education

ASINSA

ASINSA is one of the sections of the Core Foundation Engineering Program (undergraduate level) offered at INSA Lyon. With a specific focus on Asia, this two-year program aims to prepare students to join the three-year graduate course in one of the nine departments of study to obtain the INSA ‘Diplôme d’ingénieur’, internationally recognized as an MSc in Engineering.

Since 1998, more than 1,600 students have enrolled at ASINSA for its scientific excellence and multicultural environment. On average, ASINSA welcomes 75 students in the first year, made up of about 50% French students and 50% Asian students (from China, Vietnam, Malaysia, India, Singapore and Thailand).

The ASINSA program offers a solid grounding in general scientific and technical education by introducing students to teaching methods and ways of working that take into account the specific nature of the students’ backgrounds. ASINSA students benefit from continuous support and their progress is carefully monitored to ensure their academic success and integration into university life (help with administrative procedures, priority accommodation, help with finding internships, tutoring sessions, psychological support, etc.).

ASINSA in a few words:

+ Scientific excellence, high academic standards, strong sense of social responsibility

+ Interculturality, open-mindedness, cross-disciplinary approach

+ Innovation skills, adaptability, creativity

+ Immerse yourself in the INSA culture and values

Why choose INSA Lyon?

  • Obtain the INSA ’Diplôme d’ingénieur’, equivalent to an MSc in Engineering, in five years from an internationally recognized French Institute of Science & Technology: after the two-year ASINSA program, students join the three-year postgraduate program in one of the nine departments of study at INSA Lyon
  • Get an excellent scientific education
  • Gain field experience by undertaking several internships
  • Study abroad for a semester or even a year at one of INSA Lyon’s partner universities
  • Become a player for the future: an engineer with strong humanist values committed to combining scientific skills with societal and environmental issues

Why choose ASINSA?

The added value of ASINSA is to provide an international dimension with a specific focus on Asia to the excellent initial education offered by the undergraduate program (FIMI department) at INSA Lyon:

  • Opening up to different cultures, ways of working and relationships: preparing yourself to work in multicultural teams in your future engineering career
  • Gain professional experience by undertaking a one-month internship in France or abroad. For students who graduated from a non-French high school, the internship must be located in France. For French students, an internship in Asia is strongly recommended.

ASINSA Studies and specific features

The two-year foundation course is structured over four semesters of 15 weeks each (each semester represents approximately 400 to 500 hours of teaching). More information is available here

  • The scientific teaching at ASINSA is based on the same core curriculum as the standard Core Foundation Engineering Program (approximately 75%).
  • Cross-disciplinary teaching to broaden students’ perspectives on interculturality (making up 25% of the course with a specific focus on language courses, introduction to theatre, workshops to understand engineering issues in relation to cultures of origin, etc.)
  • Tailored teaching approach and materials for international students to ensure students’ progress is monitored by the teaching staff on a daily basis (one-to-one interviews, individual tutoring sessions, etc.). This kind of student-centered pedagogy ensures a smooth transition from a foreign education system to the French higher education system
  • All courses are taught in French
  • Students are required to study two foreign languages (other than their mother tongue) including English. Additional French language support is offered to non-French-speaking students (up to 6 hours/week until level B2 is obtained). French speakers are offered an Asian language course (Japanese or Chinese) whatever their initial level, even beginners.
  • Most of the courses, lab work, tutorials and practical assignments are organized in international teams (French and Asian students) in small groups (from 16 to 25 people).
  • All students undertake an internship lasting a minimum of four weeks at the end of their first year.  INSA helps students to find an internship. French students are encouraged to find an internship in an Asian country.
  • project-based learning module (P2I) is taught in the second year. Students are faced with an engineering problem requiring a cross-disciplinary and multi-dimensional approach to project management, design and innovation. This team project accounts for 180 hours and is worth 10 ECTS.
Asian students benefit from a five-week summer school in August prior to their first year to facilitate their integration and help them settle smoothly into their new environment (price included in the specific tuition fees):

Assessment

Continuous assessment throughout the year: passing each unit allows the student to move on to the next year.

On successful completion of the two-year ASINSA program, and based on the number of places available, the student's ranking and his/her wishes, students join one of the nine departments of study for three years, leading to the award of the INSA ‘Diplôme d’ingénieur’, internationally recognized as a MSc Engineering degree.

Application process

First year admission requirements

  • Candidates with a French baccalaureate (who graduated in France or from a foreign high school such as a Lycée français): please switch to the French version of this web page for more specific information
  • Candidates with a foreign baccalaureate or any qualification awarded by a non-French institution: please read the following information.
The ASINSA recruitment process is common to the entire INSA Group, which is made up of seven institutions in France. To join an international program such as ASINSA, you must first be admitted to the INSA Group. To be considered for the ASINSA Lyon program, make sure you specify INSA Lyon in your application. Separate prerequisites may be required for access to each ASINSA programme.
This application process specifically applies to students holding or studying for a science-based high school diploma or university entrance examination awarded by an Asian country

The application process must be completed online on two different websites:

  • Apply to the INSA Group (tutorials in Chinese and Vietnamese). When submitting an application to join one of the seven INSAs, you will be able to specify the school in the INSA group that you wish to join. The application fee is €95.
  • Register on the Study in France platform (only for applicants from China, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam): this is an administrative registration common to all foreign students that aims to facilitate administrative procedures (visa application, communication with consular authorities, etc.). As soon as you have registered on Study in France, you must go back to your online application on the INSA Group's admission website to enter your ’Campus France ID’.
For applicants from other Asian countries not covered by the "Study in France" platform, you are invited to get in touch as soon as possible with the French Embassy or Campus France in your country, whose role is to help you with your administrative procedures (information, orientation, visa, etc.) alongside your application to the INSA Group.

Application Dates and Deadlines

  • Candidates from CHINA, VIETNAM (who have already been awarded the Vietnamese equivalent of the French Baccalaureate) and TAIWAN: online application must be submitted in November
  • Candidates from any other Asian countries (including Vietnamese applicants who are currently in their high school senior year): online application must be submitted between November and February

More information about applications and deadlines is available on the INSA Group website

Guidelines and requirements:

  • In order to be considered, candidates must have a solid grounding in science (mathematics, physics and chemistry). A mathematics test as well as a personal interview in English or French can be organized to assess the applicant’s level and motivation.
  • Ensure you meet the deadline for submitting your application.
  • Only complete applications will be assessed. If you do not follow the instructions and your application is rejected, you will not be able to appeal.
  • If you have any questions about the application process, please contact admiss@groupe-insa.fr

Study in a safe and exceptional environment

  • Lyon was voted second best French city for the quality of student life
  • A historically and culturally renowned city, Lyon is also known as France’s capital of gastronomy
  • Second largest city in France and leading region in the industrial and digital sectors
  • An international campus: 30% foreign students from 92 nationalities
  • On-campus accommodation guaranteed for ASINSA students, catering available seven days a week24-hour security on campus
  • Sports facilities (swimming pool, training centers, sports fields, etc.), performance venues, libraries
  • Vibrant campus life with more than 130 student clubs and associations: 
    • the Student Union is very active and INSA Lyon also hosts the largest student festival in France - ’24h de l’INSA’. Find out more about our student associations HERE
    • an association aiming to promote Asian cultures: la Semaine asiatique. Every year (since 2003), ASINSA students organize this event which includes conferences on internships in Asia, exhibition booths (taekwondo, ikebana, etc.), Japanese film screenings and a karaoke night.
    • an association specifically created by ASINSA students, l’Année du Tigre. Its members organize the integration of the new ASINSA class in September and October through various activities and the organization of a weekend in Ardèche with all the students, as well as several parties throughout the year. The AdT also publishes the ASINSA book of past papers, which are very useful to prepare for the exams. 

A virtual tour of the campus is available HERE

Tuition fees

INSA Lyon is a publicly-funded Institute of Science and Technology under the authority of the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation. Thus, INSA Lyon receives a subsidy from the French state to fund part of the cost of tuition, which amounts to approximately €14,000 per year per student. 

French students: please switch to to the French version of this web page

Foreign Students: the remaining costs indicated below (visa fees not included) are to be paid as part of the tuition fees:

*Please be aware that tuition fees do not include living costs in Lyon

Estimated living costs for France and Lyon ara available in the Student Welcome Guide

Funding opportunities

INSA Funding opportunities

  • Scholarship for International Sections (Bourse des Filières internationales (BFI)): the BFI scholarship is specifically targeted at students from underprivileged backgrounds
    • This scholarship (up to 2000 a year) is not awarded directly to the student but the amount is deducted from the student's accommodation and catering bills (the student must live in an on-campus INSA residence).
    • The duration of the grant can be extended up to three years, provided that the student successfully progresses to the next year. Furthermore, for students in receipt of the BFI scholarship, the annual registration fees are reduced to €601 a year.

Student Benefits in France

  • CAF: As a student in France, you can receive rent assistance (even if you live on campus in a student hall). 

Other funding opportunities

David Roumegoux

Director of ASINSA
asinsa@insa-lyon.fr

Richard Moreau

Director of ASINSA
asinsa@insa-lyon.fr

Filières Internationales INSA Lyon


filieresinternationales@insa-lyon.fr

Bureau de représentation INSA Lyon en Chine

Dan YE
INSA-Lyon Shanghai Office Rm3041, Central Plaza 16 Henan Road(South) ,Shanghai, 200002 China
+8621-63743788-6030
+8621-61204413
asinsa-chine@insa-lyon.cn

Bureau de représentation Groupe INSA au Vietnam

Eric ANDRE
IPO box 17 Central Post Office ,Hanoi - Vietnam
eric.andre@groupe-insa.fr