Training content

Courses from the engineering programme are open to international students.

  • CASTing entrance examination: Successful candidates undertake three years of study at Centrale Nantes to gain the ‘diplôme d’ingénieur‘ qualification.
  • Fast-track students follow multi-disciplinary engineering and science first-year courses followed by a year of specialisation to gain the same qualification in just two years.
  • Those selected to follow the double degree spend two years here within the engineering programme: one year of the common-core curriculum and one year of specialisation.
  • Exchange year or semester students usually join the final year of the engineering programme choosing both a specialisation and a professional.

 

The first of the three year programme is devoted to broad-based multi-disciplinary engineering training in the form of a common-core curriculum. In each of years 2 and 3 students focus on a technical discipline with their choice of specialisation from the 20 or so on offer. In year 3 students also follow a professional option, to hone in on a particular sector of activity or company function.

Specific contribution to MRE

The Nantes engineering course offers 6 options that can be  related to Marine Renewable Energies:

OCEAN Hydrodynamics and Marine Engineering

The aim is to provide the students with the scientific and technical knowledge in hydrodynamics and ocean engineering to allow them to address societal issues linked mainly to energy (offshore oil, marine renewable energies) and maritime transport (building of environmentally-friendly ships and transport of offshore wind power).

ENERGY PRODUCTION & MANAGEMENT

Improvements in energy efficiency, the development of renewable energies and energy storage are amongst the main challenges facing engineers today. It is within this context that this specialisation aims to provide general engineering students with the skills to deal with cross- and multi-disciplinary issues linked to energy.

Energy control and management

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a key challenge for our planet. We need to install decentralised renewable energy sources for stationary and/or embedded applications. The decentralisation of sources and storage leads to a complex energy system.

The Energy Control and Management (e-Control) specialisation offers a training programme that addresses the technological, economic and societal challenges related to the energy sector.

Renewable energies and grid integration

Energy transition is key to reducing GHG emissions and is strategic from an energy independence perspective. Renewable energies are an important part of the solution to these problems. Currently undergoing rapid development, renewable energies have technological, regulatory and economic characteristics that are driving transformation in the energy sector in terms of both production and management of the distribution network.

The specialisation in Renewable Energy and Grid Integration is based on the core disciplines taught at Centrale Nantes covering mature renewable energy technologies (wind, solar, hydropower) and emerging technologies (biomass, geoenergy, marine renewable energy) and their connection to the grid. Broadly speaking, the course will provide future engineers with the tools to understand all the challenges in the emerging renewable energy sector so that they can play an active role in this sector.

Advanced Modelling and Analysis of Structures

This specialisation aims to train engineers with strong skills in both modelling and numerical simulation in mechanics, and with an opening towards new experimental field measurement techniques.

Mechanical Engineering for Materials and Manufacturing Processes

This specialisation aims to train general engineering students in materials mechanics with particular expertise in manufacturing and implementation processes.

They should apprehend a design and/or manufacturing problem in its entirety and complexity: choose the material and the process, evaluate the mechanical strength and durability, with a constant emphasis on innovation and respect for ecological principles.