Health and humanitarian engineer

The 'Health and Humanitarian Engineer' option is entirely in keeping with Centrale Nantes' commitment to offering high-level teaching and prepare for careers in the health and humanitarian sectors.
 

Objective

The option aims to develop the graduate's skills so that he/she can:

• understand the challenges of healthcare and humanitarian aid for patients, citizens and healthcare professionals,
• gain an insight into the health and humanitarian sectors in France, Europe and the rest of the world,
• anticipate developments in the healthcare and humanitarian sector through new technologies,
• understand the players in the healthcare industry
• gain an insight into public and private hospital professions
• find your bearings in the humanitarian sector
• find your way into industrial and service professions
• take part in technical and organizational projects alongside committed stakeholders.

Video presentation of the specialisation with Thomas Lechevallier, programme supervisor

Video transcript

Engineering in Health and Humanitarian Affairs specialisation

Programme supervisor: Thomas LECHEVALLIER 
 

Thomas: The aim of this specialisation is to introduce students to the healthcare and humanitarian sectors, with their specific engineering requirements. Over the course of the programme, they will meet with healthcare professionals, hospitals, caregivers and doctors, as well as engineers from major healthcare companies, who will talk about their jobs and the day-to-day reality in these sectors. At the end of the course, students will be bale to choose whether or not to go into the healthcare or humanitarian sectors, in order to complete their studies. It's an original specialisation, and one that not many schools offer. Humanitarian work is one of Centrale Nantes's hallmarks, and it's new for this year. 

Julie: It's a rather innovative specialisation at this school, and to be truly able to apply everything you learn in engineering to health and humanitarian issues is something that really resonates with all the students in this specialization. 

Thomas: When it comes to healthcare and humanitarian aid, there are specific engineering aspects that we need to introduce to our students. When it comes to healthcare and humanitarian aid, there are specific engineering aspects that we need to intruduce to our students. Humanitarian aid, in particular, is specific in terms of logistics and product design, with a regulatory framework that can be difficult for a young engineer to grasp. 

Chiara: I think that engineering can really bring something new to the table in terms of support and innovation in these sectors that affect us all. 

Thomas: Students will work on two projects. One involves an emergency health situation with the French ambulance service, to help simulate and train teams in disaster situations. The other project focuses on the development of a tool for operating theatres that enables them to operate better, hold tubes better, for hospitals in France, but also for humanitarian aid, with a LowTech system that can be transported in a suitcase and be used for expeditions, interventions and humanitarian missions. 

François: I need to feel useful at work. The LowTech aspect of this specialisation came as a surprise. LowTech really speaks to me, I think it's important for the future. Making as much or more with less is something we're going to have to work towards if we're to mitigate climate change and meet the challenges of the future. 

Elio: It's a field that you rarely have the opportunity to study in an engineering school, but one in which you can easily find real purpose in life. 

Contribution to sustainable development goals

Learn more about Centrale Nantes' commitment to the 17 sustainable development goals

This specialisation is open to international students selected by our partner institutions via a double degree programme.

Selected students spend two years studying courses from the engineering programme at Centrale Nantes. This usually includes one year of the common-core engineering curriculum followed by one year of specialisation. Double degree students are typically accepted after successfully completing two or three years of higher education in their home institution.

NB Most engineering programme courses are taught in French.
 

Part 1 (48 hours): Engineering in the healthcare field

• Medicine (basic knowledge of medicine, population health and its political and societal organization),
• Hospital engineering (digital, biomedical, research, logistics, construction, quality)
• Engineering in healthcare companies (drugs, imaging, biomedical equipment, information systems, consulting, etc.),

Part 2 (48 hours): Engineering in the humanitarian field

• Missions (pre-crisis, crisis, post-crisis, ethics, vaccination, education, prevention, care, rehabilitation, autonomy)
• Organization (logistics engineering, mission management, recruitment, adaptation, quality)
• Design (reliability, simplicity, logistical and energy independence, etc.)

Part 3 (40 hours): Healthcare and humanitarian projects