Education initiatives
Our actions in education
Arkema and Fondation CGénial
Encourage vocations in our professions
Partner with Fondation CGénial since 2006, Arkema supports the association's four main initiatives, whose mission is to promote science, technology and related professions:
- “Engineers and technicians in the classeroom”,
- “In-house teachers”,
- "CGénial Competition”,
- Yes We Code!
Engineers and technicians in the classeroom
This initiative enables Arkema's volunteer employees to meet with middle and high school students and share their experiences. Every year, more than 2,000 students learn about our businesses and the careers of our employees.
It's a unique and exciting experience that helps us to develop our exchanges with local schools and attract young people to the scientific, technical and industrial professions.
80,000
This is the number of high school students who have already benefited from the “Engineers and technicians in the classroom” scheme.
In-house teachers
As part of this program, middle and high school teachers visit our sites to learn about our businesses and career opportunities, as well as new technologies and working methods, to give students concrete examples from the professional world.
To date, we have welcomed nearly 500 teachers and executives from the French Ministry of Education at 18 of our sites in France.
I wasn't expecting such a high-quality visit. I appreciated everything, from the quality of the discussions, the people I met, the factory, the links I'll be able to reinvest in my classroom, the concrete applications to my subject and the fact that the place of women in this branch of industry was highlighted."
The CGénial competition
Each year, a national competition is organized, enabling secondary school students to present a project related to scientific and technical disciplines.
In 2023, nearly 7,500 middle and high school students submitted more than 360 projects.
Yes we code!
This program, dedicated to raising awareness of digital science, enables young people aged 10 to 17 to design digital projects and devices.
Since the start of the 2021 school year, Arkema's Saint-Auban site has been supporting a class from the Maison Familiale Rurale (MFR) in carrying out connected projects and discovering digital-related professions on our site.
Science Teacher: chemistry for professionals
In the United States, the Arkema Inc. Foundation helps fund local social, cultural and educational organizations to improve the quality of life in the communities in which it operates.
The foundation focuses on supporting science education at all levels, and initiated the Science Teacher Program, which has benefited hundreds of teachers across the country.
The teachers are provided with science teaching kits and collaborate directly with Arkema’s engineers and researchers. The idea is to provide them with learning resources to make their teaching more effective and engaging in the science subjects, including chemistry, for thousands of primary and secondary pupils.
In 2023, nearly 30 teachers took advantage of this module.
Broadening students’ horizons
In China, our employees regularly meet with students from schools and high schools located near our plants. Through the Arkema ChemArt Green Innovation Class program launched in 2016, a genuine educational project has been set up.
The goal is to promote science education, to enhance the value of industrial jobs, but also to raise awareness of environmental challenges.
Our employee volunteers participate in and organize a range of CSR activities on topics such as innovation, safety, environmental protection, etc. for schoolchildren and young students.
These activities are always based on the local needs of the communities where our employees work, in order to respond as closely as possible to their concerns.
The ChemArt Green Innovation Class program aims to provide students with more opportunities and resources, to help them broaden their horizons, to acquire knowledge from different sources, to simulate innovation, and to stimulate their overall development.
Scholarships within the castor communities
Arkema is one of the world’s leading consumers of castor oil, with the vast majority of the castor crop being grown in the Gujarat region of Western India. Our recent work, as part of the Pragati project to drive sustainable castor farming in the region has brought us closer and closer to the farming community and the citizens whose livelihoods depend on this special crop.
In recognition of this special relationship, Arkema launched in 2021 a scholarship program for children who live within the castor community.
This first edition reached around 400 children. The program itself involves four individual competitions in art or essay for high school students, linked to castor beans.
The winners received a grant enabling them to purchase school supplies and educational materials.
The second edition rewarded 18 students, and the prize-giving ceremony took place in the presence of several Arkema customers.
