A Lego from the International Space Station as a cornerstone. In the sky, Rafales, straight out of the nearby Dassault factory, pass over the field. The laying of the first stone of the future campus of Elisa Aerospace, this Thursday in Saint-Jean d’Illac (Gironde), near Bordeaux, plunged us directly into the atmosphere.
This campus project of more than 25 million euros, which benefits from a support of 4 million euros from the region, will welcome by the next school year more than 600 students on 5,600 m2. The school, which is also present in Hauts-de-France, has already trained some 240 engineers in Saint-Jean d’Illac since 2018, but in temporary premises.
A lack of training of engineers in the fields of aeronautics and space
“The aeronautics, space and defense sector represents more than 50,000 industrial jobs in New Aquitaine,” said Yann Guillou, representative of BAAS (body which brings together the major establishments in the sector) on the board of directors of Elisa Aerospace. But there has long been a deficit in the training of engineers in these fields in the region, while the prospects, with the development of Ariane 6, the export successes of the Rafale, the green aircraft projects of Airbus, confirm significant needs in terms of engineers. “
“All these industries will have to reinvent themselves in depth to face the climate challenge, adds Alexander Gibb, chairman of the board of directors of Elisa Aerospace: we will have to reinvent the plane, the space systems to monitor the Earth … recycling of materials. “
Embedded robots, military satellites or air combat systems
The school offers engineering training, and bachelor’s training for expert technicians. “At the engineering level, over five years we train in three areas in high demand by industries,” explains Chantal de Turckheim, founder and director of Elisa Aerospace: aeronautical systems engineering, missile and space systems engineering, and complex cooperative systems engineering. . “
“Our young people can thus be brought to work on on-board robots, on military satellites, on the air combat systems of the future (Scaf) … We also train support profiles for pilots and flight crews, who require enormous knowledge. of everything that makes up an aircraft. “
Aviation and space enthusiasts
“Airplane enthusiast since childhood,” Louis Rouzé, 21, wanted to be “a fighter pilot. “” Not having passed the competitive examinations to enter the army, I still wanted to work in the aerospace sector, especially in defense, which is why I joined this school. I took an option to specialize in space, but I had job interviews to go into the aeronautics sector as well, so it’s not closed. We must learn to evolve within our profession so as not to be overwhelmed by events, especially environmental events. The teachers tell us a lot about it. “
Yann Bartomeus, 21, is also passionate about aviation, and would like to work “in composite materials” or on “the hydrogen airplane, a sector of the future, even if there are constraints, particularly in terms of concerns storage space ”. “Me, it’s the space that has made me dream since I was very little,” Perrine, 22, explains. With the environmental aspect and the question of reusable launchers, it is fascinating to say that we are going to participate in the upheavals to come in this field of space, as future engineers. “
The president of the New Aquitaine region, Alain Rousset, recalled for his part the efforts undertaken to catch up with the delay in terms of training. “Over the past fifteen years, we have doubled the number of engineers trained in the region, and in all, four engineering schools will be created in the coming years” in the vast field of transport and mobility of the future. The region has also set up a think tank around space,
Way4Space, while
Sciences-Po Bordeaux opened a Defense and Aerospace chair.