when these engineering students push their school to adapt to the climate emergency

It was almost two years ago: engineering students, called “forkers” called on large schools to review their training and partnerships with large groups, to align them with the climate emergency. Since then, the movement has pushed engineering schools to question themselves and accelerate their transition. At Centrale Nantes, management launched training in 2022 dedicated to “low-tech”, or how to design in a more sustainable and social way.

“For the school, it’s a paradigm shift,” recognizes the head of the course, Jean-Marc Benguigui. “In this training we are not in the quest for technical progress at all costs, but more for social progress. We try to make choices of materials to reduce the impact and above all, it is a central question in low-tech, we wonder about the interest of the product that is requested of us. Does it really meet an essential need?” During this training, the 12 students therefore re-examine the very nature of the engineering profession around a project, dedicated this year to reducing the environmental impact of racing boats.

“We must stop destroying the planet.”

Julien, low-tech student

at franceinfo

These students, unsurprisingly, are already aware of environmental issues; some even describe themselves as “activists. This is the case for Julien, who dreams of more sustainable engineering: “Until now, engineers have manufactured objects because they are ordered to do so. People want to ride in big SUVs, so engineers design big SUVs. But, if tomorrow, everyone wants a wooden solar oven, there will be plenty of engineers to design one.”

These stated convictions are shared by Émile, another student in the training who hopes to be able to change large companies from the inside. “Currently, I am doing my internship at Orange, explains the young man. I’m trying to see how we can support these large groups, which do not have a sustainable model, towards a more ecological and social model. Transformation must also come from within.”

A movement initiated by students

These speeches, which were still extremely rare, or even non-existent, ten years ago, are multiplying. They are the ones who pushed Centrale Nantes to review its training. “We saw these positions appear around 2018, and the first students freed the speech of the following ones”, says Jean-Marc Benguigui. “Our young people really want schools to adapt to today’s world and for teaching to integrate all environmental aspects. It is the students who have helped us change and question our teaching.”

The school has also launched two other courses in 2023 around renewable energies, energy control and management. They are in addition to the six other access training courses on environmental issues. At the start of the 2024 school year, all the courses in the common core will address this question.

“Growing interest” from businesses

It remains to be seen whether this “low-tech” training is of interest to businesses or communities. Jean-Marc Benguigui evokes a “growing and very real interest”, which is confirmed by Ilan Vermeren, one of the first graduates of this course.

After a six-month internship in Brazil, devoted to the design of a biochar oven (a charcoal powder), he now works at the Dôme de Caen, a scientific culture center, where he is responsible, notably , to promote low-tech in Normandy. “It interests a lot of people, explains Ilan Vermeren. We live in a world where our supply chains are increasingly strained, and returning to a lower technological level allows large groups to be more resilient in the face of these constraints, for example by learning to do without rare metals. , essential today in the manufacturing of smartphones.”

Proof of a budding interest among large groups, let us cite among others the recent creation by Airbus of a project manager position responsible for developing low-tech in aircraft assembly.