Education/training
Whether for undergraduate, graduate or continuing education, the universities and training centers of Bordeaux and Aquitaine have deployed a coherent, dynamic offer which represents a major advantage contributing to the success of the Route des Lasers competitiveness cluster.
University programs
The University of Sciences and Technologies Bordeaux 1 has a strong tradition of advanced education in optics and particularly lasers.
Lasers and their applications have held an important place in the basic physics and applied physics curriculum for decades. To accompany the arrival of the Laser Megajoule (LMJ) in Aquitaine, the University of Bordeaux 1, has created a certain number of professionally targeted programs: a two-year degree program (since 1998) in "lasers and optics," a technical diploma in "physical measurements," a three-year professional degree in "lasers, control and maintenance," a master’s in "lasers and processes," (five year program since 2000), a master’s in "design, use, marketing of physics instrumentation," (CUCIPhy) with a strong foundation in the laser markets (five year program since 1994).
The results provided by the Observatoire du Devenir des Etudiants de Bordeaux, a support organization created to follow up on the careers of alumni from university professional programs, have shown that students graduating from these programs find excellent starts to their careers. Since a great deal of the instruction is provided or piloted by laboratories, the primary purpose of the programs is to prepare students to work in R&D and innovation. It is also the role of the Route des Lasers to incorporate complementary training orientations in technical or production management
The Institut d'Optique Graduate School (IOGS)
With an eighty-year tradition, this prestigious engineering school, which recruits its students through a competitive exam in common with the Centrale-SupElec engineering school, has trained a large number of French optics specialists now working in major corporations or in SMEs. ALPhA and the University of Bordeaux, by leveraging a close, long-standing relationship with IOGS, proposed the creation of training courses in Bordeaux for part of the graduating class of optical engineers from this engineering school. The project to create an IOGS annex in Aquitaine is currently being studied, with strong backing from the president of the Aquitaine Regional Council, Alain Rousset.
The study will look into setting up a training and research establishment focused on regional strengths. Initially, 50 students from IOGS will do their second and third years in
Continuing Education
The Route des Lasers competitiveness cluster has established PYLA, a continuing education gateway in the optics and lasers sector
www.pyla-routedeslasers.com
PYLA organizes and coordinates training programs for laser professions in controlled environments, by sharing the skills of players in the sector, training organizations and industrialists, University of Bordeaux 1 and 2, CEA CESTA, Thales Megajoule, ALPhANOV, CNRS, Adera, Institut d’Optique Graduate School, ASPEC, AFPI Sud-Ouest, Apave, Novalase.
Concerning the wider issue of training, PYLA also serves as a relay between training organizations and company needs. Consequently, it offers a forum for exchange and pertinent dialogue to establish continuing education courses and for the professional orientation of university degree programs.
Concerning the wider issue of training, PYLA also serves as a relay between training organizations and company needs. Consequently, it offers a forum for exchange and pertinent dialogue to establish continuing education courses and for the professional orientation of university degree programs.
Within the ALPhANOV technological center, PYLA has dedicated teaching resources for the various courses it offers: initiation, industrial lasers, medical lasers, opto-mechanics, laser safety, laser technology in R&D, and work in controlled, ultra-clean environments.