage experiential learning, such as involvement in a student club. “We are thinking about ways to make the transition between studies and the job market smoother,” he notes. In short, engineering students must learn to learn for themselves, since their profession will require them to constantly adapt to new realities.
Finally, Pierre Langlois is delighted to see that “people who are heading towards genius are keen, curious, [qu’]they don’t just want to be in their books. » On the menu, “guitar, Catalan or catamaran” lessons, for example, which allow them to broaden their horizons beyond mathematics and sciences. So much the better, because for the director, “engineers are above all human beings who work with people to respond to people’s problems. »
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