At TOPSOLID, our commitment to the education sector goes beyond simply providing software licenses. It is a deeply held belief: A French industrial software company has a responsibility to support those who are training the technicians and engineers of tomorrow.
To better understand this philosophy and learn how it plays out in practice, we spoke with Vincent Vogel, TOPSOLID’s Sales Manager for Education, who has been working for several years to build lasting relationships between the software company and educational institutions.
An educational commitment rooted in the company’s history
For a long time, the relationship between TOPSOLID and the education sector was based more on individual initiative than on a structured strategy. It was in the 2000s that a position dedicated to education was created within the company—a strong signal from a software publisher that viewed training as a strategic priority in its own right.
The reasons are both pragmatic and philosophical. Pragmatic, because learners who have been trained to use a particular tool naturally tend to stick with it when they enter the workforce. Philosophical, because TOPSOLID is one of the few software companies CAD/CAM to develop all of its solutions in France.
“We are a French publisher, developed in France, with a very French approach,” explains Vincent Vogel. “We have a real responsibility to be present in schools and to support both teachers and students.”
Today, more than 500 institutions in France are part of the TOPSOLID network, covering a wide range of educational needs—from vocational high schools to university technology institutes (IUTs), including HND programs and engineering schools.
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The Driving Simulator: When an Educational Project Becomes a Collective Adventure
Every year, TOPSOLID strives to produce a feature highlighting a project created by students using its software. Following a prosthetic hand and a wooden guitar exhibited at Eurobois, this year’s project is a dynamic driving simulator that was selected for this new edition… and the project far exceeded initial expectations.
The Beginning: A Meeting, a Vision
It all began with a visit to Monge High School in Chambéry, a comprehensive high school that offers a sheet metal and boilermaking program. Vincent Vogel, a TOPSOLID field representative, met with the teaching staff there and established a connection with Édouard Vaillant High School in Limoges, which had already built its first driving simulator.
The idea then became clear: Why not bring the two schools together for a much more ambitious inter-high-school project and design a new version of the simulator featuring TOPSOLID’s branding?
TOPSOLID from A to Z: From Design to Manufacturing
What makes this project particularly remarkable is that the entire TOPSOLID digital chain was brought into play:
- Using 3D CAD design, we were able to model every part of the simulator, make corrections to its base, and optimize the assemblies before any physical manufacturing took place.
- The FAO then took over responsibility for controlling the machine tools and manufacturing the parts.
- The entire project was centralized and managed through PDM (Product Data Management), ensuring data consistency between the two facilities.
In other words, the students worked exactly like industrial design engineers, with the same constraints, the same tools, and the same level of precision.
A Project That Brings People Together
After months of working in parallel at each high school, a gathering was held on March 18 to assemble the entire simulator for the first time. It was a memorable moment, later capped off by a group painting session that gave the simulator its final look.
The centerpiece was then displayed at the Global Industrie trade show, where it generated remarkable enthusiasm. “We received a lot of feedback from people all over France, not just from the high schools involved,” notes the Education Manager. “Visitors were blown away by the quality of the work.” A designer had offered some aesthetic advice beforehand. The result? The simulator stole the show.
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What the project Really Taught Them
Beyond technical skills, this project gave the students something that traditional education cannot always provide: the pride of working on a real project intended to be showcased to the general public. “The students were excited about the opportunity to work on a real-world project with TOPSOLID that would be showcased at a trade show,” says the Head of Education.
The teachers, too, gave it their all. Motivated by the Global Industrie deadline, they worked twice as hard to stay on schedule—without anyone imposing any deadlines on them. One of them even organized a week-long ski trip… strategically timed just before the visit to Lycée Monge. This friendly balance says a lot about the overall atmosphere of the project.
TopSolid’Academy: A Community for Educators
In addition to its field projects, TOPSOLID launched TopSolid’Academy last September, a platform dedicated exclusively to teachers. The goal: to provide them with a space for educational resources and peer-to-peer exchange.
Specifically, the platform offers:
- TOPSOLID resources and content available for free (tutorials, course materials, software news),
- a community for educational exchange where members can share assignments, lesson plans, and feedback.
The numbers speak for themselves: in just a few months, more than 300 teachers have signed up, and the platform has already been downloaded more than 4,000 times. This launch confirms the genuine need for such a space within the teaching community.
A National Competition for IUTs: The Finals in Bordeaux
Another flagship initiative: an internal competition for IUT students in the Mechanical Engineering and Manufacturing Technology (GMP) program, with a focus on CNC machining. More than 70 candidates from across France took part in the selection process for this inaugural edition, and the final will be held on May 21 at the IUT in Bordeaux. A great opportunity for students to test their proficiency with TOPSOLID in a competitive and rewarding setting.
A simple philosophy: the tool should take a back seat to the craft
Ultimately, what guides TOPSOLID’s entire educational approach can be summed up in a statement by its Head of Education: “When we train students for a profession, we aren’t training them to use software.”
Ideally, the tool should be the one that will actually be used in the workplace, and it must be intuitive enough to allow the teacher to remain a professional trainer—not a software trainer. This is precisely the stated intention of TopSolid V7: user-friendly, affordable, widely used in industry, and well-suited for educational purposes.
To address the budgetary constraints faced by educational institutions, TOPSOLID has also established a clear principle: no educational project should be held up by cost considerations.
TOPSOLID Education offers competitive pricing and adapts to the specific needs of each institution to provide tailored solutions while maintaining the necessary support and follow-up, just as it does for industrial clients.
Conclusion: Investing in training means investing in French industry
TOPSOLID’s commitment to education is not just a public relations ploy. It reflects a corporate and social conviction: French software that trains today’s technicians directly contributes to tomorrow’s industrial sovereignty.
The driving simulator developed by Lycée Monge and Édouard Vaillant is the most concrete example of this. When high school students spend months designing, building, and assembling an ambitious project using the same tools as professionals—and capture the imagination of visitors at a major industrial trade show—it makes the entire field more appealing.
“When I talk to young people who tell me they love TOPSOLID, it really makes me happy,” the Education Manager says simply. That one sentence speaks volumes about what truly drives this long-term commitment.
Are you a teacher or an educational administrator looking to equip your school or join TopSolid’Academy? Contact our education team! No project should be held up by budget issues.
