On 18 October, Arts et Métiers and Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) launched the Franco-Malaysian Institute for Future Industry. A structural partnership that reflects the institution's commitment to expanding its links with South-East Asia.
The agreement between Arts et Métiers and UTP to create the Franco-Malaysian Institute for Future Industry will be signed at the International Conference Centre in Kuala Lumpur. The ceremony will be attended by the Arts et Métiers delegation and the UTP presidency, the UTP chairman and vice-president of Petronas, the Franco-Malaysian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as French companies including Air Liquide, Schlumberger, Technip Energies, and EADS.
Arts et Métiers will be represented by Laurent Champaney, President, Ivan Iordanoff, Vice President Research and Innovation, Fodil Meragnhi, Director of the Doctoral School, Audrey Stewart, Director of International and European Development, Frédéric Mérienne, Director of the Image Institute and Laurent Guillaumat, LAMPA laboratory, Angers campus.
A PARTNERSHIP THAT BEGAN IN 2015
"This agreement culminates the dynamic partnership that Arts et Métiers has built with UTP since 2015, both in terms of research and training," says Audrey Stewart. "The Image Institute and the Lampa laboratory in particular have created many joint ventures with UTP: visits by professors such as Frédéric Mérienne and Laurent Guillaumat, semester-long student exchanges and internships in laboratories, co-supervision of theses, and research projects, including a recent Match grant."
The Franco-Malaysian institute will focus on a physical-digital approach to industry (for a better knowledge of engineering systems, smart manufacturing, data collection, AI, VR/AR), sustainable industry (renewable energy, smart and sustainable materials, low tech and resilient technologies, frugal technologies) and a human-centred approach (to foster a good working environment, training, and health) set against a backdrop of the digital and environmental transitions. "A research workshop bringing together some twenty researchers from Arts et Métiers and UTP was held on Thursday 13 October, partly online, to set up working groups and determine the areas of collaboration," says Audrey Stewart.
IN LINE WITH GOVERNMENT STRATEGY
The founding of the Franco-Malaysian Institute is part of Arts et Métiers' strategy to create one structural partnership per continent: in Germany with KIT, in the United States with Texas A&M, in Africa with the campus in Morocco and now with UTP in South-East Asia (learn more). The initiative also contributes to the policy of economic and scientific diplomacy to bolster France's presence in this region.
CONTACTS IN SINGAPORE
The Arts et Métiers delegation used its trip to South-East Asia to visit Singapore and mark the one-year anniversary of the DesCartes project, of which Francisco Chinesta is the scientific director (learn more). This visit was also an opportunity to meet representatives of two prestigious Singaporean universities that are also partners in the DesCartes project (Nanyang Technological University and the National University of Singapore). "The aim is to study opportunities to cooperate in education, research and entrepreneurship," says Audrey Stewart.
