ParisTech
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[edit] History in Brief
In 1991, many prestigious French "écoles d'ingénieurs" (engineering schools), felt the need to set up a co-ordinating body that would foster closer collaboration among themselves in areas of common interest and thereby acquire international recognition as an entity of sufficient size and importance. ParisTech (Paris Institute of Technology) was thereby created with this objective in mind. Covering nearly the whole spectrum of science and engineering, it forms a technological and scientific university of comparable status to the most famous universities of technology around the world. Officially, ParisTech is a public educational establishment headed by a President, assisted by a executive bureau and a secretary general, and administrated by a board of directors, assisted by a strategic orientation council and a scientific council. The board of directors gathers one representative of each college or institute as well as researchers, teachers and one representative of the students.
[edit] Colleges and institutes
The member institutes of ParisTech are well-established publicly-owned educational and research institutions, many of which were founded back in the 18th century. Some deliver multidisciplinary studies in science such as the prestigious Ecole Polytechnique or Ecole des Mines de Paris, whereas others provide a much more specialized field of study and research. Ever since, they have stood at the forefront of technological and scientific developments in their field and have trained a majority of the engineers who have given rise to France's industrial achievements. ParisTech is also a member of the IDEA League, an alliance between the best technological universities in Europe, of the ATHENS programme and of the UNITECH International Society.
The member colleges and institutes are:
- École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, founded in 1747
- AgroParisTech (Paris Institute of Technology for life, food and environmental sciences), founded in 2007, as a result of the merger between different agronomy colleges
- École Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Administration Economique, founded in 1942
- École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts et Métiers, founded in 1780
- École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Paris, founded in 1896
- École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris, founded in 1783
- École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications, founded in 1878
- École Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées, founded in 1741
- École Polytechnique, founded in 1794
- École Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de Paris, founded in 1882
[edit] Facts and Figures
- 12 000 students (13% of which are foreign students)
- 2 000 PhD students
- 3 000 teachers-researchers
- 75 000 alumni (with strong links to their colleges and institutes in their jobs)
Research :
- 130 de research laboratories
- 450 theses every year
- 15 000 publications (over the past five years)
- 2870 research contracts with companies
Studies :
- 2 500 Master of Engineering delivered every year
- 132 spécialités de Masters et DEA
- 57 specialized Masters
- 15 ParisTech Masters of Science programmes
[edit] Location
Most of the ParisTech institutes and colleges are located in the Latin Quarter, the district on the left bank of the Seine where intellectual life has been thriving since the Middle Ages. A majority of them are there, close to one another, in a district bustling with student activity and within the centre of the city.
However, some institutes also created additional sites in the outskirts of Paris, or in other parts of the country. In the course of time, some institutes were settled more towards the periphery, but always on the Left Bank.
Some years ago, the École des Ponts et Chaussées and the École Polytechnique eventually moved their educational and research facilities to more spacious campuses in greater Paris, respectively in Marne-la-Vallée (East) and Palaiseau (South).
Beside its Latin Quarter location, AgroParisTech, a ParisTech college specialized in life, food and environmental sciences also comprises a farm used for education and research, at the Château de Grignon in the West of the Paris region.
[edit] Education
ParisTech offers a complete range of courses, independently or in partnership with other institutions (in particular doctoral and Masters degrees), in the core disciplines of science and technology at postgraduate level. Its main programmes are:
- the Master's degree ("ingénieur") a programme delivering a broad understanding of fundamental Engineering Science and a thorough introduction to Economics, Management and Communication. The admission to the Master's degree is widely known as being highly selective. Students are admitted through a nationwide examination for students having completed two years of classes préparatoires in France or abroad, or by virtue of outstanding academic records. Because of the competitive exam, the most prestigious colleges and institutes of ParisTech attract the best students, who then often reach the highest positions in their later careers.
- Master of Science (MSc) programmes, courses designed to provide an in-depth understanding in various fields of science ranging from Mathematics to Economics. Admission to ParisTech MSc programmes is open to students holding a Bachelor of Science (BSc) or a Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) from a French or international university. Each college or institute has its own specific admissions requirements.
- Doctoral programmes (PhD): ParisTech laboratories play host to 2000 doctoral students. Thesis enrolment is handled by the ParisTech institute or college to which the host laboratory is attached.
- Specialized Masters courses enable students to develop their knowledge to a high standard.
- An MBA (Master of Business Administration) ranked no 1 in the world for the international mobility of its graduate students.
- ParisTech institutes and colleges also offer continuing education courses aimed at professionals.
