Abstract:

CNFM (National Coordination for Education in Microelectronics and nanotechnologies) is a French public organization that federates academic and industrial partners for the purpose of education in Micro and Nano-electronics. CNFM focuses on making heavy educational resources such as professional CAD tools, clean rooms, or industrial test equipment available for common use, by all French universities, laboratories and industrial partners.

As part of the "Investment Plan for the Future" promoted by the French government, the CNFM network applied and was selected for an 8-year project entitled "IDEFI-FINMINA". One of the eight work packages consisted in creating a single national entry point for lifelong learning, first for engineers in the electronics industry to maintain their employability and second for university faculties to maintain their expertise at the state of the art of the technology.

The strategy consists in collecting ideas for lifelong learning from teachers attached to the twelve CNFM centers located in French cities benefiting of a high-tech environment (Paris, Orsay, Lille, Strasbourg, Grenoble, Lyon, Nice-Marseille, Montpellier, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Limoges and Rennes) and developing a uniform online catalogue of lifelong and short continuing training. Trainees would benefit from the expertise of CNFM teachers and the operational resources of the CNFM network. The promotion of lifelong learning opportunities is achieved through presentations at trade fairs, electronic events and meetings with corporate human resources departments, as well as via the Internet (http://web-pcm.cnfm.fr/formation) and social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube). Companies and engineers are also encouraged to request new lifelong learning adapted to their needs. The CNFM is linked to the universities' continuing education departments to manage any request for financial support from the company.

After seven years, the online catalogue comprises sixty-four short-duration continuing education fact sheets in the field of microelectronics and nanotechnologies. These proposed formations are covering computer-aided design, fabrication processes, characterizations and tests, and are focused on the practice training that gives the know-how, a mandatory skill in this field. Each fact sheet provides all the information that trainees need to register for a course: objectives and expected skills, prerequisites, syllabus, duration, date, cost, contact persons and validation. The network has organized several training courses chosen from the catalogue but also at the request of companies.

The objective was to significantly increase the proportion of lifelong learning in all activities of the CNFM network. However, the initial objectives have not been as easy to achieve, especially since French legislation has been amended twice in the last five years, which has increased the constraints on access to lifelong learning. Fortunately, the emergence of e-learning set-up by the teachers has allowed to almost double the number of actions carried out by the network during the last academic year.

After presenting the national network and its main activities, the paper deals with the organization of the lifelong learning in connection with universities and companies in order to meet the future needs of digital society. On the basis of several effective realizations, the challenges to be taken up are highlighted and the different approaches are detailed.

Keywords:

Lifelong learning, microelectronics, national network, online catalog, skills, competences, engineers, academics, electronics industry, employability, company.