The French Engineering Education System

Introduction
France has the oldest formal engineering education system in the world. The first engineering school ever created is the ENPC (Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées), a civil engineering school created in 1747 in Paris. Historically the French have been renowned as engineers and mathematicians (Descartes, Fourier, Laplace, L’Hôpital, D’Alembert, Eiffel, Poincaré etc. are the names that come to mind). The French made great advances in warfare during the 18th and 19th centuries, mainly due to their mastery of engineering during that epoch, they also created engineering marvels such as the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty. The current situation is not too different, France is among the world leaders in telecommunications, transport (high-speed trains and airliners) and defense equipment. This is no mean feat considering that France’s population is about 1/3rd of Pakistan’s and that traditionally France has eschewed cooperation in the fields of science and technology (though that is changing rapidly with the dawn of the ‘New Europe’).

The French Engineering Education System
The French higher education system is probably the most confusing in the world. There are a myriad of directions a student can take. But among these numerous choices one is called the voie royale or royal path, and that is to study engineering. What distinguishes the French system from those around the world is its emphasis on rigorous and formal mathematical training. Students who complete the baccalaureat (French equivalent of high-school) do not immediately get admission into engineering schools. Instead they must pass through 2 years of classes preparatoires, preparation courses during which they are taught nothing but mathematics and physics. After these 2 years of study, these students appear in the nation-wide concours or competitive exams for entry into the elite engineering schools. Only a small fraction makes it as these exams are intensely competitive and the number of places very few compared to the number of participants.

Thus when these people enter actual engineering studies, they have an extremely strong grounding in the mathematical techniques they need for pursuing further studies. The studies in the engineering schools last 3 years, and are renowned for being extensive and wide-ranging.

The real positive point about the whole system is actually the classes preparatoires. Their curriculum is extensive and very current. During these 2 years the students get a high workload and are encouraged to think independently and critically. Thus when they enter engineering school they are ready to take on the challenge of creativity and hard work that engineering studies entail. For the educators among you, you will realize how advantageous it would be to get students in the 1st year of engineering who are already well-versed in differential and integral calculus, differential equations, statistics and random variables, statics, dynamics and thermodynamics, Fourier analysis etc. Therefore engineering studies could take off with these prerequisites under the belt and with a concentration on advanced actual problem solving rather than building a background of knowledge and tools.

Another positive point that this would bring is that entrance examinations could be at a much advanced level to weed out those with an actual aptitude for technical studies over those who have scored overall good grades in their high-school education.

Adaptation in Pakistan
It is true that such a drastic change cannot occur without a well-thought out plan that takes all contingencies and issues into account. Here, one thing that might go in our favor is the fact that our undergraduate or BSc studies are of 2 years duration, compared to 4 years the world over. We could institute a new BSc, a kind of pre-engineering undergraduate program. We could streamline the existing BSc programs we have by eliminating extraneous subjects (Islamic studies, Pakistan studies, Urdu and English literature etc. are some of the subjects that come to mind), revamp the mathematics, physics and maybe also chemistry syllabus, expand it substantially, and we could have something that resembles the French classes preparatoires. As the next step we would have to reformat the curriculum and teaching methodologies at some of our engineering universities, the most promising candidates in this area would seem to be the network of federal UETs (Universities of Engineering and Technology) in each province. Their curriculum should be reformatted into the semester system (a change which in itself is long overdue). Because of the absence of the need for advanced mathematics and physics courses, the first two years at engineering universities could be used to provide undergraduate courses, with the third year reserved for advanced graduate level courses in the student’s specialization domain. This would prepare our students not only to become more productive as engineers in industry, but also give them a distinct edge should they decide to pursue higher studies.

The French government itself (and the education ministry in particular) might be of great help in this endeavor. The French have a tendency to support the export of their culture and system of education, they have strong ties to similar systems of education in former colonies. Government to government contacts could help in the writing of detailed feasibility reports and planning. With the recent spate of government initiatives on higher education this could prove to be a big boost and have a synergistic effect on the indigenous research initiatives being sponsored by different government bodies.