Engineering program in food, agricultural and environmental sciences
ENSAT is currently the second largest institute in France in terms of the number of agronomic engineers trained annually.
The school mission:
- Ensuring the calibre and diversity of the student body
- Providing students with a broad academic background tailored to the job market
- Maintaining a permanent link between teaching staff and research teams accredited by the school
- Applying new Information and Communication Technologies within the academic program
- Preparing students for the professional world through a farming internship, an introduction to project engineering, an internship in France or abroad, the possibility of a year-off, a strong involvement of professionals in the academic program
- Promoting internationalism: all students perform an internship abroad or spend one semester at a foreign university.
The studies have four main objectives
1) To acquire scientific and technical training in accordance with the students’ career objectives.
2) To specialize progressively in the vast field of agriculture, food sciences and environmental sciences.
3) To discover the professional environment and in various training periods.
4) To get international experience.
Organization of studies:
The studies which last three years (High school diploma + 3 through High school diploma +5), are divided into three parts:
- Three semesters common to all students where the objective is to give a basic general education. In addition, there is a training period on a farm (not only a first experience in the agricultural sector, but with the realities of business as well), and a tutored project of long duration : the equivalent of five weeks are devoted to this in the curriculum. This project allows the students to make professional contacts and to learn more about a subject of interest to them.
- Pre-specialization courses during the second semester of the second year are related to the subjects offered in the third year. Parallel to this pre-specialization, there are courses which are obligatory for all students: languages, sport and the equivalent of sixty hours in the domains of economic science, business administration and law, in order to supplement their management training.
- The third year (consisting of two semesters) is a year of specialization, and is divided into five months of courses at the ENSAT and a six month training period at a business in order to write a project report due in September. There are six fields of specialization corresponding to the major sectors of employment for agricultural engineers.
- Sustainable agriculture: Agro Ecosystems, Environment and Land Use
- Plant sciences: biotechnology, plant breeding, crop protection, crop production, bioinformatics
- Animal production, food quality, labels and product quality
- Environmental sciences: environmental engineering, environmental quality and resources management
- Industrial food processing, innovation and food products
- Agromanagement: management of the agricultural sector and food industry
This academic program can lead to pursuit of further training or education, national degrees in oenology, or advanced degrees such master’s and doctoral degrees.
Total length of study
The total length of study is roughly 2060 hours, in addition to which there is the equivalent of one year of training periods and other activities outside of the ENSAT. The breakdown of studies is the following:
- Three years of studies (2060 hours)
- General studies 1000 hours
- Optional courses 780 hours
- Languages 180 hours
- Sport 100 hours
- Training periods, institutional projects and study abroad 48 weeks
- Tutored project/ professional
- environment/ fairs 5 weeks
- Working training period on a farm 6 weeks
- Training period in a business between the 2 nd and 3 rd years 10 weeks
- Final project 25 weeks
- Study abroad 2 weeks
Training Periods
The educational plan of our school is based on the objectives of quality and diversity in student recruitment and instruction, and on a preparation for international professional life.
This preparation is made up of different obligatory training periods as well as the tutored project.
- First year Training Period
During their first year at ENSAT, the students do a training period on a farm lasting a total of six months. This training period is supplemented by course work. It finishes with a written report, oral presentations and small group discussions. Its objective is to get the students to discover the rural environment as well as to reinforce and apply their scientific training.
- Training period in a company or centre of research
The second year of engineering study at the ENSAT is finished by a training period in a company or centre of research, lasting a minimum of ten weeks between the beginning of June and the end of August. The students are strongly encouraged to do this training period abroad. This training period can be either an applied project or study and it is the subject of a written report. Its first objective is to help the students start their future professional life. It also gives them the opportunity to discover a sector of activity and/or post which interests them. And finally it allows them to get some management experience in an organization.
- Engineering Project
In the third year, the second semester is dedicated to an engineering project which can be done in France or abroad. This six month training period ends with to a written thesis under the supervision of the company tutor.
Tutored Project: a project in relation with a company
Objectives
The tutored project is a unit of professional training which supplements the obligatory training periods. It takes place alternately at the host company and the school.
The tutored project is an initiation to project management, helping the students to :
- to clearly analyse a given subject: using instructions specified by the company in the form of a mission statement.
- to put into practice a methodology of project conduct, in order to obtain convincing group results in a limited time, with predetermined means and standards of quality.
- to write a report, which will serve at the same time as an element of evaluation, and as a synthesis of results for the company. Thus, it should integrate the demands of this type of report (of a didactic and operational nature).
- to present the results of the project during an oral presentation which can be confidential or in public (according to the demands of the company), and which should meet the standards of a professional project presentation.
In addition, the tutored project gives the students some more general objectives:
- an apprenticeship in team work
- an introduction to a professional project
- an understanding of the sectors of activity and career opportunities.
- a confirmation of their specialization choice
Tutored Project Time Table
- 2nd Semester
The students form a group, look for a business willing to give them a project, defining its goals and signing an agreement between the company and the school.
- 3 rd Semester
Time is released in the timetable between October and December to start working on the project. Three complete one week periods are thus programmed during which the students got to the project site, in addition to which half days are reserved for this project at the school (generally on Thursday).
Project Organization
An agreement is signed by the host company, the school and the students.
A teacher assists the students, giving them any scientific expertise and methodology they might require, acting as an intermediary between the school and the company.
A project committee validates the projects and their results, as well as evaluating individual and collective performance.
The projects are presented in January of the following year at the ENSAT in the form of a professional seminar organized over two days. This oral presentation in front of experts allows, at the same time, the synthesis of work for the company and the evaluation of the project itself. The students are given a grade for their work.
Examples of projects
- creation and launching of a product
- a publicity campaign
- organisation of a demonstration
- development of computer program
- creation of a website
- evaluation of public politics
- a market study
- a study in preparation for the ISO 14000 certificate
- implementation of hygiene safety measures in a factory
- evaluation of the communication strategy of a foodbrand