After four months of work, Lab e·nov, the digital culture laboratory at the service of the School but also of the IFP Energies nouvelles group and its partner companies, is unveiling its new premises.
At the end of August, the School’s teachers and staff had a sneak preview of Lab e·nov’s brand new facilities.
430 square meters of the fourth floor of the Tamaris building have been completely renovated, refurbished and kitted out with furniture. Seven rooms are now dedicated to educational experimentation and innovation.
"We are really excited to have created Lab e·nov on our campus. With these facilities, our teachers and students will continue to experiment with new forms of teaching and learning," explains Christine Travers, Dean of IFP School.
"As the energy and powertrain sectors are constantly evolving, we need to adapt our training programs to the new expectations of students and industrials and to the new utilizations of digital technology,” she continues.
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The new Lab e·nov premises include a virtual reality laboratory equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and decorated with a street art mural. |
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The new premises will primarily be used by students and teachers of IFP School, but will also be open to IFPEN staff and the group’s subsidiaries.
The project was co-financed by the Association pour la Formation dans l'Industrie (AFI) and IFP Energies nouvelles, and implemented by IFPEN’s Safety, Environment and Activity Support Division (DSES), in close collaboration with the Lab e·nov team.
The brand new premises include:
- a multimedia studio,
- a virtual reality laboratory,
- two active learning rooms,
- two offices to accommodate the team
- and a social space.
A brief overview
Multimedia studio
This space is dedicated to the production of educational resources, such as videos or podcasts, mainly for the School’s courses. A Rapidmooc video booth equipped with a high-definition camera and a green screen stands on one side of the room. On the other side, there is a complete recording studio with a mixing desk, headphones and microphones.
"Here, you will find all the equipment to record a podcast or make a video presentation for a course," explains Marie de la Villèsbrunne, course designer in charge of MOOCs and SPOCs at Lab e·nov.
Virtual reality laboratory or VRLab
Decorated with an amazing street art mural, this room of about 90 m2 contains an impressive amount of state-of-the-art equipment such as virtual reality headsets, controllers, computers, as well as a 360° high-definition camera and accessories (tripod, spatialized sound recording, etc.). The tables and chairs can be folded to change the layout to suit the needs of the users.
A total of 11 virtual reality stations (including a master station) will be available for students and teachers to complement their theoretical lessons and explore the possibilities offered by immersive reality technologies.
"The size of this laboratory testifies to the importance of these technologies in the School’s applied training programs," remarks Clément Cahagne, head of the Educational Innovations and Immersive Realities hubs at Lab e·nov.
"At IFP School, virtual reality has proven to be a very complementary learning tool to classroom lectures. It creates an opportunity to learn by actually doing, and thus to acquire technical and non-technical skills. Thanks to this laboratory, we can easily deploy immersive training courses, and we can also introduce the teaching teams to these technologies. New virtual reality modules are already being developed and we are very excited to see our students trying them out!" he adds.
Active Learning Rooms
A friendly and collaborative atmosphere is the hallmark of the two new active learning rooms. As their name suggests, these rooms are aimed at making learning and teaching conditions more stimulating and engaging.
In a very colorful atmosphere, this space is equipped with modular oval tables, interactive screens and two areas where groups can meet and share their work.
"These rooms have been designed to encourage collaboration and creativity, as well as interaction and discussion," explains João Silveira, educational engineer in charge of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship hub at Lab e·nov.
The next steps
Lab e·nov is currently working on the development of new virtual modules for IFP School’s training programs in powertrain and process engineering. Stay tuned for the next issue of this newsletter to find out the latest news!
The team wants to swiftly set up the rooms and equipment for the benefit of IFP School students and teachers, as well as IFPEN employees, but there is still one last "stone" to be laid: management of rooms and new acquisitions.
For the time being, users will have access through dedicated time slots that are reserved via an online application. To promote Lab e·nov and its new premises, the team is also preparing for an open house for IFPEN staff.
In the meantime, you too, dear readers, can check the place out with a tour that is, of course, virtual!
Author of the article: Meyling Siu