SIGMA Clermont

The Ethiopia 4.0 project is a winner of the Africa Academic Partnership program funded by the French Development Agency and powered by the French National Research Agency.
It aims at supporting Ethiopia's industrial development on Industry 4.0 by creating a new master's degree at the College of Technology and Built Environment (CTBE) at Addis Ababa Institute of Technology. For a few years now, Ethiopian government has been investing a lot on accelerating industrialization. 

Missions of the project:

The ambition is to achieve some of the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from the UNESCO:
• Development of high-quality, vocational training programs on the African continent.
• Access to university education for young African women, thereby promoting their economic empowerment
• Access for African youth to training that leads to decent jobs
• Sustainable industrialization that benefits all and encourages innovation

This program covers all aspects of Industry 4.0, including robotics, additive manufacturing and the digitization of manufacturing activities. It will be based on the creation of a technology platform that will enable concrete applications to be demonstrated.
 

In this context, SIGMA Clermont relies on Dassault Systèmes' 3DEXPERIENCE platform to support the digitization of academic activities at Addis Ababa Institute of Technology.

In addition to the traditional curriculum, there are a wide range of other 3DEXPERIENCE-related activities to stimulate the students' interest and give them a taste for challenge, collaboration and innovation!

The teaching of CAD/CAM (Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing) is an important part of the mechanical engineering curriculum. The aim is to provide students with a methodology for use (such as skeleton design), a global vision of applications and an effective mastery of the tool. 

Students at SIGMA Clermont begin with the basics of CAD in their first year, then use cutting-edge technologies in their second year, like collaborative platforms such as the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. As part of the digital continuity, they can use advanced concepts and develop the skills required for the industry 4.0. Thierry Rabany, mechanics professor at SIGMA Clermont, says they they aim to develop students' awareness about methodologies powered by the 3DEXPERIENCE platform such as MODSIM, Generative Design or Topological Optimization. That way, they can train their students on industry best practices, through the use of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

Numerous teaching activities are also developed in conjunction with industrial partners as part of their students' second or third year, to give them a foretaste of their professional lives!

Thanks to the staff’s commitment and the quality of their teaching, SIGMA aims to train responsible engineers, whose interpersonal skills can harmoniously enrich knowledge and know-how, and whose international ability and scientific expertise enable to adapt to the changing world of industry… making them fully future-ready!