The n+i Network

nplus

ENSEEIHT is part of the n+i network and is one of the top ten colleges within the network. Any information on how to register with the n+i Program can be accessed through www.nplusi.com. A good deal more information with regards to life at the ENSEEIHT can be found in a special entry under the ‘International Relations’ heading. You will find some more specific details about what we offer within the n+i Program.

Reception and accommodation

n+i students are welcomed at the railway station or airport as soon as they arrive in Toulouse. They are taken to their accommodation and helped to settle in. So far, we have been able to get a room in a Students’ Hall of Residence for each of our n+i students, which is very lucky since finding a place in Toulouse proves very difficult. The average monthly rent for a single room (including washing facilities) is 130 euros. Like their French peers, foreign students can claim a special benefit called APL (Aide Personnalisée au Logement) which reduces the cost of the rent. Some of the Halls of Residence are sometimes old. A huge refurbishing scheme is in process and the renovated rooms (slightly more expensive) boast an Internet connection. However, only a few new students get this type of room on arrival. One usually has to wait for a while and be patient! Those who wish to can opt for another type of accommodation (privately owned places, shared flats, etc.). Of course they will have to fend for themselves since the college will be of no avail in this respect.

Studies

French students enter in College of Engineering after two preparatory years (Y1, Y2) and then spend three years (Y3, Y4, Y5) in the College to get the “Diplome d’Ingenieur” (Official Master’s Degree in Engineering). After the basic French language threshold skill-getting period (MNF, namely mise à niveau en Français) and the adaptation semester, n+i students can join the sophomores (Y4 students). They will thereby complete the second and third years along with their French counterparts. Here are some essential features related to the courses:

The number of students within each department is approximately 70, which allows for a close relationship between the students and their lecturers.
Course attendance is compulsory.
The time spent in the college is approximately 25 hours a week.
The overall program includes lectures, workshops, experiments, tutorials and vocational training.
Each course is assessed by means of an examination.
At the end of the academic year, a board of examiners makes a final decision as to whether a student can be promoted to Year 5. For this his overall marks should be 12/20.
Course attendance is compulsory.
Course attendance is compulsory.
Course attendance is compulsory.

Vocational training

Training sessions either in corporations or laboratories are of the utmost importance for a future engineer. Therefore, like any of their French counterparts, n+i students have to attend such sessions. a 6-week or 2 month-session at the end of Year 4 (from mid June to mid August)
A 5-month session during year Y5 (from February to June)
A vocational training office (Service des Stages) can help the students find a place for their training sessions but they are supposed to show some degree of autonomy and initiative to manage by themselves. Corporations will usually pay the students for the longer session (Year 5). The amount depends on the corporation but on average it is 1000 euros a month. This is a means for these students, French and foreigners alike, to pay for their studies. It is possible for those who want to read for a PhD to carry out this training session in a research laboratory. The in-between Year (Année de Césure) It is possible to spend a full year in a corporation between Years 4 and 5. It is called ‘Année de Césure.’ The corporation pays the trainee engineer who remains enrolled at the college (the pay varies). If the work carried out during this year is scientifically and technically meaningful, it can become the basis for a report and an oral presentation and can thus be validated as a Year 5 training session. Thus in order to complete his/her course and get his/her diploma in February, the student will only have to have the first semester of Year 5 validated. This is certainly a good way to provide for one’s own studies. Contacts can be made through the vocational training office (Service des Stages) but the student will have to give evidence of his/her skills to the corporation so as to persuade them to take him/her on.

Pedagogical support

n+i students can take advantage of some specific support :

from the head of n+i
from a fellow tutor (student)
from a teaching tutor (lecturer)
and generally speaking from all the college services involved in the students’ success : International Relationship, the Vocational Training Office (Service des Stages), Accountancy, Studies Support (Service de la Scolarité)

If they wish, some specific workshops can be organised for some groups of n+i students. As far as the command of the French language is concerned - which is a key condition for the final success of the scheme - a full week of intensive practice is organised at the end of January when n+i students join the college after the adaptation semester. A weekly four-hour course is then provided for n+i students.

Expenditure

With the exception of the students coming under a special scheme (agreement with their own university or industrial companies) the average fees for n+i students are 2,000 euros a year. This includes schooling expenses, National Health Service and a wide range of facilities offered to n+i students (reception, accommodation booking, tutorials, French course…) You need to remember that the overall cost of an academic year for a trainee engineer amounts to 15,000 euros to be supported by the State Budget. It ensues that a student paying 2,000 euros is in fact granted a scholarship of 13,000 euros by the French State! This should be borne in mind if compared with the facilities offered by other countries. Students with an Eiffel Grant only have to pay 500 euros for the French course. Studying in a College of Engineering is exacting. One should not contemplate taking up a job, even if part time, to cover one’s expenses. Various subsidies can be obtained to support either totally or partially one’s studies.

Research

Research is something important at ENSEEHIT. Each department is closely connected with a research laboratory. The courses draw upon it. The students who wish to take up a research career will be welcome in the College Laboratories. They will also find topics either in the field of theoretical research or in the field of industrial and technological research. In year 5, by attending a few extra lectures, the students will be able to get a Master’s Degree in research as well as their degree in Engineering, which is a good way to begin preparing a PhD. They can also carry out their 5-month-training session within a Laboratory as a preparation for their future dissertation. Reading on for a PhD depends on the capacity to obtain the required financial support as well as the agreement of a professor, fully qualified for the support of (PhD) students. The Electronics and Fluid Mechanics Departments These two departments are those that take on the highest ratio of n+i students. The Electronics Department offers a well-adapted program which appeals to numerous foreign students and includes:
Year 4: Electronics
Year 5: (specialisation) Micro-Waves, Integrated Circuits, Communication Systems and Networks and Multimedia Technology The Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulics Department provides a high degree of specialisation in a large variety of areas. - Aeronautics, automobile, petroleum (oil), nuclear energy, gases (Energetics ) - Water treatment, chemistry, petroleum (Process Fluids) - Water provision, sanitation, flooding (Water Sciences and Environmental Studies) - Pattern (Template) establishment and numeric simulation
Lecturer in charge of n+i Program : Michel Doisy