The Collège des Ingénieurs (, CDI) is an independent international educational institution founded in Paris, France in 1986 and known for its postgraduate management training (MBA, Master of Business Administration). The training model is innovative for management training, it is exclusively aimed at engineers and scientists, directly following scientific education.
The aim of the Collège is to train graduates to combine scientific thinking with entrepreneurial action. The 10-month programme is about understanding economic and entrepreneurial contexts in order to be prepared for a management career.
In addition, the focus is on the personal development of the European graduates.
Theory and practical experience are structured according to an integrated dual model. The training is free of tuition fees. All accepted graduates are financed and supported by the CDI.
Admission to the Collège is based on a rigorous selection process that assesses academic performance and, in particular, the student's aptitude and potential for a management career. For this purpose, selection interviews with an admissions committee are part of the admission process.
The CDI has three locations in Europe (Paris, Munich, Turin) and each year selects around 150 young graduates (engineers, natural scientists) from more than 1,000 applications who have first successfully completed a master's degree or doctorate at a university.
The Collège des Ingénieurs was founded in Paris in 1986 from a group of three leading Grandes Ecoles (Ecole des Ponts et Chausées, Ecole Normale (rue d'Ulm) and the ENGREF) on the initiative of companies. In Germany, the CDI is a recognised partner of the large German companies. The CDI in Italy was founded in partnership with the Agnelli Foundation, the Garrone Foundation and the Pirelli Foundation.
The educational concept is summarised by its Latin motto: "Qui agit intellegit".
Historically closely linked to the world of industry, its graduates (called "Fellows") come from the major European universities and Grandes Ecoles. In France, the CDI mainly accepts graduates from the leading Grandes Ecoles (École polytechnique, CentraleSupélec, Mines Paris, Ponts ParisTech, AgroParisTech, Télécom ParisTech, Espci, Ensta Paris) as well as from the Sorbonne Université, the research university Paris-Sciences-et-Lettres, the Université Paris-Saclay and the Écoles Normales Supérieures. In Germany, its students come from the major state universities of excellence (TU9, RWTH Aachen, Technical University of Munich, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology...). Likewise, in Italy they come from the state universities (Politecnico di Torino, Politecnico di Milano, Scuola Normale Superiore Pisa ...), as well as other European universities of excellence.
Academics
Master of Business Administration of the Collège des Ingénieurs
Every year, the Collège des Ingénieurs graduates around 120-150 young engineers and scientists (STEM subjects) with a master's degree or higher (doctorate). The ten-month intensive full-time training concludes with an MBA diploma. A project assignment as a junior consultant in a company forms the second pillar of the programme. The programme is alternating, training units with intensive seminars and courses alternate with practical phases in the company.
The graduates at the CDI are employees of the school and work as junior consultants in the partner companies. They support the management there directly in strategy projects or are involved in innovation projects.
The training is financed by the Collège des Ingenieurs and the graduates receive a salary at the college. The list of companies consists mainly of large industrial groups from France, Germany and Italy.
The training consists of thematic seminars assigned to five pillars: Finance, Operations, Innovation, Strategy and Marketing. In addition, Leadership & Personal Development occupy a crucial place in the training. Graduates are trained in particular with the aim of becoming leaders in companies or even company founders. The seminars and courses are held on a rotating basis at the European training bases.
Master classes by company leaders (CEO or chairman), entrepreneurs or personalities from society are also part of the training.
Science and Management Doctoral Programme In 2009, the Collège des ingénieurs and the Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie (now Sorbonne Université) founded the doctoral programme "Science et Management", which leads to the doctoral degrees in natural sciences of the UPMC and the MBA of the CDI.
This doctoral programme was extended to the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in the same year. However, in addition to doctoral students from the two universities in Paris and Karlsruhe, access is also open to doctoral students from other universities in Europe. Doctoral students from the research universities in Munich (Technical University of Munich and LMU Munich), Heidelberg, ETH Zurich, but also Paris Sciences et Lettres, the University of Paris-Saclay, the Institut Polytechnique de Paris as well as Sant'Anna Pisa are among the graduates of the Science & Management Programme. The programme combines a scientific doctorate at one of the university chairs. In parallel and after graduation, the theoretical and practical training modules take place at the Collège des Ingénieurs.
Copernic Programme The Copernic Programme is a programme organised in France jointly with the Institut d'études politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) and the École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris, which trains graduates from the best universities in Central and Eastern Europe and prepares them for a management career. An intensive six-month training is followed by a full-time assignment in a company. The Copernic programme was financially supported by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs through scholarships for all graduates.
It was launched in 1990. The programme trained over 1000 young graduates, mainly from Central and Eastern Europe, who were prepared in France for management careers in their home countries. The focus was on modern management and economic theory (market economy) and institutional framework conditions (parliamentary democracy), combined with a practical assignment in an international company.
Admission Admission for the MBA programme takes place through an application process.
Admission is merit based and all programmes are tuition free.
On the basis of the academic profile, academic achievements and the personality and motivation of the applicants, the selection committee makes a recommendation for admission. Selection interviews with applicants are conducted with a selection panel in all 3 countries where the CDI is present. The selection juries are composed of representatives from companies.
From France, most graduates come from the French Grandes Ecoles (the ParisTech, Paris-Saclay networks) and the major universities: CentraleSupélec, École des mines, École des ponts, École polytechnique, École normale supérieure, AgroParisTech, Télécom ParisTech, ESPCI, Sorbonne Université.
In Germany, the graduates come mainly from the major state universities: RWTH Aachen University, Technical University of Munich, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, TU Dresden, University of Stuttgart. The CDI works together with some of the organisations that support gifted students (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes and Stiftung der deutschen Wirtschaft (SDW), among others) to enable graduates to gain access to the CDI.
From Italy, graduates come from the major technical universities: Politecnico di Milano, Politecnico di Turin, University of Padua, University of Bologna, Scuola Superiore Santa Anna in Pisa.
Other graduates come from European universities from Switzerland (ETH Zurich and EPF Lausanne), Universidad Politecnica de Madrid and Barcelona in Spain, Cambridge (UK), Delft, etc.
International The Collège des Ingénieurs is a deliberately international institution. In addition to the historical intra-European cooperation (France, Germany, Italy), in which graduates work together in the joint seminar and training blocks, the institution promotes multicultural encounters. Graduates usually come from the three countries where the Collège is located, but a cohort often includes a number of graduates from all over Europe (Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, the UK...) as well as from North America and Asia.
80% of graduates have at least one year of experience abroad (study or research, employment), and 85% are at least trilingual and are among the top graduates of their respective universities.
The Collège des Ingénieurs has training sites in Munich, Paris and Turin.
It is common for graduates to live and work together during seminar blocks. This promotes close exchange between graduates, in an intensive working and learning environment.
Notable graduates (Alumni) Since 1986, the Collège des Ingénieurs, in association with the main players in European industry, has graduated more than 3000 MBAs (as of 2025) and 1000 fellows of the Copernic programme, who are now working in around 100 countries. The programme has helped train numerous business leaders and executives of global industrial groups, founders of technology companies, managers of innovation and heads of strategy consulting firms. Its graduates are active in Europe, China and North America. Some graduates have also held top-tier leadership positions in society.
Personalities from the world of business CDI graduateNameMain activity2021Dr. Amelie SchönenwaldEuropean Space Agency, ESA Reserve Astronaute, Senior manager Strategy at GSK2015Tobias von MäßenhausenCEO of ROLAND Rechtsschutz2011Jean-Charles Samuelian-WerveCo-founder of Expliseat and Alan, Co-founding advisor & Board Member at Mistral AI2003Lars WagnerCEO Commercial Aircraft at Airbus, former CEO MTU Aero Engines2002Anne-Christine ChampionMember of the senior management committee Natixis2002Guido CrespiSenior partner and managing director, Boston Consulting Group, Italy (2006–2019)2001Li JiaqingManaging Director of Legend Capital1998Martha Crawford HeitzmannGlobal R&D Director of Air liquide, Areva, L'Oréal1997Joachim GoldbeckFounder and Geschäftsführer (CEO) of Goldbeck Solar, President Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft e.V.1997Karim BoustaCEO of Getaround, VP Tesla, VP Lyft1996Isabel Marey-SemperMember of the Board (Non-executive director) of Nokia, Rexel, L'Oréal1996Serge MagdeleineChief Executive Officer (CEO), Le Crédit Lyonnais1996John de SouzaCo-founder of Flash Communications (first instant messaging system acquired by Microsoft), CEO and c-founder of Ample (e-mobility)1994Erik LamarreGlobal Leader & Senior Partner of McKinsey1993Stéphane DietrichCo-founder of Neolane1993François JackowChief Executive Officer (CEO) of Air Liquide1993Mohamed KallalaCEO of Natixis and Member of the Executive Management Committee of Groupe BPCE1992Sonia Artinian-FredouMember of the senior management committee Michelin1992Pierre LuzeauPrésident-directeur-général (CEO) of Seqens1991Frédéric de CourtoisDeputy CEO of AXA1989Pascal MinaultDirecteur général (CEO) of Bouygues Construction1989Jacques VeyratCo-founder of Neuf Cegetel, président groupe Louis-Dreyfus, President of Impala1988François VenetMember of the senior management committee of Air Liquide
Political personalities