École polytechnique
Originally located in the Latin Quarter in central Paris, the institution moved to Palaiseau in 1976, in the Paris-Saclay technology cluster.[7] Most Polytechnique engineering graduates go on to become top executives in companies, senior civil servants, military officers, or researchers.[8] Its alumni from the engineering graduate program include three Nobel Prize winners,[9] a Fields Medalist,[10] three Presidents of France[11] and many CEOs of French and international companies.The school has produced renowned mathematicians such as Cauchy, Coriolis, Henri Poincaré, Laurent Schwartz and Benoît Mandelbrot, physicists such as Becquerel, Carnot, Ampère and Fresnel, and economists Maurice Allais and Jean Tirole.[17] According to L'Argot de l'X, published in 1894: "It is from the very importance given to the teaching of ana [analysis], the whole language of which is made up of x and y, that the nickname X came, universally accepted to designate Polytechnicians.Let us further say that in troubled times, such as 1830 and 1848, this knowledge particularly helped them to avoid being confused with all the individuals who disguised themselves as Polytechnicians to give themselves the appearance of defenders of order.[14][22] Jacques-Élie Lamblardie, Gaspard Monge and Lazare Carnot, the founding fathers of the School, were charged with organizing a new "École centrale des travaux publics" (Central School of Public Works)[14] which was officially created on 7 Vendémiaire, Year III (September 28, 1794) and opened to students on 1 Nivôse, Year III (December 21, 1794).During the first three months, "revolutionary courses" were given in physics, mathematics and chemistry, after which they took exams to see if they could enter the civil service directly, or if they should continue their studies.Militarization was motivated by Napoleon's favorable opinion of Polytechnicians who had contributed to the Egyptian expedition and by his admiration for Monge and Laplace.While they could have turned to an engineering profession associated with industry, the Polytechnicians instead reinforced their sovereign vocation by joining the "state nobility" of the Second French Empire, whose origins, interests and convictions they gradually shared.The years 1860–1870 marked an important evolution since the school became more of a "conservatory of sciences" than a center of research and innovation, while extending its hold on the management of the industrial apparatus.During the Second World War, the École polytechnique was transferred to Lyon in the free zone, lost its military status, and its Parisian buildings were given to the Red Cross.In 1805, when he placed the School under military administration, Napoleon transferred it to the Quartier Latin, in the former premises of the colleges of Navarre, Tournai and Boncourt, now the Ministry of Higher Education and Research.[34] The campus is close to other scientific institutions in Saclay (Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives), Orsay (Université Paris-Sud) and Bures (Institut des hautes études scientifiques and some laboratories of the Centre national de la recherche scientifique).The number of graduates becoming civil servants and officers has weakened since 1950: today, only 10 to 20% of the school's students join the ranks of the administration or the army, while 20% go into research and the rest into engineering or management.On special occasions, such as the military parade on the Champs-Élysées on Bastille Day, conferences, ceremonies, and other events on campus, Polytechnicians wear the 19th-century-style Grand Uniforme, including a bicorne.[41] Contrary to French public universities, the teachers at École polytechnique are not civil servants (fonctionnaires)[42] but contract employees.The Ingénieur polytechnicien ("Polytechnician Engineer") program awards the prestigious diplôme d'ingénieur degree, and is selective upon entry.The first way is through a very selective competitive examination that requires at least two years of intensive preparation after high school in classes préparatoires.[48] They receive at the end of the first year the full dress uniform, which comprises black trousers with a red stripe (a skirt for females), a coat with brass buttons and a belt, a small sword and a cocked hat (officially called a bicorne).The fourth year is the beginning of more specialized studies: students who do not enter a State Corps must enter either a Master's degree or a doctorate, a partner college or institute such as the École des mines de Paris or ENSAE, or a specialization institute such as Supaéro in Toulouse or ENSPM in Rueil-Malmaison.The reason for this is that the generic education provided at Polytechnique is more focused on developing thinking skills than on preparing students for the transition to a real engineering career, which requires more advanced technical training.The next step for French Polytechnicians is to join one of the four technical schools of the civil service: École des mines, École des ponts et chaussées, Télécom ParisTech, ENSTA Paris or ENSAE, thus joining one of the civil service bodies known as grands corps techniques de l'État.With the exception of the corps curriculum, the universities and schools where Polytechnicians complete their training now base their acceptance decisions on the transcripts of all grades.[49] French students admitted to the École polytechnique do not pay tuition fees and receive a salary as officer cadets.[1] École polytechnique has many research laboratories operating in various scientific fields (physics, mathematics, computer science, economics, chemistry, biology, etc.
Polytechnique (film)École Polytechnique (disambiguation)Grande écolePolytechnic Institute of ParisPresidentLaura ChaubardUndergraduatesPostgraduatesDoctoral studentsPalaiseauColorsFrancePublicresearch universityFrench Armed ForcesSixth CoalitionWorld War IWorld War IIBattle honoursLegion of HonourCroix de guerre 1914–1918Croix de guerre 1939–1945defence of ParisWest PointGaspard MongeFrench RevolutionNapoleon IFrench Ministry of Armed ForcesLatin QuarterParis-Saclay technology clusterofficer cadetsIts alumniNobel PrizeFields MedalistPresidents of FranceCauchyCoriolisHenri PoincaréLaurent SchwartzBenoît MandelbrotBecquerelCarnotAmpèreFresnelMaurice AllaisJean TiroleMarshalsJoffreFayolleMaunouryanalysisQuartier LatinJules DavidLazare CarnotVendémiairephysicsmathematicschemistryÉcole des minesÉcole des ponts et chausséesNapoléonMontagne Sainte-Genevièvemilitary academyEgyptian expeditionLaplacethe restorationJuly RevolutionParis CommuneSecond French EmpireSecond World WarFree FrenchFrench ResistanceNazi campsvaledictorianFrançois MitterrandPalais Bourbonhôtel particulier7th arrondissement of ParisMinistry of Higher Education and ResearchPanthéonLozèreline BRER networkMassy-PalaiseauMassy TGVCommissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternativesUniversité Paris-SudInstitut des hautes études scientifiquesCentre national de la recherche scientifiquecolor guardBastille Day Military ParadeFrench Ministry of DefenceGeneral Directorate for Armamentnational public establishment of an administrative characterSenior General Engineer of ArmamentcadetsChamps-ÉlyséesBastille DaybicorneÉcole Normale SupérieureInstitut d'Optiquediplôme d'ingénieurclasses préparatoiresmilitary serviceLa CourtineAir ForceGendarmerieSaint-CyrÉcole NavalearmisticesWorld Warssmall swordcocked hatÉcole des mines de ParisSupaéroCorps des MinesCorps of Bridges, Waters and ForestsEcole Normale SupérieureTélécom ParisTechENSTA ParisX-MinesX-PontsX-INSEEGreater ParisHEC Pariscomputer science