Dassault Systèmes has been developing partnerships with the academic world for over 40 years. Over 8 million students in 40,000 schools are now using enterprise solutions as part of their training programs. At the beginning of this new year, the schools of the ISAE Group, a long-standing partner of Dassault Systèmes, decided to roll out the 3DEXPERIENCE® platform for their 7,000 students. Using industrial solutions when teaching provides training that is closely aligned with skills needs and new industrial practices.
Valérie Ferret, Vice-President of the Education Department at Dassault Systèmes, and Thomas Zamolo, Collaborative Platforms Director within the Training Division at the ISAE-SUPAERO engineering school provide some insights.
What type of engineering profiles are manufacturers currently seeking?
Valérie Ferret: First of all, there is a growing need for engineers everywhere in the world, due to the major industrial transformations driven by the environmental and energy transition. This need is clearly highlighted in the assessment made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), forecasting a demand growth of 13% for engineering skills in the US by 2031 and an annual need for about 400,000 new engineers. There is thus a critical need to make our professions more attractive as quickly as possible for young people and in particular, young women who are much less prone to pursuing careers in science or engineering that play an essential role in society.
All sectors of industry are currently experiencing major and complex transformations, whether they concern developments such as low-carbon aircraft for the aerospace industry, electrification and connectivity for the automobile sector or even precision medicine. These transformations require high responsiveness to the demands of a globalized market and regulatory requirements. Engineers thus need to work together to solve more complex problems more quickly.
How do you approach these changes at ISAE-SUPAERO?
Thomas Zamolo: Like all engineering schools in France, ISAE-SUPAERO is committed to the Skills-Based Approach. It is focused on applying knowledge to real life industrial situations in which we train learners within a context that dovetails the process with real world situations. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform allows us to put learners in situations that closely simulate real-world manufacturing. This allows us to prioritize the acquisition of skills as opposed to accumulating knowledge. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform provides a powerful simulator of practical situations. Its huge applications portfolio facilitates the creation of links between different disciplines.
For example, we have developed a course module that focuses on developing the entire life cycle of a product in a 100% digital environment.
The younger generation is adapting very quickly to these new ways of working. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform brings real added value to ISAE Group entities.
What type of support do you provide to this new generation of engineers?
Valérie Ferret: The industrial solutions that we are implementing are radically transforming the professions. From the outset at Dassault Systèmes, when our 3D modelling technologies were replacing work processes based on industrial drawing boards, we developed partnerships with the academic world to provide training in these new methods. CAD (computer-aided design) and CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) courses are now standard in all engineering schools. Artificial intelligence will accelerate the transformation of our businesses even more.
With our solutions, certain functions that were formerly reserved for experts are now more accessible to non-experts. For example, product life cycle assessments (LCA) are now accessible to engineers in charge of product design. These LCAs are automatically proposed during product design, enabling designers to choose better alternatives in terms of materials, suppliers or manufacturing processes to reduce the product’s environmental impact. As a result, with the help of collaborative platforms such as 3DEXPERIENCE, engineers no longer collaborate solely within R&D and the technical functions, but with all the company’s functions. For example, engineers have real-time access to the costs and availability of materials from the purchasing department so that they can design the most efficient products from both a functional and a financial point of view. The innovation process is continuous between all the company’s departments, and this profoundly changes the mission and collaboration practices of all the different professions.
Implementing industrial solutions such as the 3DEXPERIENCE platform in schools not only enhances training for current industrial practices but also helps to better anticipate and prepare for the transformation of the professions.
Are the links between academia and industry growing stronger?
Thomas Zamolo: The ISAE-SUPAERO, for example, has always maintained strong links with industry, with 900 part-time lecturers from industry and numerous partnerships and chairs with major aerospace players such as GIFAS, Dassault Aviation, Airbus, Ariane Group, Thales and others.
The academic partnership between Dassault Systèmes and the ISAE Group schools is simply the continuation of a very strong link that already existed.
This partnership strengthens the ties between teachers at ISAE Group schools and the Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE Edu team by scheduling sessions to discuss best practices used in the industry, the best way to design a course using the 3DEXPERIENCE platform and how to certify learners.
What specific role does the 3DEXPERIENCE platform play in training engineers?
Valérie Ferret: The 3DEXPERIENCE platform is deployed at different levels in schools. Some schools are still concerned with training their engineering students in computer-aided design and manufacturing, with course-wide deployment. Others are more focused on integrating new disciplines into their courses, as with the example I provided on life cycle analysis, thus transforming their teaching from design to eco-design. Meanwhile, others want to develop new training courses in disciplines that are evolving very rapidly, with strong demand from industry, such as systems engineering (with its systems of systems approach). Finally, the most ambitious (such as those of the ISAE group) are seeking to deploy the platform across the whole of its disciplinary field to develop multi-disciplinary teaching and projects, further enhancing training in collaborative practices. These ambitious deployments facilitate the development of key skills for manufacturers that ensure the ability to collaborate effectively across disciplines so that more complex problems can be solved more quickly. Together.
How is this development being deployed in education?
Thomas Zamolo: The 3DEXPERIENCE platform helps create a link between the various disciplines. For example, the same virtual twin can be used for teaching design, computer-aided manufacturing, digital simulation, assembly processes and the use of immersive technologies in an industrial context. This further reinforces the cross-disciplinary teaching approach.
Within the ISAE Group, the 3DEXPERIENCE platform supports the project-based approach while encouraging the emergence of multi-institutional projects. The platform connects contributors geographically remote from one another working in different complementary disciplines. This is made possible by a centralized Cloud environment at the ISAE Group level and by a rich portfolio of applications that meet the specific needs of each school.
These two testimonials show us how the deployment of industrial solutions for teaching such as the 3DEXPERIENCE platform enables us to better train profiles in the skills sought by industry, not only in terms of technologies but also in new industrial practices. These close collaborations between industry and academia mean that training courses can not only be adapted to the current needs of industry but can also help to better anticipate the transformation of professions in a context of ecological transition and digitalization. The future of engineering lies in this synergy that enhances the employability of young people while responding to technological and environmental challenges.