CHE_43052_EP - Chemistry for future leaders (2024-2025)

Are you interested in the major challenges of the energy transition, health and the environment? Do you wonder about the sovereignty of technologies and materials? Then the “Chemistry for future leaders” course is for you! Why should you take it? Because chemistry is essential in all these areas, both for arbitration and for action.
In order to offer you the most relevant course possible, we have called on key players from the worlds of business, politics and senior civil servants. We asked them to share their experience and their needs in the field of chemistry. Drawing on our expertise as teachers and the testimonies of ministerial advisors, senior executives from major groups and members of the French government, we have designed a course that will put you in the shoes of decision-makers. You'll learn how to position yourself and arbitrate on complex issues involving chemistry.
The aim of this course is to provide you with a “survival kit for arbitration and action”. We'll teach you the fundamental concepts you need to know, without getting bogged down in details. And we'll give you the keys and tools you need to make informed decisions on major societal and industrial challenges.

The course runs over 10 weeks and includes lectures and tutorials. It is open to all and has no prerequisites. Our aim is to teach you a pragmatic and operational approach to chemistry.

Each lecture is built around a major social issue. These topical issues enable us to draw on the theoretical concepts needed to understand the subject in detail and provide answers to the case study. For each course, we will define a list of skills to be developed and assessed at the end of the period.
For example, the first courses deal with energy, and aim to develop a critical eye for the contribution of chemistry to the energy transition:
- Why have we become “fossil fuel addicts”?
- What are the possible alternatives? Solar, nuclear?
- Why does the ideal battery - one that is durable, light, safe and quick to charge - still not exist?

Of course, we won't stop at energy issues, because chemistry is everywhere. We'll also be looking at how to deal with critical metals and the impact of plastic waste on the environment and health. 
In lectures, we'll be doing practical exercises and role-playing. You'll be put in the position of decision-makers through practical case studies and serious games. You'll adopt different points of view and roles. For example, you'll have to assess an energy scenario, evaluating the risks and opportunities associated with materials or resources. To do this, you'll combine concepts learned in class.
Assessment will be continuous, with a final exam. Skill acquisition will be assessed through individual assignments and group analysis.
This course is without precedent at X or in the network of engineering schools. It provides a minimum knowledge base in chemistry, essential for your future career. This may be your last chemistry course, but it's one you won't want to miss!