L'lnformation au Coeur des Formations d'Ingenieur

The technological revolution and the accelerated changes that me observe in the world imply the acquisition of new knowledge, of new know-how and, therefore a new approach to education. Education must take up this challenge and engineering schools are the first to become involved, because they bear the responsibility of the formation of future managers and engineers. The volume of information, its increasing influence, the diversity of modern technologies used in its elaboration and in improvement of its circulation heighten the importance that information shall have in the formation of every scientist in the future. Education provided in this field is now generally limited to training in the use of information retrieval technologies. In order to allow the mastering of available resources by students, a more global approach to information as an integral part of the working methods acquired in specialty courses is required. This integration is one of the main characteristics of a concerted action, backed by French authorities since 1980, in order to develop information in French Grandes Ecoles education. This experiment leads us to observe the advantages offered by teaching the mastering of information. For students already accustomed to microcomputers and new communication technologies, modem methods of information retrieval are an efficient support in creating awareness of the capital importance that information and communication will play in their future activity.