MSc Industrial Engineering
Agile Factory Management (I-ENG AFM)
Please see the MSc Industrial Engineering programme available from 2025-26.
- Programme Objectives
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This specialism in Industrial Engineering develops skills for agile factory management based on operational research methods and production management approaches, such as lean, adaptive and reactive management. Fundamental approaches for factory design and simulation will be introduced as well as performance assessment. At the conclusion of the course, students should be able to model and simulate production systems, to optimize production systems control strategies and to apply new assessment methods based on simulation and optimization approaches, taking into consideration different kinds of indicators (environmental, social, economical) related to agile factories.
The programme of study lasts two academic years - denoted by M1 and M2 and is taught in English. It comprises three study semesters followed by a paid Master's thesis / internship in the final semester.
Our Master's programmes in Industrial Engineering are fully accredited by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research.
► See our other Master's programmes in Industrial EngineeringContribution to sustainable development goals
- Course Content
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30 ECTS Credits per semester.
Language of instruction: English
- M1 Year - 2024/25
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Autumn Semester Course ECTS Spring Semester Course ECTS Statistics and Data Analysis 4 Operations Research 4 Enterprise Modelling 4 Innovation Engineering 4 Introduction to Optimization Methods 4 Introduction to Research 4 Production Management 4 Enterprise 4.0 Processes 4 Discrete-event Simulation 4 Project Management 4 Financial and Economic Aspects for Industrial Engineering 4 Introduction to Information Systems 4 Basics of Computer Science and Mathematics 4 Strategic Management of Sustainable Enterprise 4 Modern Languages * 2 Modern Languages * 2
* 'French as a Foreign language' except for French native speakers who will study 'Cultural and Communicational English' or Spanish (depending on sufficient demand).
NB Course content may be subject to minor changes - M2 Year - 2024/25
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Autumn Semester course ECTS Sustainable Manufacturing 4 Multi-criteria decision making and decision support 4 Artificial Intelligence for Decision Making in Industrial Engineering 4 SCM 4 Project and Conferences 4 Shop Floor Scheduling 4 Integrated design and implementation of CPPS 4 Modern languages * 2
* 'French as a Foreign language' except for French native speakers who will study 'Cultural and Communicational English' or Spanish (depending on sufficient demand).
NB Course content may be subject to minor changes
Spring Semester ECTS Master thesis / internship 30
Master thesis / internshipExamples of previous internships in industry:
- Employee experience and engagement - Danone (France)
- Price forecasting - Michelin (France)
- Supply chain management - L’Oréal (France), ArcelorMittal (France), Nike (Belgium), Ariane Groupe (France), New Look Marine Services (Dubaï)
- Lean Manufacturing - Louis Vuitton (Spain), PSA (France), Aribus (Nantes)
- Data Scientist - Georges Renault (France), Amazon (Luxembourg), Tdf (France)
- ERP configuration/migration - Mansa Sugar (Zambia), Imerys (France)
- Project Manager - DXC Technology (France), L’Oréal (France)
- Product innovation – Huawei (France), Assystem (France), Pernod Ricard (France), Thedush Robotics (India)
Examples of previous internships in research labs:
- Reducing mental-load on assembly lines: augmented reality contribution, LS2N, Nantes
- Interoperability between MES and ERP, LS2N, Nantes
- Management of a fleet of AGV, CRAN, Nancy, France
NB Internships undertaken in France are strictly regulated and are only open to current full-time students of an accredited educational institution. Interns are entitled to all the rights guaranteed to regular employees (such as social protection and redress mechanisms). For internships that exceed two months in duration a minimum level of remuneration is set by the government, at approximately €600 per month. In some professional branches, this amount may be higher. - Skills developed
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- Master modeling and simulation of production systems
- Master optimisation methods for production system control
- Master the new concepts and performance indicators of the smart and agile factory
In addition to the above specialism-specific skills, students will also develop more general skills:
- Identify models, perform simulation and analyse results
- Communicate comprehensive results in a meaningful way
- Undertake bibliographic surveys of international research and professional literature
- Manage or be part of a project
Download syllabus | Industrial Engineering - Agile Factory Management
- Facilities and Partnerships
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Faculty and Research Facilities
This Industrial Engineering programme relies on the Centrale Nantes’ faculty, staff and research facilities of the LS2N Research Institute and other faculty members from University of Nantes as well as external speakers from industry.
Focus on unique resources
Smart Factory Platform
"This smart platform offers everything that we could expect from a production system: it is modular, reconfigurable, agile and flexible. It demonstrates the modern concepts of the industry of the future, integrating diversity management, total production traceability and detailed quality monitoring". - Emeritus Professor Alain BernardFlexible assembly lines
This experimental platform located on the IUT campus in Carquefou comprises two separate assembly lines and is part of a production unit for research and teaching purposes that includes a Cartesian robot rack and opto-guided conveyors for loading/unloading workstations.
► Learn more (in French)
- After the MSc
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Pursue your studies
- PhD opportunities at Centrale Nantes - the programme is supported by the Laboratory of Digital Sciences of Nantes - UMR CNRS 6597; ED SIS)
- PhD studies possible anywhere in Europe (international recognition of the master's degree)
Examples of job opportunities:
- Continuous improvement manager
- Consultant in manufacturing digitalisation
- Product owner
- Data analyst in manufacturing
Companies that hired our recent graduates:
- Capgemini
- Michelin
- Accenture
- Dassault Systems
- Expeleo
Where are they now?
► Find out what our recent MSc graduates are doing now - Meet the Programme Supervisors
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Catherine da Cunha, M2 Programme Supervisor AFM, Programme Supervisor Industrial Engineering
Catherine da Cunha is a Professor of Industrial Engineering at Centrale Nantes. She heads up the CPS3 research team (LS2N). Her main interests are in the area of modelling and simulation, in production as well as in the organizational field. She is particularly interested in the potential of partial or immature information for Mass Customization.Farouk Belkadi, M1 Programme Supervisor AFM
Farouk Belkadi (Dr. Eng. HDR) obtained his Ph.D. in automation and industrial engineering from the University of Franche Comte in 2006. He has been a lecturer at Centrale Nantes since 2013. His main scientific interests are data and knowledge management for decision-making, Enterprise X.0, PLM approach, and the new paradigms of socio-economic and environmental sustainability.
International staff make up two thirds of the Industrial Engineering teaching team.