SPIE : at the heart of the first large-scale digital plan for secondary schools in Sarthe

SPIE at the heart of the first large-scale digital plan for secondary schools in Sarthe

Malakoff, June 21st, 2017 - SPIE ICS, the digital services subsidiary of the SPIE group, is assisting state secondary schools in the French department of Sarthe as part of the High-Performance Secondary School Plan launched by the Sarthe Departmental Council. The project aims to modernise teaching models by offering better access to digital technology. Thanks to its expertise in engineering, facilities management and change management, SPIE ICS has been involved in the project for the past two years and in that time has completely transformed 22 schools. By 2020, every pupil and teacher at Sarthe's 57 state secondary schools will benefit from a high-performance, digital learning environment.

The Sarthe Departmental Council's High-Performance Secondary School Plan is one of the first large-scale digital transformation projects for state secondary schools in France. It aims to promote access to digital technology and contribute to the academic success of the 23,000 secondary school pupils in Sarthe. The pupils and teachers at Sarthe's state secondary schools will be the first to use latest-generation digital equipment. 8,000 computers and tablets will eventually be connected and operated by SPIE ICS from a single data centre. A 'turnkey' global maintenance help desk has been set up to guarantee the availability of infrastructure and access to educational and administrative applications to every school, wherever it is located in the Sarthe department.

This infrastructure is the starting point for harmonising all the digital learning processes and equipment within the 57 state secondary schools in Sarthe. The teaching staff at the first 22 schools which have been equipped are all in agreement: this new benchmark in teaching methods has really helped to foster collaboration across the department. Every teacher makes use - completely independently - of 'mobile class' tools, which consist of tablets having educational content that is monitored and taught to classes as part of a digitally driven teacher/pupil relationship that is more flexible and more effective. This universal digitalisation also benefits the school's administrative staff and teachers who are off site and wish to stay connected.

SPIE ICS is making full use of its strong local presence to carry out this project alongside the Sarthe Departmental Council. The teams responsible for modernising the schools and providing facilities management for the entire High-Performance Secondary School Plan are all based at the SPIE ICS site in Le Mans. In order to strengthen this proximity and guarantee a responsive and continuous service to the schools, teachers and pupils, SPIE ICS has created more than a dozen jobs there.

'By giving these pupils access to digital technology, we have helped them to flourish academically, and this falls perfectly in line with our desire to facilitate the digital experience,' says Vincent Magnon, the Managing Director of SPIE ICS. 'Our expertise and the sheer robustness of our regional infrastructure are the two cornerstones of our partnership with the Sarthe Departmental Council.'

The High-Performance Secondary School Plan is being rolled out by the Sarthe Department, with support from the European Regional Development Fund.