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In a rapidly changing industrial environment, academic technological training must create syllabuses which answer the needs and expectations of young adults engaged in these studies. The installation of a machine tool simulator in mechanical engineering is here assessed according to a specifically designed theoretical model. This model includes two dimensions : the first can be described as a functional dimension focusing on didactic constraints; the second as a social cognitive dimension referring to social representations. Structuring the model in this way will provide what we call a “commitment space” apt to encourage students to invest personally in the achievement of their training objectives. In order to test this theoretical stand, we will describe the adapted methodological tools which led to the first results of this evaluation, presented and discussed herein.