Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (Cnam)

Mission Statement

Cnam-Enjmin is the prestigious French National School which trains students for all video game development professions since 2001. We have been named as one of the best video game schools in France (rankings by French newspaper, Le Figaro, and French magazine, L’Étudiant).

The school forms an integral part of Cnam (Conservatoire national des arts et métiers) – a leading higher education and research institution dedicated to adult continuing education that holds a unique, original position in the French educational landscape.

Cnam has a special status and should not be considered as a regular institution. With 200 educational centres in France and a presence in many countries around the world, Cnam provides adults of all ages the tools they need to move forward. The institution is placed under the supervision of the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research.

Since it was founded in 1794, our institution has been combining academic knowledge and professional skills thanks to its high-level teaching body of university professors and industry professionals, all of whom help individuals kickstart their professional experience or advance in their already established career.

The Conservatoire national des arts et métiers is a space for learning, research and professional development: with an understanding of the economic and social needs in our speciality domains, Cnam programmes are designed to facilitate access to qualifications and employment.

Cnam opens its door year after year to continue its public service mission: provide every individual with the means to continue their education so that individual success rhymes with collective dedication.

Our school, Enjmin (École nationale des jeux et médias interactifs numériques), became part of this prestigious family in 2005 and is Cnam’s school specialised in video games and digital interactive media.

International Role

Both international influence and expanding relations with digital industries are two top priorities at the heart of Cnam-Enjmin’s development plan.

We pay particular attention to this international dimension which helps to consolidate our institution’s teaching excellence, develop student and staff mobility, share our expertise with the interactive digital media industries and implement new transnational training courses and collaborative research programmes.

Cnam-Enjmin maintains a network of excellence with universities, research laboratories and companies in the digital industry worldwide.

• The Cologne Game Lab – Technische Hochschule Köln (TH Köln), Cologne, Germany

A framework agreement signed in 2016 links TH Köln (CGL) and Cnam (Cnam-Enjmin) in the fields of education, research and the dissemination of scientific and technical culture. This agreement has enabled us to set up a dual-degree programme. This allows students to obtain both the Cnam-Enjmin diploma “Master’s degree in Video Games and Digital interactive Media” and the CGL diploma “M.A. Digital Games” in just 2 years.

• Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM), Guadalajara, Mexico

Within the framework of the call for projects for the French Local Authorities Financing Facility (FICOL) of the French Development Agency (AFD), the Grand Angoulême Urban Community and its Mexican counterpart, the Municipality of Zapopán, set up a cooperation project called ‘Confluencia Creativa’.

Cnam-Enjmin was asked to actively participate in this ambitious programme which is in line with the France-Mexico bilateral agenda. It was piloted by the Grand Angoulême Urban Community and focused on a common priority: Cultural and Creative Industries.

‘Confuencia Creativa’ (2019-2023) paved the way for the creation of a joint Master’s degree in Creative Media and Digital Arts – in partnership with two prestigious French schools, the European School of Visual Arts (ÉESI) and the School of Animated Film Professions (ÉMCA) – dedicated to the field of visual arts within the Tec de Monterrey School of Architecture, Art and Design. In addition, the Municipality of Zapopán was able to benefit from Cnam-Enjmin’s expertise through a skills transfer piloted by Eurekatech, the GrandAngoulême technology park, and Magelis Creative Hub. Joint actions were also organised to allow entrepreneurs from both creative ecosystems of Angoulême and Zapopán to travel to the other in the context of the project. The consortium of schools in Angoulême is already working on the content of the future project called ‘Nuvea Confluencia Creativa’ (2026-2029).

• Universidad ORT Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay

Since 2019, within the framework of a cooperation agreement, Cnam-Enjmin has been welcoming Uruguayan students (on the Bachelor’s degree in Animation and Video Games) for a semester of international learning mobility (on the Master’s degree in Video Games and Digital Interactive Media (JMIN)) in Angoulême. Since then, this mobility programme has been renewed each year.

• The Animation Workshop, VIA University College, Denmark

Cnam-Enjmin has teamed up with VIA as part of the 4-year (2025-2029) European project AVENUE (Audiovisual Education and Training Network for European Vocational Excellence). The aim is to support the development of a qualified and cutting-edge workforce in the European Visual Creation Industry through the creation of 5 National Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) in the fields of Animation, Video Games, VFX, Visual Storytelling and XR.

Cnam-Enjmin is part of the Video Game CoVE, as are French video game developer, publisher and distributor, Ubisoft, and Angoulême-based visual arts ecosystem, Magelis Creative Hub (Magelis Pôle Créatif). The association BoCAJ (Bouleversement Carbone dans l’Animation et le Jeu vidéo), based in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region, is also participating as an associated partner.

National Role

On a national level, Cnam-Enjmin is a member of HEVGA (Higher Education Video Games Alliance), the French Video Game Union (SNJV, Syndicat national du jeu video) and, of course, the Cumulus Association.

Since 2020, Enjmin is a receiving institution of students from the French Polytechnical School (École polytechnique) and a contributor to the work of their Science and video Games Chair.

On a local level, Cnam-Enjmin is one of the institutions that form the Magelis Creative Campus in Angoulême: a cluster of specialist Higher Educational Establishments that have made a name for themselves nationally and internationally in the fields of arts, cinema, audiovisual and digital media. We receive ongoing financial support from Magelis Campus Hub (Magelis Pôle Créatif), the public economic development centre established in 1997 in Angoulême.

Cnam-Enjmin benefits from the support of all local and regional public institutions: the City of Angoulême, the Grand Angoulême Urban Community, the Charente Departmental Council and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region. We are endorsed and supported by every important French studio and publisher. The French company Ubisoft – one of the world’s largest video game publishers – is a privileged partner of our school.

Our students’ games, which they devise and develop as part of their degree programmes, are regularly recognised with numerous nominations and awards, both in France and internationally. We have also set up an in-house incubation programme called all4GAMES which aims to support budding video game studios financially and morally, ultimately helping them break through into the industry. In 2023, we organised the all4GAMES Competition: with a considerable €50,000 cash prize, the goal was to nurture creative and innovative video game or digital interactive experience projects created by independent or student studios. We are currently in the process of bringing the competition back, so watch this space!

Cnam-Enjmin participates in numerous gaming events and conferences around the world: Global Game Jam, Game Developers Conference, Electronic Entertainment Expo, Paris Game Week, Game Connection, just to name a few. The school also organises several major special gaming events: spawn!, Enjmin Games Show (EGS), Enjmin Art&Games Workshop, Smart Connected Objects Workshop, etc., and the students also get stuck in organising events too: Enjmin Game Conferences (EGC) and Enjam (Enjmin Game Jam).
Cnam-Enjmin’s programmes are designed to:

• train high-level artists, designers and academic researchers in the fields of video games and digital interactive media
• be a backbone for fundamental and applied research in the scientific and technical fields, using interactive media
• offer an opportunity to audiovisual professionals looking for a new career direction and a new qualification
• offer a suitable learning environment to promote pre-production (all4GAMES incubation programme).
  

  Main Focus

  Cnam-Enjmin, just like the overarching organisation, Cnam, has a very strong international vision with our partner research laboratories or international educational partners dotted across the globe. We offer initial and continuous training programmes for people of all ages who wish to specialise in the fields of video games and digital interactive media.