The ENTPE is a Goverment school, located in Vaulx-en-Velin near Lyon (France). It prepares Civil Engineers for working in State organizations, local authorities, and private companies.

Courses last 3 years, with the possibility of doing an extra one-year post graduate course or a PhD. During the first year, the course deals with basic scientific knowledge and core material on cities and buildings, the environment and risks, transportation and infrastructure.

During the second year, students have to major in a particular field : “city and buildings”, “environment and risks”, or “transportation and infrastructure”. The subjects are studied in depth. Two important aspects of the course are training periods and an individual project.

For the third year, students have to choose one speciality within their major. For the “environment, risks and territory” major, there are three possibilities : damage and pollution, management of rivers and costal waters, and prevention and management of risks. The third year training course is the combination of “major” courses for all students and specialities.

The “prevention and management of risks” speciality is new and is beginning at the start of the new school year (September 2006).

The origin of the project was in 2002, the creation of a “mastering natural, industrial and urban risks”, in partnership with the French Institute of Petrol (IFP). In this project, Certu was a technical partner in charge of urban risks.

A few months ago, the ENTPE asked the Certu to create a new project : the 3rd year of a Risk Diploma.

For Engineers in charge of territory, what does dealing with risks mean ?

Risk management can be a special mission within an organization (dealing with dangerous phenomena such as industrial hazards or natural risks). Risk management can also be a professional philosophy, a know-how.

Risk approach can be considered as a school of excellence, because it consists in :

• mastering fundamental technical / transversal aspects,
• dealing with systemic views / combining global approaches (technical data, sociologial and economic points of view, scientific research).

It is therefore important to work on technical aspects, but also on organizational problems. The challenge when developing this pedagogical project was to offer an overall approach, which deals with the basics, but gives practical adaptations in various fields. It must also allow students to have a grounding in developing risk approaches in many professional situations and consequently in the future to be able to reinforce their expertise by themselves.

The course encompasses general concepts, legal and economic aspects, the principle of precaution, cindynics, and defence in depth.

The “prevention and management of risks” speciality includes :

• policies : natural risks, industrial risks, mining risks, security of dams.
• process, techniques and tools : risk prevention in land use planning (PPR), insurance aspects, public information and debate between the State and the local authorities.

The sub-topic “integration in territorial and sustainable action” includes :

• land use planning : water cycles in the city, taking into account risk in an operational project,
• risk and surface transport : hazardous goods transport, road safety, tunnel safety.
• mastering quality and security in buildings and infrastructures. This means looking at risk management in the following fields : building design, the management, hygiene and security, fire risks in buildings, …
• Risk and territory : sociological and economic approaches identifying what it is possible to do. The sub-topic “taking risks into account in local strategies” includes :
• a crisis management course: preparation and planning, crisis management, recovery, feedback.
• a worshop with practical exercices in a real territory.

At the end of the course, students will have to study a particular problem in detail within a professional organization and create innovative solutions.