Duration
1 day
Training Structure
Joint Continuing Education Office, Polytech Montpellier
Overview
Digital technology, often perceived as intangible, has growing environmental, economic, and societal impacts, which are amplified by the development of artificial intelligence and related infrastructure.
Between innovation, resource consumption, and energy challenges, it raises numerous paradoxes. This training course helps participants understand the issues and limitations involved, while emphasizing concrete recommendations and practical solutions for taking action—both individually and collectively—as part of a commitment to sustainable development and social responsibility.
The Benefits of the Training Program
A training session is scheduled for this year:
- Thursday, June 11, 2026 (7 hours of in-person training) at Polytech Montpellier, Triolet Campus.
This short training course is led by a team of expert instructors:
- Michel ROBERT, Professor at the University of Montpellier, Polytech Montpellier, and LIRMM, a recognized expert on digital infrastructure and its environmental impact,
- Fabienne AMADORI, Co-President of ISIA, an Hérault-based IT group specializing in supporting companies’ digital transformation,
- Loric RIVIÈRE,Director of Production at the ISIA Group, is responsible for defining the technical stack and engineering methods.
Objectives
This training program aims to educate decision-makers on digital issues (AI, data centers, software, etc.) in the context of economic, environmental, and societal transitions.
Expertise and Skills
- Understanding Digital Systems: Mastering their overall functioning, their complexity, and the connections between data, AI, and infrastructure.
- Analysis of Technical Issues: Identifying technological and energy constraints, as well as challenges related to data centers and high-performance computing.
- Impact Assessment: Measuring the Environmental, Economic, and Societal Effects of Digital Technology.
- Critical thinking and responsibility: questioning digital practices, embracing digital moderation, and applying the principles of responsible digital use.
- Transformation and Strategic Alignment: Supporting organizational transformation by aligning technology choices with business, sustainability, and sovereignty challenges.
Program
7 hours of training spread over 1 day of in-person instruction
Program
- History and State of the Art: Understanding Today's Digital Ecosystems
- Science & Technology: From Scientific Discoveries to Technologies
- Convergence of Microelectronics, Computer Science, Communications, and Signal Processing
- What are the elements of the digital world, and how do they work?
- What resources are needed to build the digital world?
- What are the limitations?
- Data Centers
- Principles and Architectures
- High-Performance Computing and Supercomputer Performance
- Resources and Impacts
- Energy Limits
- Artificial Intelligence Today
- Origins, Concepts, Principles
- Generative AI: Challenges, Limitations, and Impacts
- Data Centers, AI & Data
Uses and Impacts: From the Useful to the Futile
- Responsible Digital Technology
- Taking Action for a Sustainable Digital World: From the Individual to the Collective—What Are the Alternatives?
- Understanding the New Challenges of the Digital Age
- Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, and Planetary Limits in the Field (Follow-up to the Morning Presentation)
- Real-World Challenges: The Complexity and Legacy of Digital Systems
- Strategic Digital Assets, Aging Systems, and Technological Dependencies
- Turning a Fragile Digital Legacy into Sustainable Capital
- A Comprehensive Approach: Sovereignty, Security, and Sustainability
- New Practices in Digital Engineering
- DevSecOps, System Quality, and Risk Management
- Leading the Digital Transformation of Organizations
- Alignment with business priorities and change management
Admission
Target Audience
Stakeholders in the socioeconomic sector(businesses, local governments, elected officials, organizations, etc.)
Prerequisites: This course has no prerequisites.