Objectives

The Study Project (S.P.) forms an essential part of the training of our engineers and stands as a high-point in the general teaching of the first two years' core syllabus. Organizing work by projects is a reality in the life of an engineer from the very start.

The Study Project therefore places the students in a situation representing what their future work is going to involve, but with fully structured pedagogic support. The teaching and monitoring call on the School's Science for Engineers and Human and Social Science teams.

The Study Project is based on a problem relating to the work of a company or research lab, with a scientific, technical or technological aspect covered by one or other of the areas of competence of the School.

Partner corporations and labs can take part in drawing up the subjects, in close collaboration with the Science for Engineers team who finalize them in line with teaching targets. Thus students enjoy two of the School's major advantages: a network of collaboration in the world of business, and the strength of our own research, a source of innovation and creativity.

In this context, the Study Project's aims are:
 to confront a complex problem with no one solution;
 to run a project as a team;
 to seek out skills and information;
 to set up means;
 to get results - but without any obligation to achieve positive results, given that the undertaking is intended as training;
 to manage oral and written communication.

These objectives require showing real autonomy and motivation on the part of the students, who are actually doing the project, in close collaboration with the Science for Engineers and Human and Social Science teaching teams and the corporate or laboratory partner.

Duration: 15 months, a minimum of 12 hours

Content

Pedagogic approach
There are 5 entities involved in the project:

Role of the student group
The group of students are the ones actually carrying out the project. It is their responsibility to take whatever initiatives and make whatever contacts may be necessary to draw up and execute the work-plan in all its components: information and skills search, documentation, setting up and deploying means, practical execution, analysis and synthesis, presentation, written and oral communication. The students are in charge of drawing up the written steering document, a work of on-going reflection calling for critical analysis and group work, and enabling traceability over project performance.

Role of the Science for Engineers teaching team
The Science for Engineers teaching team propose topics to the Departments concerned, and identifies a project tutor there. This tutor is the project's scientific guarantor and the prime contact-person for the group of students, whom he or she guides in all of the scientific, technical and technological aspects, providing supplementary training as needed. The tutor is involved in the various assessment phases.

The Centrale Lyon intranet lists the various teaching teams and their locations on campus.

Role of the Human and Social Science teaching team
The Human and Social Science teaching team appoints the Human and Social Science advisor working on all of the various projects as contact-person for the student groups to help with three aspects of project leading as carried out by engineers:
 identifying and understanding the psychosocial stakes in organizational situations;
 awareness of the importance of human dimensions in running a group activity;
 developing communication skills so as to valorize scientific, technical and technological spin-off.

The group-work involved in preparing and performing the project is an implementation of the training provided by the Human and Social Science team in the psychosocial dimensions of organizations and in communication - leading notably to written and oral presentations of the project.

Role of outside partners
Apart from their role in proposing topics to the Science for Engineers teaching teams, outside partners are the recipients of the study project's intermediate and final results. They define the charge book and principle project phases, in co-ordination with the student group and teaching teams. They provide the information needed for project advancement. It is a good thing when they can take part in the mid-term assessments that are vital to the final assessment.

Role of the Department coordinators:
Role of the Department coordinators The project coordinator (or pilot):
 ensures that project performance rules are respected;
 facilitates contact between the various parties (students, tutors, Human and Social Science advisor);
 is involved in assessing the work produced.

He or she takes part in the 5 so-called Steering meetings.