Training Engineers for Innovation

6 Innovation Training and Entrepreneurship in French Engineering Higher Education Institutions: An Investigation of the Commission des Titres d’Ingénieur

6.1. Introduction

Accreditation agencies now play an important role in the design of training programs through the guidelines that they produce and the evaluation procedures that they undertake periodically. In France, this is particularly the case for the Commission des Titres d'Ingénieur (CTI) that, since its creation in 1934, has historically contributed to structuring and supporting the development and evolution of engineering education in France via the engineering degree (master level 2). In line with France’s ambition to create an engineer with a broad range of skills, beyond only technical specialization, CTI’s guidelines expressed in its document Références et orientations (Standards and Guidelines) [R&O 16] cover all domains that must control at a minimum an industrial company executive, within the different topics of management and social and environmental awareness.

This is why CTI has since 2012 adopted the theme of innovation, for which the stakes have become significant with regard to engineering education. Within the guidelines addressed to schools, there is a specific chapter on this issue, which is now included in the points addressed during the evaluations. Innovation is explicitly linked to the theme of entrepreneurship, with the aim of encouraging graduate engineers to create new activities and to stimulate ...