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Published: 16 January 2026

Texas French Alumni Network kicked off 2026 with a bang! 120 French alumni said "oui" and joined the fun including a group of GadzArts: both alumni and current Arts et Metiers students.

Patrice Brossard (Bo 195), Eric Tran (Ch 194), Benjamin Miserere (Me 210), Jean Christophe Allais (Ai 192), Guillaume Plessis (An 188) were among the guests.

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Published: 14 January 2026

AFAM: Hello Thierry and thank you for this interview. You are a Digital Strategy & Educational Innovation Executive Advisor at Arts & Métiers. What does this role involve?

Thierry:

My role is to serve as executive advisor on digital strategy and educational innovation, with a mandate to provide project management support to the Director General. Practically, that means: aligning our Evolutive Learning Factories (ELF) across campuses with the institution’s digital strategy; orchestrating strategic watch and engagement across key networks (France Immersive Learning -FIL, CSIESR, EUNIS, EDUCAUSE, ENHANCE+); and ensuring our information system governance supports pedagogical innovation at scale. I also represent Arts et Métiers in VPNUM association and sit on the COSI (strategic IS committee), to keep decision-making tight between academic priorities and digital capabilities. Finally, I work on staff-development programmes so that colleagues can confidently adopt generative AI and XR in teaching and student services.

AFAM: Could you share recent projects and concrete actions across Arts et Métiers and its campuses?

Thierry:

Three concrete thrusts:

1. ELF pilots and scaling – We prioritise and track campus pilots that embed XR and GenAI into hybrid learning, lab practice and work-based projects; we document tested solutions, prioritise next steps, and measure adoption.

2. Capability-building – We run targeted upskilling pathways (JENII and CAIRE projects) to help faculty and professional staff integrate emerging tech into curricula with confidence and safeguards.

3. European contribution & foresight – I co-authored the European Digital Education Hub guide on immersive learning and contributed to EU-level futures work; this ensures our projects align with European trends and the Digital Education Action Plan.

At my instigation, Arts et Metiers and FIL have joined the response coalition to the Digital Europe call: Virtual World Skills Academy.

I am involved in two Erasmus/KA2020HED projects that began at the end of 2025: IDT4EU, for which I am the coordinator for the school, and DIGIREADY2, for which Arts et Metiers is one of the deployment pilots. Arts et Metiers and France Immersive Learning -FIL are members of the VR-AR Industrial Coalition and Arts et Metiers has just joined the Virtual World Association.

I am also co-leader of the Learning Tech Special Interest Group of the European association EUNIS, of which I am a former VP of the BoD.

At the international level, I participate in the work of the XR Community Group of the US association EDUCAUSE and I am co-leader of the French university delegation to the annual EDUCAUSE conference.

AFAM: You attended ASU’s “Agentic AI and the Student Experience” and spoke at EDUCAUSE 2025 in Nashville. What are the key takeaways?

Thierry:

From ASU (Tempe, 22–24 October 2025): the centre of gravity is shifting from “assistive” to agentic AI—systems that proactively make decisions and solve problems in service of the student journey (advising, tutoring, support). The event underscored ethics, safety, and human-in-the-loop design, with hands-on workshops and cases showing how to enhance personalisation while protecting privacy and equity.

From EDUCAUSE 2025 (Nashville): I contributed three sessions:

• The JENII Project (breakout): on integrating immersive virtual environments and digital twins into hybrid learning, with emphasis on the teacher–learner benefit balance and the technical-pedagogical continuum.

• (Digital) Education Reimagined for 2040 (poster): presenting four future scenarios from the European Digital Education Hub—continuing, constraining, declining, transforming—to stress strategic optionality and preparedness for 2030–2040.

• Keeping It (Virtually) Real (breakout): pragmatic XR project management in the classroom—framing, resourcing, ethics, and realistic deliverables—so teams can ship impactful experiences without overreach.

Across both events, three cross-cutting messages emerged: (1) pair agile pedagogy with robust data governance and cost/benefit discipline; (2) invest in staff capability and change management as much as in tools; (3) design student-centred services—personalised, ethical, and measurable—for impact and trust. (These emphases echo recent EDUCAUSE trendlines around GenAI, student success, learning spaces and leadership.)

Photo: courtesy of Thierry Koscielniak

Sessions with Thierry Koscielniak during EDUCAUSE 2025:

The JENII Project: Integrating Immersive and Interactive Virtual Environments into Hybrid Learning

https://events.educause.edu/annual-conference/2025/agenda/the-jenii-project-integrating-immersive-and-interactive-virtual-environments-into-hybrid-learning

(Digital) Education Reimagined for 2040:  A European Insight on Possible Futures of Digital Education

https://events.educause.edu/annual-conference/2025/agenda/digital-education-reimagined-for-2040-a-european-insight-on-possible-futures-of-digital-education

Keeping It (Virtually) Real: XR Project Management in the Classroom

https://events.educause.edu/annual-conference/2025/agenda/keeping-it-virtually-real-xr-project-management-in-the-classroom

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Published: 01 January 2026

Bye-bye 2025 and hello 2026! How was 2025 for Gadz'Arts community in the USA, for our school and SOCE?

Here is what we would like to highlight:

January 2025:

Galette des Rois organized by our regional groupes including SF bay area and Houston-based Gadz groupes

Galette des rois at San Francisco bay area

Galette des rois with Houston-based Gadz

February 2025:

Arts et Metiers students participated in "Invent for the Planet" hackathon organized by Texas A&M, the school's longtime partner

picture: artsetmetiers.fr

March 2025

- Mini GadzMeet took place in SF

- La SOCE participated in Global Industries 2025 at Eurexpo Lyon

April 2025

- Houston alumni met Arts et Metiers delegation in Houston

- Our A&M US-based alumni met Aix students online during English class

-Weekend "Usines Ouvertes" took place everywhere in France

- First edition of the Salon du Livre Gadzarique took place 

May 2025

10 students received mobility grants offered by SOCE. The students were planning to study in Canadian, US and British and other foreign Universities as a part of their mobility requirement. AFAM offered 17 grants to parcours US and GTE students.

June 2025

- Arts et Metiers incubator participated in Viva Tech for the first time

- Arts et Metiers racing team (Cluny campus) won at ENEDIS EV Challenge

- French Alumni summer party took place in San Francisco

- Gadz Summer party took place in SF bay area

- Hotel Iena was bought 100 years ago ( on June 30th 1925)

July 2025

- Boost Startup was organized on Paris campus

- Campuses made their traditional keys

Bordeaux key ( picture from artsetmetiers.fr)

August 2025

- Association Epopée Gadz pursued a 8000 km trip in Peugeot 205 across the Eastern Europe to help underprivileged Eastern European children

- Arts et Metiers campuses signed a biodiversity chart

September 2025

GadzArts gathered in SF, at the residence of the Consul

October 2025

AFAM community manager visited Paris, Châlons-en-Champagne and Cluny campuses to meet students and teams

- AMJE Lille organized a regional congress

November 2025

- ELF (Evolutive Learning Factories) events are organized on Arts et Metiers campuses

- Forum Arts et Metiers was organized on November 4th

- Arts et Metiers inaugurates its new facility in Dax

-Eric Benhamou (Ai 172) met students on Arts et Metiers campus in Paris

- AFAM online informational session took place on November with more than 90 students present

December 2025

- The main event of the year - GadzMeet weekend- took place in Atlanta

- AFAM participated in the International Week organized by Arts et Metiers

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Published: 15 December 2025

The GadzMeet gathering took place the past weekend in Atlanta! GadzMeet happening on 12-14 December this year was the second edition of GadzMeet, our annual biggest community event. The first one took place in San Francisco in 2024. More than 35 students and alumni attended GadzMeet last weekend, including those flying to Atlanta from California, Texas or New York.
On Day 1 GadzMeet participants visited the Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory (ASDL) in the presence of its director, Professor D.Mavris. Later that day they toured Exotec, a global warehouse robotics company founded in 2015 in Lille (France); and ended the day together at a cocktail party.
On Day 2 participants attended the master's graduation ceremony at Georgia Institute of Technology, congratulated A&M students who graduated, and finished the day together at one of Atlanta’s restaurants.
On Day 3 the event continued with a visit of Atlanta.

Here is what some participants shared about the event:

"Thank you AFAM for organizing! These moments of sharing, bringing together students and alumni, perfectly embody the 'gadzariques' values. I am very happy to be part of this community and to be able to stay in touch with everyone.” - Djian

“Participating in GadzMeet Atlanta was a powerful reminder of the value of our alumni network. Coming together with fellow Arts et Métiers graduates and current students allowed us to celebrate achievements, share experiences, and discuss how we can collectively shape the future of our school. These moments of reconnection strengthen our community and ensure that the spirit of innovation and collaboration continues across generations.” - Benjamin

"It was my first GadzMeet and it was so great to enjoy talking with “archis” and other French students in the US. A lot of stories and smiles ! Hope to come back next year !" - Bénédicte

"This GadzMeet was incredible ! It was very nice to see other gadzarts here in the US. I really enjoyed Atlanta and spending time with you. Thank you and I hope to see you again !" - Raphaël

"Meeting the Gadz based in US was a great experience and full of meaningful moments. I particularly valued the exchange with Jean-Lou Chameau and his wife, especially the richness of his worldview. Jean-Lou served as president of Caltech" - Matéo

Thank you to the organizers and all the participants of the event!

Gadz'Arts in Atlanta on the first day of GadzMeet (Day 1)

Atlanta at night

Dr. Mavris presenting ASDL lab (Day 1)

A&M students and alumni after GT graduation ceremony (Day 2)