Hybridization of automation practical courses

Since 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic has led universities around the world to hybridize courses (i.e., replacement of classroom time by online activities), most often as a matter of urgency. The difficulty of hybridization depends on the kind of course (lectures, tutorials, practical works) and the type of course (mathematics, chemistry, engineering, informatics…). ET-LIOS is a 2 year project started in November 2020, led by the GIS S.mart (scientific interest French grouping for Industry 4.0) and 14 French universities. The objective is to propose solutions and resources to hybridize higher education courses dedicated to the Industry of the Future. In this paper, firstly, we present the problems to be solved to hybridize practical works. One of the challenges is to carry out solutions which can be used easily and adapted by all partners of the ET-LIOS. Secondly, for combinatorial logic practical work, we propose to use simulation softwares (HOME I/O and CONNECT I/O) installed on the students' computer, conjointly with customizable SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) packages which can be integrated in existing learning platforms of course management (LMS) like Moodle. This SCORM package enables students to test and to get feedback of their proposed solutions. The approach has been tested with Bachelor students in a combinatorial logic practical work. First results are very encouraging.

Pollen-rain-vegetation relationships along a forest-savanna transect in southeastern Cameroon

Modern soil and litter samples from southeastern Cameroon, collected along a continuous forest-savanna transect were analysed for pollen content to define modern pollen-vegetation relationships. The pollen results, completed and compared with botanical inventories, leaf area index and basal area measurements performed in the same area, clearly registered the physiognomy, the main floristic composition and floral richness of the two sampled ecosystems. Distortions were observed between sampled vegetations and their pollen rain, related to important differences in pollen production and dispersal of plant species: this is a general feature in many tropical regions. The pollen data in the area studied reflected well the recent transgression of forest versus savanna. This permitted us to define inside the forest ecosystem more successional vegetation communities than the botanical surveys allowed.