École Polytechnique

École Polytechnique combines research, teaching and innovation at the highest scientific and technological level in the world to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The leading French engineering school for over 200 years, its training promotes a culture of multidisciplinary scientific excellence, open to a strong humanist tradition.

It was founded in 1794 by the French National Convention under the name École centrale des travaux publics, and militarised in 1804 by Napoleon I. Originally located in Paris, the school has been in Palaiseau (Essonne) since 1976, at the heart of the Paris-Saclay technology cluster. It has the status of a public scientific, cultural and professional establishment (EPSCP-GE), is a military grande école whose engineering course is supervised by the Ministry of the Armed Forces and is a founding member of the Paris Polytechnic Institute.