Engineering Programme - Year 1

The common-core curriculum in year 1 provides students with broad-based multi-disciplinary engineering training:
 

• Technical and scientific courses make up 70% of the curriculum with the remaining 30% of the programme devoted to business sciences, social sciences, modern languages and sport.
• Students benefit from first-hand professional experience during year 1 with a student business project in the second semester and a 4-week internship to discover the business world in July/August.
• Students also commit to a civic engagement during their first year of studies whereby they make a contribution to society through volunteer work. This is to be completed by the end of March in Year 2.

Overview of the common-core curriculum in year 1 - 2023/24

Autumn Semester

Successful completion of the semester leads to the award of 30 ECTS.
 

	lecture hours	tutorial hours	lab hours	exam	total hours	ECTS credits
Engineering Courses*
Modelling Approaches in Mechanical Engineering	28	28	16	4	76	6
Product Design and Development	4	16	16	2	38	3
Energy, Environment and Climate Challenges	18	14	4	2	38	3
Physics and Fluid Dynamics	14	14	8	2	38	3
Engineering Elective - choose 1 of 6:						3
1. Information Systems	12	14	10	2	38
2. Electronics, Electric Actuators, Embedded Systems	14	10	12	2	38
3. Materials	12	12	12	2	38
4. Applied Thermodynamics	12	16	8	2	38
5. Biology	14	16	6	2	38
6. Production Management	16	12	8	2	38
Modern Languages 1		26			26	2
Modern Languages 2		26**			26**	2
Sports and Physical Education		26			26	2
Soft Skills (Business & Social Sciences)					64	4
Civic Engagement						2

* All (seven) engineering courses are taught in both semester 5 and semester 6. In the first year, the cohort is divided into 2 groups, the programme above reflects the example of one group. The order is reversed for the other group.

** 52 hours for Chinese /Japanese

Spring Semester

Successful completion of the semester leads to the award of 30 ECTS.
 

	lecture hours	tutorial hours	lab hours	exam	total hours	ECTS credits
Engineering Courses*
Engineering Mathematics	16	44	12	4	76	6
From Measurement to Control	26	26	20	4	76	6
Algorithms and Programming	6	12	18	2	38	3
Engineering Elective - choose 1 of 6:						3
1. Information Systems	12	14	10	2	38
2. Electronics, Electric Actuators, Embedded Systems	14	10	12	2	38
3. Materials	12	12	12	2	38
4. Applied Thermodynamics	12	16	8	2	38
5. Biology	14	16	6	2	38
6. Production Management	16	12	8	2	38
Modern Languages 1		26			26	2
Modern Languages 2		26**			26**	2
Sports and Physical Education		26			26	2
Soft Skills (Student Business Project, Business & Social Sciences) or Architecture (Double Degree in Architecture Programme only) ***	- 34	- -	- 70	- -	114 104	5
Internship						1

* All (seven) engineering courses are taught in both semester 5 and semester 6. In the first year, the cohort is divided into 2 groups, the programme above reflects the example of one group. The order is reversed for the other group.
** 52 hours for Chinese /Japanese
*** 5 ECTS for soft skills or Architecture

In addition to the acquisition of technical and scientific expertise, Centrale Nantes places a strong emphasis on personal development and the fostering of soft skills. Students undertake a Student Business Project in their first year and follow their choice of modules in Business Science and Social Science courses. They thus acquire soft skills, with their progress measured against a set of competencies in:
 

• Personal development (employability: self-awareness, self-confidence),
• Interaction with others (the eco-system of organisations, contributing to their operation and development)
• Innovation in one's environment (ecology, innovation, entrepreneurship and finance, ability to take up challenges and understand complexity)
• Project Management (project management, management methods, interpersonal interaction)

In addition to soft skills, two modern languages (English and a choice of second language) and sport are taught throughout the three years of the engineering programme.