The 21st century will be the era of the fourth industrial revolution with the progressive introduction of the digital society, with smart/connected objects, smart factories that are driven by robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence. Manufacturing is expected to be performed by smart factories, i.e. the industry 4.0, which is the outcome of steady development of information technology associated with new objects and systems that can automatically supervise and fulfil manufacturing tasks. The industry 4.0 concept relies largely on the ability to design and manufacture smart and connected devices that are based on microelectronics technology. This evolution requires highly-skilled technicians, engineers and PhDs, all of them well prepared for research, development and manufacturing. Their training, which combines knowledge and the associated compulsory know-how, is becoming the main challenge for the academic world. The curricula must therefore include the basic knowledge and associated know-how training in all the specialties of the field. The software and hardware tools used in microelectronics education are becoming highly complex and expensive that the most viable solution for practical training is to share technical facilities and human resources. This strategy has been adopted by the French microelectronics education network, which includes twelve universities and two industrial unions. By sharing human resources and technical facilities, the CNFM network was able to minimize the costs and to train future graduates on up-to-date tools similar to those used in companies. This paper aims to show how the strategy adopted by the French network can help meeting the needs of the future industry 4.0. Several examples of innovative activities developed in this strategy will be given. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee TAETI, Taiwan.