Thomas Raimbault is the coordinator of the new major at EIGSI La Rochelle: Industry 4.0. Thomas Raimbault presents the competencies taught and explains why this new major at EIGSI.
Is this new major only for industry ?
In Germany, the cradle of industry 4.0 in Europe, industry still accounts for more than 20% of GDP.
But in France, things are quite different. Here, the tertiary sector is predominant, and industry represents only about 10% of GDP. Does this mean that the dynamics, methods and promises of the industry of the future are not important in France? Not at all. On the contrary. It goes beyond that, all businesses, both industry and services, are concerned.
Our brand new major meets all the needs of businesses, whatever their sector.
What does the Company of the Future major focus on?
The transformation from today’s company to the company of the future is driven by three aspects:
- technologies and innovations in which digital technology plays a key role;
- Organisational disruption that changes the company’s operations and its relations with stakeholders;
- a customer-oriented strategy that focuses on the customer.
These are the three aspects that Industry 4.0 major covers, based on the common foundation of industry 4.0. What does this entail? First, digital transformation or more precisely digital change management.
In concrete terms, the major covers a wide range of subjects such as Big Data, IoT, Data Sciences, Cybersecurity, Augmented and Virtual Reality, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, etc. We also cover industrial engineering with courses on Supply Chain and Lean Management. Humanities are important and are also included in the major. Industry 4.0 is above all a human adventure.
Why is it important to provide EIGSI general engineers with expertise in Industry 4.0 ?
Quite simply because companies need general engineers with a broad scientific culture who can take on new challenges and who have a global vision, so that they can lead and manage the digital transformation.
EIGSI general engineers who have majored in this field have a broad strategic and operational skillset that includes digital technologies, industrial engineering and logistics.
They also have complementary skills in project management, team management and humanities, and more broadly a good understanding of corporate finance as well as current and future societal, environmental and geopolitical issues.
