Environmental engineering certificate from ISAE-SUPAERO
Presentation of the certificate
Set up as part of the CEDAR Chair (Chair for Ecodesign of AiRcraft, funded by Airbus), the Environmental Engineering Certificate is aimed at final-year engineering students from ISAE-SUPAERO and ISAE Group schools.
During April and May, 20 students from ISAE SUPAERO and 16 students from ISAE-ENSMA took the Environmental Engineering Certificate. This 175-hour certificate, divided into 3 modules: “Environment and aeronautics” (61 hours), “Aviation of the future” (70 hours) and “Engineer in action” (44 hours), culminated in a Grand Oral on the ISAE-SUPAERO campus and remotely on 1 and 2 June. The Grand Oral was an opportunity for students to present their subjects related to the Chair’s theme in front of Airbus and the lecturers.
Certificate objectives
- Understanding environmental and energy issues.
- Understand the social and economic impacts and externalities associated with the energy and environmental transition.
- Addressing global political and regulatory aspects.
- Understand how industries are integrating these issues.
“ WHEN DEVELOPING THE PROGRAMME WITH JONATHAN PREIST AND SERGE BONNET OF AIRBUS ENGINEERING, WE WANTED TO OFFER STUDENTS SOLID THEORETICAL CONTRIBUTIONS ON THE OVERALL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND THEN INDICATE THE SPECIFIC CHALLENGES IN THE AERONAUTICS SECTOR. WE FELT IT WAS INDISPENSABLE FOR THE STUDENTS TO UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEXITY OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY QUESTIONS SO THEY CAN ACQUIRE THE NECESSARY SKILLS AND HINDSIGHT BEFORE STUDYING THE DIFFERENT TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS CURRENTLY BEING PROPOSED OR STUDIED.”
Testimony of Eve Jolicoeur
The certificate was a revelation for me. I was interested in environmental issues, but this certificate enabled me to understand them correctly and precisely. Through general courses and others more specific to aviation and transport, as well as a variety of speakers, we acquired solid knowledge and practical skills, such as how to carry out carbon assessments and Life Cycle Analyses. We were able to develop a critical mind, thanks in particular to exchanges with the teachers with whom we could debate. With a wide range of courses, not just on technology but also on the psychology and philosophy of technology, we learnt to be open-minded, and even to take a big swipe at any preconceived ideas we might have had.
For many of us, the certificate was an opportunity for personal introspection: what values do we want to defend? Will I be able to work in a company that does not adhere to these values? What role do I want to play in society in the face of climate change? What commitment do I want to make and what meaning should I give to it?
I think one of the major challenges of this certificate was to succeed in presenting the facts as they are, without being subjective. If the speakers expressed opinions, this had to be clear so as not to confuse facts with opinions. What’s more, two months is a very short time to tackle a fairly vast subject, so we had to offer courses that would give us the best possible understanding of the problem, while presenting as exhaustive a range of existing or feasible solutions as possible. In a short space of time, we had to be given the keys so that we could in turn pass them on to others and apply them to our own way of thinking.
How did you approach the Grand Oral?
I approached the Grand Oral quite calmly. Although it may seem stressful, having a panel of experts come and listen to you is a great chance, a quite unique opportunity. It’s a real opportunity to talk to them, launch debates and raise questions by presenting our work. Preparing for the Grand Oral was an opportunity to think for ourselves about environmental issues; using our newly-acquired knowledge to conduct our own reasoning, taking our thoughts further.
A rich and varied panel of speakers
The certificate is taught by a wide range of speakers from industry, research centres, schools and independent experts. Nearly 60 speakers took part in the course, raising students’ awareness of new environmental issues.
For Bastien Lefrançois, design and operations engineer for Flying Whales and hot-air balloon pilot, who came to present the aerostatic balance to the students: “I’d like the students to come away with a sense of what aerostation is, which is very different from more conventional aviation. They now have a few theoretical keys and a few experimental keys”.
Stéphane Amant, a consultant at Carbone4 and an alumnus of ISAE-SUPAERO, who spoke about the specific challenges of air transport in the transport of the future, explains: “At the end of my speech, I would like the students to remember that a golden era is opening up for them in aeronautics”. He adds that engineers will play a more important role in the future than they have in the last thirty years.
A favourable outlook, then, for students, future engineers who will need to be able to apply their knowledge in this area in the future in companies that are now all aware of these environmental issues.
“ The Environmental Engineering Certificate is an excellent opportunity for Airbus and ISAE-SUPAERO to give engineers a global vision of all the issues facing humanity, with a particular focus on environmental aspects and the aeronautical sector. It is also a two-month journey during which we explore together the complexity of sustainable development without shortcuts. Right from the introductory session, I could feel the students’ commitment to the themes proposed, and they also showed great enthusiasm for the exercises, workshops and quizzes. All of this was done in a dynamic atmosphere that made the experience very enjoyable for the speakers. During the Grand Oral, they tackled complex, interdisciplinary issues around a variety of themes, such as the increasing scarcity of resources, ethical issues and the notion of a carbon budget. I was impressed by their ability to explore, analyse, synthesise and present studies on these subjects in such a short space of time, and I’m really proud of their progress and the intellectual value of their work. They will be fully capable of committing themselves to the transition of the aeronautical sector”
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