This period of health crisis turns out to be a collective ordeal for the INSA Group and its schools. The INSA Foundation, OpenINSA, the Gaston Berger Institute, student and alumni associations support the entire INSA community.
The issue of internships is at the heart of pedagogical continuity, facing many uncertainties linked to the particular situation we are experiencing. Many companies encounter economic difficulties. For some, they must reorient their activities, all must adapt their work conditions.
Thanks to the actors of the INSA community, various actions were very quickly put in place to continue the school's missions under unprecedented conditions. INSA and partner schools are mobilized in order to offer and finance internships to some 4th year students who could not be accommodated from this month of June, in the planned companies. Discussions are underway with the laboratories under supervision or in agreement with each INSA.
Some INSA are working to replace the 1st or 2nd year internship with civic engagement missions throughout the year in their territory.
The INSA schools' management also solicits their partners on the same subject. For example, INSA Alumni Toulouse has mobilized in close collaboration with the school administration and the business and alumni relations department to set up an exceptional collection of 4th year internships offers with alumni. At the end of May, 110 internships had already been collected (including 64 possible in partial telework and 29 possible in total telework). Teachers from different specialties have also used their networks via tools such as Linkedin, to identify new internship proposals.
In Strasbourg, the management also decided to offer a few internships on the theme of sustainable development and social responsibility. The corporate relations department promoted student profiles via social media, and companies responded through this channel. Finally, a project for innovative masks born out of the health crisis has been submitted to the Fondation de France: in the event of support, two additional internships may be financed.
INSA Rennes has mobilized to offer an intergenerational solidarity mechanism, which will replace the 4th year internship for some students. This mechanism will accompany and support secondary school students facing difficulties during their school training through an original support system by mentoring students. 8 INSA students thus supervise 16 secondary school pupils. It should be noted that the students integrated into this system are very committed to take action and invest in encouraging the education of the youngest, following their own path and opening up horizons.
As part of the Foundation's Alliances program, INSA work with partner NGOs to support them on the technical and scientific issues they must face in this context of Covid-19. A new system is being set up with the International Committee of the Red Cross, Handicap International and We tech care. Around thirty internships will thus be offered to the students of the Group to support these NGOs on subjects such as the spread of the epidemic, the development of solutions for level diagnosis and monitoring of the progress of the public in a situation of digital fragility ...
For example, the INSA Group has already developed mobile applications for the International Committee of the Red Cross to facilitate and organize the identification of missing persons. A first version of these applications, developed by 3rd year students from INSA Lyon, should be made available to ICRC teams around the world in the coming days. INSA Toulouse is participating with a team of student testers. This pioneering project is a first initiative towards a lasting collaboration which aims to put the skills of engineering students at the service of humanitarian causes.
Discussions are also underway with The Shift Project, a Think Tank that works in favor of an economy free from carbon constraints to offer internships that would make sense in relation to the current health crisis or the need to think about a more responsible future. "The INSA Group has taken the initiative to work with a recognized Think Tank, whose expertise will combine with our academic knowledge for the development of our training, over time and where necessary. All of our students' thoughts as well as those of our staff will be associated with it ”, underlines Bertrand Raquet, President of the INSA Group.
The INSA schools are convinced that through these internships, students will be able to contribute effectively to economic recovery and to the transformations of the world to come.
