PrEsentation of
the French training course :
D.U.T. - Diplôme Universitaire de
Technologie - in Health, Safety and the Environment.
MM LESBATS Michel
et REISER Horst
Département
Hygiène et Sécurité, IUT
Université Bordeaux
I, 33405 Talence Cédex
(33) 5 56.84.58.40
PRESENTATION OF THE FRENCH TRAINING
COURSE :
D.U.T. - Diplôme Universitaire de
Technologie - in Health, Safety and the Environment.
p General approach
• This D.U.T. is one of the national
degrees issued by the University in the fields of technology (bac +2). Each
technological field has its own programme, set up by the C.P.N.
("Commission Pédagogique Nationale"). The university and the
profession concerned are equally represented in this body.
• The course is developed so that there is
a balance between theoritical training and practice that will enable the
students, after graduating, to easily fit in the professional environment.
• Our degree in Health, Safety and the
Environment was created in 1970, to answer the needs for well identified jobs
in the field of Civilian Protection, Safety at Work and the protection of the
Environment. The course is meant to produce generalists in the prevention of
risks. Presently it has a strong connotation in methodology. Following an audit
on our current programme carried out in 1992, the C.P.N. is presently working
on up-dating this course. I will tell you about some of the changes during my
exposé.
p Pedagogical organization of the course
• Roughly speaking it is a 1800 hour course
(full lectures, seminars and practicals) in front of the students :
- 1020 hours in the first year
- 780 hours in the second year,
plus a 10 week professional placement in
industry or administration, in France or abroad.
• The student assessment is continuous
(after every 20 to 30 hours of lectures, seminars or practicals).
• The first year cursus is made of 7
modules. Each one has from 130 to 200 hours. As said before, each module is
assessed on one or several occasions. The minimum mark of 10 out of 20 is
required in order to obtain the module.
• The second year is made of 5 modules,
each one having from 96 to 200 hours. Again, one or several assessments are
made throughout the year. 10 out of 20 is the minimum mark required again to
get each module.
• The passage from 1st to 2nd year is
granted (or refused) by a jury made of lecturers from the department after
evaluation of the global results of each student.
• At the end of the 2nd year,
the jury deciding whether the D.U.T. is obtained or not is made of all the
lecturers from the department, plus the same number of people from the
profession. Each module counts for 2 points; the placement for 3 points. Each
of the 2 optional modules counts for 1. The marking is binary : you either get
the 1, 2 or 3 points, or nothing.
- Students having scored 15 points get
their D.U.T. automatically.
- Between 11 and 14 points, the jury
discusses the case before granting or refusing the D.U.T. (this number of
points is presently being discussed by the C.P.N.)
- The student having scored less that the
minimum decided does not get his D.U.T. The jury decides then whether he is
allowed to repeat the year (if this hasn't already happened in the 1st year).
• Up to 1993, there were 2 possible options
in the second year
- "Hygiène et Sécurité Publique"
(HSP)
- "Hygiène et Sécurité Conditions de
travail" (HSCT)
By 1994 or 1995, the department will only
have one general option : "Hygiène et Sécurité Environnement"
(Health, Safety and the Environment), that will be the result of the mingling
of the 2 courses, with a slight decrease in the number of teaching hours and an
increase of the professional placement which, from 8 weeks will go up to 10.
• The recruiting of the students into the
first year is done on school records, after the baccalaureate. We take
candidates having a scientific or technical baccalaureate (Mainly D or C, plus
some F's). We select 110 students for our first year (out of 1400 applicants in
2000). About 90 % of them will be allowed into second year. A student can only
repeat one year (the 1st or 2nd year).
• we have 13 full-time lecturers appointed
in our department, that teach subjects like psychology or English, or any of
the science disciplines. In our 2nd
year,
30 % of the teaching is done by
professionals. The head of department,
responsible for the pedagogy as well as the
finances, is elected by his peers for a 3 year mandate.
p Course content and pedagogical issues (see documents here included)
• A broad outline of the number of hours
taugh in the first or second year are given here below. This is the course
content for our up-dated syllabus.
• The 1st
year teaching is done by discipline. After a presentation module on Health and
Safety and the Environment, the students have teaching in Mathematics, Physics,
general Technology, Law, Methodology, Management and Communication techniques.
One foreign language is compulsory. During the first year the students acquire
the theory required to act in the field of Health and Safety and Working
Conditions, or Environmental Health. This teaching is done in full lecturs (the
whole class), seminars (exercises in groups of 24 to 28 students) or in
practicals (12 to 15 students).
• The second year teaching is technological
and multi-disciplinary :
- technicological modules : methodology of
risk management including a systemic approach to risk (1) and the compulsory learning of
communication techniques and of one foreign language : English.
Ergonomics and working conditions, Safety
of the installations and of products, environmental engineering, as well as two
optional modules, chosen by the students according to the type of job they
intend to take up.
- The knowledge acquired has a strong
methodology connotation. Here again the teaching is done in full-lecturs
(“Cours”), seminars (“TD”) or practicals (“TP”). An important part of the
practicals (8 hours per week over a period of 20 weeks) is devoted to
particular studies in the professional world, our “E.S.M.P.” (Etudes Sécurité en
Milieu Professionnel). In groups
of 2 or 3, our students spend 1 day per week in industry or with an
administration, to work on a concrete problem. This task is described in a
written report and must be presented orally, by each group, to the relevant lecturers,
other students or professionals. This original pedagogical activity, tutored by
lecturers, only exists in the Bordeaux Health, Safety and Environment
department.
- A 10 week professional placement is
organized with French or Europe an industries or administrations. 30 Leonardo placements throughout Europe
and World were offered to Bordeaux students this year 2003. A report of about
50 to 60 pages must be handed in, in answer to the question asked by the
industry or administration. Most of these placements are paid ones
(£ 400 per months). This project is then
presented orally in front of a jury made of 2 teachers from the department and
the professional tutor. A mark is given. If this mark is not inferior to 10 out
of 20, the student gets 3 points. Otherwise he scores 0.
Conclusion
Nowadays a French D.U.T., obtained through
modules, fits well into a European diploma in the field of risks. Contacts have
been established for several years with British universities. The aim is to set
up such a diploma, by direct collaboration between the universities concerned.
(cf. publication : “Reflections about the setting up of a European diploma in
the field of the Sciences and Techniques of danger”. M. LESBATS, at this
conference).