Abstract:

The Institute of Sciences and Technology of Yvelines (ISTY) is the engineering school of the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, located near Paris, France. The accreditation system for engineering degrees in France differs from that of other degrees. It is managed by the Commission des Titres d'Ingénieurs (CTI), unlike others which are accredited by the High Council for Evaluation of Research and Higher Education (HCERES). Although the CTI was recently included in the HCERES, its operations remain largely autonomous and are inspired by its collegiate composition, which includes academics and figures from the economic and professional world.

The ISTY School of Engineering is currently organized across two university campuses and offers four engineering degrees. One of these is a traditional student-status degree in computer science, separate from the other campus located more than 50km away, where future engineers are trained through apprenticeships in the fields of mechatronics, embedded electronic systems, and for the factory of the future. The engineering cycle lasts three years and begins after at least two years of higher education, granting a master's level qualification upon completion.

During a previous accreditation, the CTI highlighted a lack of cohesion among students. Additionally, our experience and discussions with industrial partners have underscored the necessity of bringing together an entire cohort for a training module centered around a common project. In these projects, students integrate hardware systems and software components to solve problems for which they have defined the specifications themselves, after validation by the teaching team. The computer science component is particularly important as it serves as the common point across all programs, although its emphasis varies depending on the degree pursued. We encourage students to use the Robot Operating System (ROS) environment. We have organized the students into groups of about ten from the four programs, with 2 to 4 students from each program, to meet the requirements expressed by the CTI and our industrial partners. The size of the groups and their relative heterogeneity allow future engineers to confront the realities of their future professions with projects that involve members who may not always share the same scientific and technical culture. Gathering students in one site for at least ten full days in one location advances the goal of cohesion that had been previously pointed out.

One example is a cleaning robot project using the base of a differential Jackal robot, carried out by 12 students. The technologies implemented in this project are rich and complex. For instance, remote control utilizes 4G modems with Virtual Private Network (VPN) management. Localization employs Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) GPS (Global Positionning System), the embedded architecture includes three computers, and a web server hosted on a remote server is used for teleoperation and control.

This shared teaching module effectively meets the CTI's requirements for coherence and group work among diverse student groups. Managing a cohort of around a hundred students simultaneously requires the presence of five qualified and available teachers, supported by a team of technicians with access to a well-equipped workshop.

This project has now become an integral part of the curriculum for all degrees and is a significant element in enhancing the school's visibility.

Keywords:

Education Practice Trends and Issues, New Experiences for Curriculum Design, Collaborative Problem and Project-based Learning, ICT and Digital Skills.