Putting theory into practice, taking part in projects and national competitions, satisfying a passion: focus on ESILV’s technical associations.
There are no higher education institutions without student associations. With over 40 of them, the Pôle Léonard de Vinci’s schools are no exception to this rule. ESILV values and support the creation of associations by students.
Associations bring together engineering students but also students from business school EMLV and digital school IIM.
All of them take part in national projects and events, some of which are great occasions for students to develop skills expected in engineers. A quick review of the technical student associations at ESILV.
Vinci Eco Drive: designing an energy-efficient vehicle
The objective of Vinci Eco Drive is to design and build a vehicle with the lowest possible energy consumption. Beyond the will to create a vehicle able to run with a minimal energy cost, the members of VED are looking to make an environmentally responsible vehicle.
Vinci Eco Drive major event is the Shell Eco Marathon European edition, a worldwide automobile university challenge, gathering the very best students in mechanics of all five continents .
The main goal is to innovate on the vehicle’s design so as to minimize the fuel consumption on a specific distance: contestants must drive seven laps, then an extrapolation estimates the distance the vehicle would run with 1kWh.
LeoFly : passionate about aeronautics and aerospace
LeoFly gathers students with a common passion for aeronautics and a will to share it with Pôle Léonard de Vinci’s students.
The association is involved in many national projects. For instance, Minerva and Mini-Apterros, within the PERSEUS project launched by CNES, the French Center for Space Studies. This project, led in collaboration with other engineering schools, has ESILV students take part in the designing and building of a fuel tank for the ASTREOS rocket motor.
Furthermore, a team works on the design of a rocket for C’Space, a competition organised by CNES, and the creation of a flight simulator.
DaVinciBot: autonomous robots
DaVinciBot is Pôle Léonard de Vinci’s robotics association, created so that its members could take part in the Robotics French Cup. The association is involved in two main projects: the Robotics Cup and InMoov.
Every year, DaVinciBot takes part in the Robotics French Cup, among 2 000 contestants. Teams involved in the competition design and build robots which must carry out several tasks without any human intervention.
Every battle confronts two teams, both working towards the same objective, in a friendly competitive spirit: it is strictly forbidden to run into the other contestants’ robots!
This year, DaVinciBot launched a new project: the construction of InMoov, a humanoid life-size robot, entirely printable in 3D and whose plans are available in open source.
De Vinci FabLab: the world of makers
A place for creating, learning and sharing, the DeVinci FabLab is open to all Pôle Léonard de Vinci students. The association offers training on the 3D printers, workshops and meetups with partners or other fablabs.
A fablab is a fabrication laboratory or small-scale workshop which aims to provide makers with the highest possible number of machines, among which computer-driven machine-tools and software. One goal, making “almost anything”..
Among the projects created at the fablab: a connected dress prototype, a robotized arm, a 3D printed plane turbine or a drone.
HydroVinci : energy, on water
Created by ESILV engineering students, the association HydroVinci gathers students who want to take part in a project related to energy efficiency operating at sea.
The association’s main mission is to build two remotely controlled electric boats to take part in Hydrocontest. This international competition usually takes place in Lausanne, Switzerland and brings together engineering schools from all over the world for one week in September.
Three races are planned: one race during which boats must carry a 20kg load, another one with a 200kg load. Boats must travel a specific distance in the shortest time possible. The last race is based on endurance: its goal is to travel the longest distance.
Technical and scientific projects, at the heart of the engineering curriculum
ESILV engineering students are actively taking part in their learning process in the classroom as well as when working on engineering group or association projects. The project mode from year 1 to 5 enhances engineering and soft skills .
Student associations come up with projects for engineering students in their fourth and fifth years, just like companies or research labs.
Engineering projects and responsibilities within an association help reinforcing knowledge and foster know-hows expected in engineers. Sense of community, reflexivity, creativity, flexibility are soft skills to own in a professional environment.
Learn more about the student associations at ESILV, engineering school in Paris.