For its tenth anniversary, the Renault Foundation is launching three new programmes

• A vocational degree in “Electro-mobility”, in partnership with the University of   Versailles Saint-Quentin and the IUT institute in Mantes-en-Yvelines outside Paris,
   
• A multidisciplinary chair in Road Safety Management for the North/East Africa region, in partnership with the University of Saint Joseph of Beirut in Lebanon,
   
• A Franco-Japanese doctoral programme “Zero Carbon Leaders”, in association with the Supélec engineering school in France and the University of Waseda in  Japan.

The Renault Foundation is anticipating the skills of the future
 

The Renault Foundation has always been an innovator, with pioneering programmes designed to anticipate needs for new skills. Today, coinciding with its tenth anniversary, the Foundation is launching three new programmes:


- A vocational degree in “Electro-Mobility” on a work-study basis
Developed in cooperation with the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin and the IUT institute of Mantes-en-Yvelines , the degree aims to train specialist technicians (a level equivalent to three years in higher education) in battery life cycles and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. This year, 20 students holding a university diploma (two years in higher education) or a  vocational diploma will be able to follow this 11-month programme, which alternates lectures with practical internships. These students, who will receive grants from the Renault Foundation, will be selected on the basis of social criteria in particular, in order to promote equal opportunities. They will receive special coaching throughout the course and this support will continue until they find employment.


- A multidisciplinary chair in Road Safety Management for the North/East Africa region
Renault’s commitment to R&D on measures to improve road safety dates back more than fifty years. For this reason, the brand is keen to take part in building and strengthening road safety skills in the main regions where it is present, in association with public, private and civil society stakeholders. The road mortality rate in the Eastern Mediterranean region is twice that of  Europe, despite the fact that the car ownership rate is four times lower [1] . Renault has decided to develop this Chair over a region extending from North to East Africa, in partnership with the University of Saint Joseph of Beirut in Lebanon. The Chair will host a research centre and a multidisciplinary trilingual master’s degree over a period of 16 months. Over five years, between 100 and 150 people will receive training to become experts in road safety in their home countries. Local government bodies, companies and trade organizations in this region will thus reap the benefits of this transfer of know-how. Renault is already a partner in  “Decade of Action for Road Safety”, launched by the United Nations in May 2011. Through this Chair, it is contributing to efforts to halve the number of road accident victims worldwide over the next ten years.


- The “Zero Carbon Leaders” doctoral programme
Developed by the Nissan Foundation and University of Waseda (Japan) in partnership with the Renault Foundation and Supélec, this joint Renault-Nissan programme is aimed at doctoral students or young researchers (post-doctorate) from Waseda or Supélec, and who are already specialists in zero carbon technologies (motors/batteries, electric vehicles, hydrogen, fuel cells, etc.). During their three-year thesis, these doctoral students will work in the laboratories of both universities and in the research centres of both manufacturers in order to develop innovative solutions for cleaner mobility. In the long term, this programme will take six students per year.

Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault
“ These three new programmes open a new page in the commitment of the Renault Foundation to sustainable mobility for all. They involve skills areas that are critical for the 21st century automotive industry, enabling new generations of students to take their turn in writing the history of the Foundation. A history of a commitment to diversity and social responsibility wherever Renault is present .”


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[1] Source: Situation report on road safety worldwide, WHO 2009