Industrial theses (including CIFRE and Chairs)
Learn more about LINEACT CESI’s industrial theses
CESI-AVELIS Chair “Off-site and industrialized construction, for people and the environment
The activities of the chair, which started on April 6, 2022, will be based on the following themes :
- Off-site construction and building performance
- Optimization and rationalization of construction methods
- Digital and industrial tools for construction (BIM, Lean, DfMA…)
- Performance and CSR in companies
The first actions have been completed:
- Setting up a CIFRE thesis in the field of ethical management (director: S. Buisine)
- Support for the implementation of the engineering school’s training courses: Master MPC option: CIMHS, Bachelor Lean…
- Participation of AVELIS experts in the MPC Master courses (10 days in 2022)
- Participation of CESI in the national e-Nova competition organized by AVELIS with the support of the IdF region
- Joint scientific and technical publications
Contact : Karim Beddiar ; kbeddiar@cesi.fr
Chair CESI – ESSOR « City of the future and circular economy »
To meet environmental, societal and economic needs, our buildings will in the future be reversible, mutable and adaptable. This evolution of the building and the city must respond to the principle of circular economy. The digitisation and industrialisation of construction can accompany this change and make it accessible and more efficient.
To meet these challenges raised by the city of the future, it is important to support the territories and industrial players in terms of training, research and innovation. This is why CESI and the ESSOR Group created the “City of the Future and Circular Economy” teaching and research chair in June 2019.
The activities of this Chair are structured around topics such as :
- The city and the building of the future
- Urban change and environmental impacts
- The circular economy
- Dynamic BIM and digital twins
- Simulation 4.0
Several actions are underway: co-financing of theses and research interns, organization of thematic research and innovation events, etc. Within this framework, the first actions carried out are the following:
- CIFRE thesis in progress: “Predictive analysis and BIM in the context of the smart and sustainable city”.
- Participation of ESSOR experts in the research initiation module of the La Rochelle and Brest engineering schools, member of a doctoral thesis jury…
- Joint scientific and technical publications.
Contact Karim Beddiar ; kbeddiar@cesi.fr
Chair Robotics-by-Design led by STRATE
CESI joined the consortium of the Robotics-by-Design Lab chair, supported by Strate Design School. This is a multidisciplinary research program combining mainly design, robotics and human sciences and entitled “AI, Robots & Humans? Ecologies of Living Together”. The ambition of the chair is to create a platform of experimentation to question in the short, medium and longer terms the place of social robotics and artificial intelligence in society. This includes imagining life scenarios, understanding the fundamental transition we are experiencing with robotics and AI, and experimenting with ways of relating these new technologies to the world. The purpose of the Robotics-by-Design Lab is to create new technologies for living together, to foster innovations that make sense and that will be seen as opportunities rather than suffered.
The consortium currently brings together five industrial partners: the robotics start-up Spoon, Korian (European leader in retirement homes), BNP Paribas Cardif (world leader in loan insurance), SNCF, as well as the engineering, innovation and design consulting firm frog-Altran. As well as three academic partners (Strate Design School, ENSTA Paris of the Institut Polytechnique and CESI) and renowned international researchers such as Stéphane Vial, Professor of Design at the University of Nîmes and at the School of Design of the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQÀM), Luisa Damiano, Professor in Epistemology of Science, Ethics and Philosophy of Social Robots at the University of Messina in Italy and Gentiane Venture, Professor in Robotics in Japan at TUAT University in Tokyo.
The chair will notably host industrial theses, including one that has just been launched between CESI and SNCF entitled “Ikigai” robotics, a major lever for the involvement of agents in their work, guaranteeing high industrial performance”. It aims to adopt a differentiating approach for the integration of robotics in industrial production systems, based on commitment and not only on the notions of Performance, Skills, Health and Safety of operators. The objective is to analyse the motivational dynamics (individual and collective) of railway maintenance workers in order to design robotic systems and organisation that will strengthen the sense of work and commitment of the actors.
Contact Stéphanie Buisine ; sbuisine@cesi.fr
Industrial theses – In progress
since 2023
Manon JOUANJUS, Organizational innovation through middle management, EDF theses, supervised by Stéphanie BUISINE, CESI, co-supervisors Muriel DAVIES, CESI, and Guillaume DEPREZ, University of Bordeaux, enrolled at HESAM University, ED SMI 432.
CIFRE theses – In progress
since 2025
Rakshit SONI, Improved understanding of a pedestrian’s intention for self-driving through collaborative perception, supervised by Y. DUPUIS, CESI, co-supervisors V. HARVARD and Y. Mourchid, CIFRE thesis with STELLANTIS, enrolled at ENSAM, affiliated with EDSMI432.
since 2024
Lilian BECKER, Environmental assessment and multi-criteria decision-making for the integration of bio-based composite materials in industrial tools, supervised by S. DE BARROS, co-supervisors A. NAIT-CHABANE, CESI, and R. GRANGEAT, CIFRE theses with eXcent, enrolled at ENSAM, affiliated with ED SMI 432.
Eliette DARNAUD, Building sustainable work in a context of triple industrial transition: Digitalization, Tertiarization, evolution of working populations, supervised by Flore BARCELLINI, CNAM, co-supervisors Willy BUCHMANN, CNAM and Lucie CUVELIER, CIFRE theses with Airbus, CESI.
Arthur LECRAS, Improving the Quality of Indoor Environments in Smart Buildings. Application to the prediction and control, using artificial intelligence, of air pollution in healthcare facilities, supervised by K. BEDDIAR, CESI, co-supervisors R. SADEGHIAN BROUJENY and A. BOODI, CESI, CIFRE theses with SQLI, enrolled at ENSAM, affiliated with ED SMI 432.
since 2023
Hossein OLLEIK, Coupling visual and proprioceptive odometry for mapping self-calibrated heterogeneous carriers in a dynamic and complex environment without GPS, supervised by Y. DUPUIS, CESI, co-supervised by A. NAIT-CHABANE, CESI, CIFRE theses – Pilgrim technologies, enrolled at HESAM University ED SMI 432.
CIFRE theses – Defended
Defended in 2026
Lisa GAUDENS, Transformational Approach to Skills Management, EDF theses, supervised by Stéphanie BUISINE, CESI, co-supervised by Muriel DAVIES, CESI, enrolled at HESAM University, ED SMI 432.
Defended in 2025
Catherine BOUILLON, Predictive Analysis and BIM in the Context of Smart and Sustainable Cities, CIFRE theses with ESSOR, supervised by F. DUVAL, CESI, co-supervisors K. BEDDIAR, CESI and B. COHEN-BOULAKIA, CESI, enrolled at HESAM University, affiliated with ED SMI 432.
Pierre HEMONO, Multi-objective optimization of human-robot collaboration based on artificial intelligence: application to the aeronautics industry, CIFRE theses with eXcent, supervised by M. SAHNOUN, CESI, co-supervisor A. NAIT-CHABANE, CESI, enrolled at HESAM University, affiliated with ED SMI 432.
Defended in 2023
Maroua SBITI, “Lean – BIM” in construction; How to improve operational performance by combining Lean and BIM in the execution phase, CIFRE theses with ENGIE, supervised by B. MAZARI, CESI, co-supervisors K. BEDDIAR, CESI and D. BELADJINE, CESI, enrolled at HESAM University, affiliated with ED SMI 432.
Barbara SCHIAVI, Development of methods and tools to improve information exchange between BIM, business knowledge bases, and virtual or augmented environments in construction projects, CIFRE theses – Vinci Construction France, supervised by D. BAUDRY, CESI, co-supervisors: V. HAVARD, CESI and K. BEDDIAR, CESI, enrolled at HESAM University, affiliated with ED SMI 432.
Mégane SARTORE, Ikigai robotics: A major lever for employee engagement in their work, guaranteeing high industrial performance, CIFRE theses with SNCF, as part of the Robotics by Design Lab led by STRATE School of Design, under the supervision of Stéphanie BUISINE, CESI, co-supervisor Ioana OCNARESCU, STRATE, enrolled at HESAM University, ED SMI 432.
Defended in 2022
Guillaume MORIN DUPONCHELLE, Recognition of points of interest for an inspection robot in a constrained and degraded environment, CIFRE theses – Pilgrim technologies, supervised by B. ZERR, ENSTA Bretagne, co-supervisor A. NAIT-CHABANE, CESI, enrolled at ENSTA Bretagne, affiliated with ED MATH-STIC 601.
Killian RICHARD, Proposal for an ontology-based data model for the scripting of Virtual or Augmented Environments in an industrial context, CIFRE theses – OREKA Ingénierie, supervised by D. BAUDRY, CESI, co-supervisor V. HAVARD, CESI, enrolled at HESAM University, affiliated with ED SMI 432.
Defended in 2021
Imen BOUZARKOUNA, Distributed real-time processing in industrial cyber-physical systems, CISCO/CESI/Vinci Energies Chair, supervised by C. GOUTT, INSA Rouen, and D. BAUDRY, CESI, co-supervised by M. SAHNOUN, CESI, enrolled at INSA Rouen Normandie, affiliated with ED MIIS 590.
Defended in 2018
Milija SIMLESA, Collective flow – Sociocognitive model of optimal collaboration, supervised by Stéphanie BUISINE and Jérôme GUEGAN, CIFRE theses with the company SBT Human(s) Matter, enrolled at Paris Descartes University.
Andréa BOISADAN, Universal design for intuitive signage accessible to all, supervised by Stéphanie BUISINE and Yasmine BOUMENIR, CIFRE theses with Tactile Studio, enrolled at Paris Descartes University.
