Engineering Programme - Year 1

The common-core curriculum in year 1 provides students with broad-based multi-disciplinary engineering training with a strong focus on environmental challenges:

 

• Technical and scientific courses make up 70% of the curriculum with the remaining 30% of the programme devoted to soft skills, culture, modern languages and sport.
• Students benefit from first-hand professional experience during year 1 with a project in the second semester and a 4-week summer internship to discover the business world.
• All first-year courses (15 scientific courses of 32 hours each) address sustainable development issues. In addition, two other specific and compulsory courses will ensure that all our student engineers are able to carry out a carbon assessment and a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
• As part of an international outlook, French and international students will follow part of their first-year courses in English.
• From the start of the 2024 academic year, students are able to follow new specific courses focusing on research, entrepreneurship and community involvement.
• Students also commit to 100 hours of civic engagement in their first and second year, whereby they make a contribution to society through volunteer work.

Overview of the common-core curriculum in year 1 - 2024/25

Autumn Semester

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

 

Autumn Semester

	Lecture hours	Tutorial hours	Lab hours	Project work	Exams	Total	ECTS
Scientific and technical courses - compulsory courses
Continuum mechanics for elasticity	8	16	6	0	2	32	5
Materials: Engineering and Societal Challenges	10	10	10	0	2	32
Numerical Analysis	10	14	6	0	2	32	5
Algorithmics and Programming	6	12	12	0	2	32
Energy, Environment and Climate Challenges	12	18	0	0	2	32	5
Physics and Fluid Dynamics	12	12	6	0	2	32
Signals, Systems, Linear Control	12	10	8	0	2	32	5
Project Engineering	12	18	0	0	2	32
Interdisciplinary project	0	0	0	32	0	32	3
Softskills and general culture
Self-awareness	0	15	0	0	1	16	3
Structure governance, Ethics and Strategy	8	7	0	0	1	16
Leadership*	0	0	16	0	0	16
Management fundamentals*	0	15	0	0	1	16
Languages and Sport
Modern Language 1	0	26	0	0	0	26	4
Modern Language 2	0	26**	0	0	0	26**
Sports and Physical Education	0	26	0	0	0	26

* In the autumn semester, half of the students take the course entitled 'Leadership' and the other half the 'Management fundamentals' course. The position is reversed in the spring semester.
** 52 hours for Chinese and Japanese

Spring Semester

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

Spring Semester

	Lecture hours	Tutorial hours	Lab hours	Project work	Exams	Total	ECTS
Scientific and technical courses - compulsory courses
Life Cycles and Impact analysis	10	10	10	0	2	32	8
Thermodynamics and Energy Systems	6	18	6	0	2	32
Instrumentation, Sensors and Automatic Control	8	10	12	0	2	32
Probability and Statistics	10	14	6	0	2	32	5
Information Systems	10	10	10	0	2	32
Electives - choose 1 of 3:
Embedded System and Power Electronic	12	10	8	0	2	32	6
Computer-aided Design and Modelling	6	14	12	0	0	32
Optimization	8	16	6	0	2	32
Electives - choose 1 of 3:
Introduction to operations management and manufacturing	6	12	12	0	2	32
Biology	12	10	8	0	2	32
Structural dynamics	8	16	6	0	2	32
Softskills and general culture electives - choose 1 of 5:
Creative writing	0	15	0	0	1	16
Quality of Work Life and Stakeholders	4	11	0	0	1	16
Innovation management	0	15	0	0	1	16
World economics and civilization	15	0	0	0	1	16
Circular economy and Low-tech	0	15	0	0	1	16
Softskills and general culture electives - compulsory courses
Introduction to Artificial Intelligence	6	9	0	0	1	16	2
Leadership*	0	0	16	0	0	16
Management fundamentals*	0	15	0	0	1	16
Enterprise project (Tutored Partner projects)	0	0	0	48	0	48	3
Skills
Languages and Sport
Modern Language 1	0	26	0	0	0	26	4
Modern Language 2	0	26**	0	0	0	26**
Sports and Physical Education	0	26	0	0	0	26
First Year Internship	0	0	0	0	0	0	2

* In the autumn semester, half of the students takes the course entitled 'Leadership' and the other half the 'Management fundamentals' course. The position is reversed in the spring semester.
** 52 hours for Chinese and Japanese

 

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.

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.