Teaching Innovation Program

 

The pedagogical innovation program of the chair aims to strengthen educational collaboration between Arts et Métiers (A&M) and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in two key areas:
  1. enhancing and supporting the Mechanical Engineering double-degree program, and
  2. reinforcing Franco-German research training at the Master’s level, with a view to developing joint PhD supervision within the French-German Doctoral School.
Several innovative teaching initiatives have been outlined, with increasing levels of novelty from left to right in the conceptual diagram accompanying the proposal. These initiatives include:
  • Joint Master theses co-supervised by Arts et Métiers and KIT in each research area of the French-German Institute for Industry of the Future
  • German-taught courses at Arts et Métiers for double-degree students in mechanical engineering, concerning mechanical design, heat transfer, and materials science
  • Joint Bachelor theses in each research area of the French-German Institute for Industry of the Future
  • An annual mechanical design hackathon, engaging multicultural student teams
  • Blended learning modules integrated into Master’s programs across key research topics
  • New Master’s-level courses at KIT, starting with a module on gear system design, manufacturing, and optimization
The figure links these teaching actions to the research program, emphasizing strong synergies where education supports research and vice versa. Given the program's scale, all members of the French-German Institute for Industry of the Future will contribute to its implementation. The specific responsibilities of the new hire to support this initiative are detailed in the following section.
 
 

Research Innovation Program

 

In the European objective of maintaining or even improving its economic sovereignty, innovation and the proposal of industrial models with high added value are essential to preserve competitiveness and maintain a leading position. In this context, the GENIUS chair aims to contribute to the development of future industry models based on the leitmotif of sustainability and resilience.
The research project addressed in the GENIUS chair considers a set of stages in the product life cycle, from design, through manufacturing and production, to remanufacturing/recycling stages. During its life cycle, a product goes through many different stages, sometimes including changes of state. The intrinsic constraints of each stage can affect the industrial process, which must meet strong requirements for quality, profit maximization, and performance as a whole. The chair aims to provide the cornerstones of this model and the scientific challenges of the research project are divided into three main areas:
  • Ideation and design: Today's products contain a multitude of components and sub-assemblies. Thus, the ideation and design phases must consider multiple aspects such as the variety of parts, the generation and evolution of the digital model, ergonomic studies, simulation, and validation. GENIUS addresses two main aspects: (i) collaborative design and virtual validation using immersive technologies, particularly for managing the variety and evolution of products and their associated production systems, and (ii) user simulation in a user-centered design approach ("Customer-in-the-Loop").
  • Manufacturing and remanufacturing/recycling: The manufacturing and remanufacturing of components require advanced, flexible, and precise processes to improve quality while controlling cost and consumption. GENIUS aims to contribute to the development of new advanced manufacturing processes with high added value, focusing on specific and complex components such as gear systems. These new processes will combine advances in materials and manufacturing.
  • Assembly: The production and assembly stages are often critical since the performance of the product and the system that assembles it is significantly interdependent with activities such as defect detection, waste management, line optimization, and failure management, which require qualified personnel. Moreover, the constant evolution of markets and products necessitates managing the evolution of systems. GENIUS aims to develop optimization tools, reconfiguration, and design and decision support methodologies. With these tools, operators will be able to optimize and reconfigure the system, being guided towards maximum performance, and train to anticipate future developments.
GENIUS relies on the cutting-edge expertise of the French-German Institute for Industry of the Future. This institute is subdivided into three main research axes, each theme bringing together laboratories and research institutes from Arts et Métiers and KIT. These teams can rely on extensive experience in Franco-German research within the French-German Institute for Industry of the Future through more than 12 binational research projects (e.g., ANR-DFG, UFA joint theses).