Celebrating Giving Tuesday with La Fondation Dassault Systèmes

Giving Tuesday is a global movement that encourages and celebrates people’s generosity, commitment and solidarity. On this occasion, La Fondation Dassault Systèmes would like to thank the 300 Dassault Systèmes employees for being part of its skills sponsorship program. Giving time to share your professional experience makes it possible to carry out projects supported by La Fondation Dassault Systèmes, and ultimately to make a difference.

The commitment of Dassault Systèmes’ volunteers to their foundation's education and research projects fully embodies the company’s four values:

• IF WE BRING OUR COMMUNITY TOGETHER celebrates not only internal cohesion of employees around the projects, but also people from outside the company, by helping them to make a difference. It is about sharing all the aspects of know-how.
• IF WE HAVE THE PASSION TO LEARN is a signature value of La Fondation as we support the transformation of education, but also through an actual sharing of experiences. Indeed, our whole life is made of improvements thanks to the knowledge of all.
• IF WE CHALLENGE THE STATUS QUO encourages us to get out of our comfort zone. In that context, we are preparing the next generation of innovators and transforming the way we work, while continuing to contribute together to the world to come.
• IF WE SHOW THE DREAM IS POSSIBLE is made very concrete in the field by 3DS people when they share their education and career path. This is the way to show that any dream is achievable, and that only the sky is the limit.

Dassault Systèmes employees all share these values. Thanks to the diversity of their skills and experiences, they are able to commit and support a wide range of projects, of which we are proud to present some examples here.

Initiated by the Fondation La main à la pâte et La Fondation Dassault Systèmes, Made in 3D is a program which targets young students aged 12 to 15, to inspire them for developing an interest in the fields of innovation and entrepreneurship. In France and in India, more than 70 Dassault Systèmes volunteers committed amongst teachers and middle-school students to support their projects of virtual startups, from the design and development of an innovative product to its marketing and promotion. To have the children discover different cultures in the context of innovation’s international dimension, these volunteers also follow up a twinning arrangement between French and Indian schools.

Most of the time, middle and high school students have a poor knowledge about jobs dealing with research. With the Apprentis Chercheurs program, L’Arbre des Connaissances puts them into the loop of "science while it is happening" in companies’ research centers or R&D departments. To this end, La Fondation Dassault Systèmes connects 3DS volunteers with local schools to begin with. Throughout the year, these volunteers support a selected middle-high school pair on a specific project related to science and technology, within their own team. The involvement of 3DS employees is crucial to provide expertise, to lead working groups and even make the students feel like they almost are part of the company. To conclude school year, the students then present their work’s outcome during a dedicated event called “Congrès des Apprentis Chercheurs”.

Course en cours is an original educational program focused on science and technology. During a school year, teams of 4 to 6 middle or high school students set up their own electric racing car team, using the same engineering tools and processes as professionals would in the automotive industry. Thanks to the support of Dassault Systèmes volunteers, the Saint-Philippe center of the Apprentis d’Auteuil in Meudon has three teams participating in the Course en cours contest this year. La Fondation Dassault Systèmes connects them to help with 3D modeling issues, and to design their team’s marketing and communication. These volunteers’ action enable the students to improve not only their skills, but also their self-confidence in a stimulating context.

La Fondation Dassault Systèmes actively contributes to this program in France by identifying high potential young people who have performed a civic service, and by helping them through the process of building their plans for the future. Therefore, each candidate can benefit from a support in the form of a sponsorship, to be assisted while formalizing a professional project, and to be connected with accurate partners. This “second chance program” comes with mutual enrichment, which is tremendously important for young people who need guidance in their new professional and training perspectives.

Higher education is evolving, which leads to experimentations with new ways of visualizing and understanding things, especially in the fields of motorization and electrification. Complexity of the systems, of the interactions between parts, and difficulties to operate different device, all these issues can be discouraging for students. La Fondation Dassault Systèmes in India has set up engineering systems experimentation sessions within specific training courses. This pedagogical approach aims to provide students with a full immersion in virtual reality, simulating each part’s behavior. Dassault Systèmes volunteers are taking part in the training sessions to make the best possible use of virtual worlds, as well as to share their knowledge and enthusiasm in this matter.

La Fondation Dassault Systèmes in India also supports the development of a virtuous ecosystem involving educational and industrial institutions. With the setup of a webinar series and proposals for end-of-study projects based on actual industry challenges, the ConnectNext program aims at improving students’ future employability while being able to better answer today’s industrial expectations. Thanks to Dassault Systèmes volunteers, ConnectNext strengthens young people’s business abilities, and emphasizes their skills to be spotted by professionals.

Current needs cannot wait for trainings of tomorrow. La Fondation Dassault Systèmes has joined forces with Polytech Nancy and the Université de Lorraine in France, to propose two training courses, which didn’t exist so far, but are really expected in the workplace: e-Urban and e-Santé Manager. Dassault Systèmes volunteers are directly involved in teaching modules leaning on virtual universes and addressing realistic business issues.

The aim of both training courses is to develop new professional skills, together with an innovative mindset related to urban development and healthcare.