Polytechnic Institute of Paris

The Polytechnic Institute of Paris (, ) is a public technological university located in Palaiseau, France. It consists of six engineering grandes écoles: , ENSTA Paris, ENSAE Paris, École nationale des ponts et chaussées, Télécom Paris and Télécom SudParis.

With the Paris-Saclay University, the Polytechnic Institute of Paris is part of the Paris-Saclay project, which is a research-intensive academic campus and business cluster being developed on the Plateau de Saclay near Paris. The project integrates several engineering schools and research centers that are part of the world's top research organizations in various fields.Nic Mitchell "Big is beautiful for merging universities",BBC News,25 November 2015

The technological university was formed around the , one of the most respected and selective grandes écoles in France. Among its alumni and teachers are five Nobel Prize winners,Becquerel, Allais, Tirole, Mourou and Devoret. two Fields medalists,Jean-Christophe Yoccoz (1994); Yoccoz was not a student at Polytechnique because he chose to be educated at (1975-1979), but he completed his Ph.D. under Michael Herman in 1985 in the of École Polytechnique, a research centre which had been created by another Field medalist and a professor at Polytechnique : Laurent Schwartz. three presidents of FranceSadi Carnot (who was the nephew of Carnot the physicist and the grandson of Carnot the École founder), Lebrun and Giscard. and many CEOs of French and international companies.

History After World War II, the rapid growth of nuclear physics and chemistry meant that research needed more and more powerful accelerators, which required large areas. The University of Paris, the and the looked for space in the south of Paris near Orsay. The Orsay branch of the University of Paris eventually became an independent university, called Paris-Sud University. In 1976, the joined the region, by moving from central Paris to Palaiseau. Other institutes joined the region in the following decades, most notably ENS Cachan, Télécom Paris, and ENSTA, as part of the Paris-Saclay project, a national effort to regroup research and business activities.

In 2015, these institutes were grouped together as a university community (ComUE) called Paris-Saclay University. The goal was to be recognized as an entity of sufficient size and quality, and to become a top-ranking, research-focused French university. Each member institution would remain independent but share a significant portion of existing and newly invested resources. This follows a model similar to the one adopted by University of Oxford and Cambridge, where each constituent college keeps its independence while being grouped under a 'university'.

Confronted with disagreements between its members (engineering schools versus universities, French Ministry of Defense versus Ministry of Higher Education), the University of Paris-Sud proposed to transform itself into Paris-Saclay University in 2017, with the engineering schools being only associated to the future institution. On October 25, 2017, the French president Emmanuel Macron announced the creation of a second university pole in Paris-Saclay, which would split away from Paris-Saclay University and regroup the engineering schools. This new pole was initially called "NewUni", and became the Polytechnic Institute of Paris in February 2019.

HEC Paris also joined the new university pole without becoming a member. Other higher education or research institutions may join in the future. Paris-Saclay University and the Polytechnic Institute of Paris co-operate in several master's degrees and PhD programs

On September 15, 2020, the Institute co-founded with HEC ParisHi!Paris, L’Institut Polytechnique De Paris Et HEC Paris Affichent Leur Ambition Dans L’IA the artificial intelligence research center Hi! PARIS.Zoom sur Hi! PARIS, le centre consacré à l’IA et aux Sciences des données de l’Institut Polytechnique de Paris et HEC ParisHEC et Polytechnique lancent le centre pluridisciplinaire Hi! Paris pour devenir champions de la recherche en IA

On July 15, 2024, the École des ponts ParisTech joined the Institute.Décret n° 2024-818 du 15 juillet 2024 modifiant le décret n° 2019-549 du 31 mai 2019 portant création de l'établissement public expérimental Institut polytechnique de Paris et approbation de ses statuts

The 2025 AI Action Summit in Paris was preceded by AI Action Week presentations, launched with IP Paris hosting a conference on "transformations brought by artificial intelligence for science and societies" on February 6 and 7,Science Days Maison Elysée. February 21, 2025 with support from the Hi! PARIS research center.Hi! PARIS "AI, Science, and Society" Conference HEC Paris.

Organisation Grandes écoles The Polytechnic Institute of Paris comprises six grandes écoles:

ENSTA Paris ENSAE Paris École des ponts Télécom Paris Telecom SudParis NameFoundationFoundation of the oldest constituent part of the schoolFieldStudentsCampus1794Science and engineering2,316Paris-Saclay, ParisENSTA Paris1741Science and engineering897Paris-Saclay, BrestENSAE Paris1945Science and engineering581Paris-SaclayÉcole des ponts1747Science and engineering1,971Champs-sur-MarneTélécom Paris 1878Science and engineering1,360Paris-SaclayTélécom SudParis1979Science and engineering822Évry-Courcouronnes, Paris-Saclay

Research organizations The following research organizations have established research centers within the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The resources contributed by these organizations will remain largely independent from other member institutions. CEA (Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission) CESAER (Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research) CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research) Inria (French Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation) INSERM (French Institute of Health and Medical Research) Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques (Institute of Advanced Scientific Studies) INRA (French National Institute for Agricultural Sciences) ONERA (National Board of Study and Aerospace Research) SOLEIL (National synchrotron facility)

Academic programs

National degrees The Polytechnic Institute of Paris offers a wide range of programs (PhDs, Master's degrees, etc.) through all its schools, validated by national degrees.

CPES Data Science, Society and Health Polytechnic Institute of Paris is one of the three founding institutions of the Cycle pluridisciplinaire d’études supérieures (CPES) in Data Science, Society and Health, a selective three-year undergraduate program created in 2023. The degree is jointly delivered by Paris-Saclay University, Polytechnic Institute of Paris and HEC Paris. Recognized by the French Ministry of Higher Education, it confers the national grade de licence (Bachelor’s level) to its graduates. The curriculum combines mathematics, computer science, statistics, social sciences and public health, and includes interdisciplinary projects taught across the three institutions.

University rankings

In international rankings, the Polytechnic Institute of Paris is ranked 41st overall in 2026 and 12th in graduate employability in 2022 by QS World University Rankings. It is ranked 68th by Times Higher Education, 201-300 by the Shanghai Ranking, and 35th in the world by the CWUR Ranking.

Polytechnic Institute of Paris

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