On March 23rd, Engineering Day took place in Lyon. Organized by Centrale Lyon, ENTPE, INSA Lyon, and Mines Saint-Étienne, this event aimed to examine and define the role and responsibility of engineering in industrial and usage decarbonization, the circular economy, and responsible digital technology.
On this occasion, the four directors of the Engineering College (Pascal Ray, Director of Centrale Lyon; Cécile Delolme, Director of ENTPE; Frédéric Fotiadu, Director of INSA Lyon; Jacques Fayolle, Director of Mines Saint-Étienne) signed an op-ed in which they committed to innovation in the face of environmental and societal challenges.
“In a world where technological dependencies are reshaping balances, the ability to produce scientific knowledge, innovate, and develop technologies is also becoming a sovereignty issue for Europe. All societal actors must be able to act according to their capacities and understanding of the challenges.”
The message of their op-ed is clear: the four engineering schools that are members of the College want to reconnect their students with science to avoid exceeding planetary boundaries. Engineering students are at the forefront of addressing tomorrow’s challenges. They are the originators of future transportation, housing, resource utilization, and digital technology, and must support societal transformations.
“We hope that the younger generations will be open to these three key words: reuse, reinvent, regenerate. It is under this condition that Europe will be able to successfully achieve its ecological transition, remain a space for innovation, and preserve its capacity for action. It is up to us, engineering schools, to inspire and empower them to seize this opportunity.”
