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The Polytechnic Institute of Paris () is a
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
technological university located in
Palaiseau Palaiseau () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Palaiseau is a sub-prefecture of the Essonne department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Palaiseau. Palaiseau was a royal doma ...
,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. It consists of six engineering ''
grandes écoles Grandes may refer to: *Agustín Muñoz Grandes, Spanish general and politician * Banksia ser. Grandes, a series of plant species native to Australia * Grandes y San Martín, a municipality located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain ...
'': ,
ENSTA Paris The ENSTA Paris, officially École nationale supérieure de techniques avancées (; ), is a French graduate school of engineering (''école d'ingénieurs''). Founded in 1741, it is the oldest ''grande école'' in France. It is located in Palaisea ...
,
ENSAE Paris ENSAE Paris, officially École nationale de la statistique et de l'administration économique de Paris (; "Paris National School of Statistics and Economical Management"), is a grande école in France and a member of IP Paris ( Institut Polytec ...
,
École des ponts ParisTech École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...
,
Télécom Paris Télécom Paris (also known as ENST or Télécom or École nationale supérieure des télécommunications ; also Télécom ParisTech until 2019) is a French public institution for higher education (''grande école'') and engineering research. Loc ...
and
Télécom SudParis Télécom SudParis (formerly known as Télécom INT) is a French ''engineering school''—a public institution of higher education and research (grande école) that awards engineering degrees in France. In 2025, it ranked 27th in the French eng ...
. With the
Paris-Saclay University Paris-Saclay University (, ) is a combined technological research institute and public research university in Orsay, France. Paris-Saclay was established in 2019 after the merger of four technical ''grandes écoles,'' as well as several technol ...
, the Polytechnic Institute of Paris is part of the
Paris-Saclay Paris-Saclay is a research-intensive and business cluster currently under construction in the south of Paris, France. It encompasses research facilities, two French major universities with higher education institutions (''grandes écoles'') and ...
project, which is a research-intensive academic campus and
business cluster A business cluster is a geographic concentration of interconnected businesses, suppliers, and associated institutions in a particular field. Clusters are considered to increase the productivity with which companies can compete, nationally and gl ...
being developed on the
Plateau de Saclay The Plateau de Saclay (), also called Silicon Valley Européenne (in English, European Silicon Valley), is located north of Essonne and south-east of Yvelines, 20 km south of Paris. It is bounded by the valley of the Yvette (river), Yvette (''V ...
near Paris. The project integrates several engineering schools and research centers that are part of the world's top research organizations in various fields. The technological university was formed around the , one of the most respected and selective ''
grandes écoles Grandes may refer to: *Agustín Muñoz Grandes, Spanish general and politician * Banksia ser. Grandes, a series of plant species native to Australia * Grandes y San Martín, a municipality located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain ...
'' in France. Among its alumni and teachers are five
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
winners, two
Fields medalists The Fields Medal is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians under 40 years of age at the International Congress of Mathematicians, International Congress of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), a meeting that takes place e ...
, three
presidents of France President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsidente ...
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 University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...
, the and the looked for space in the south of Paris near
Orsay Orsay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Essonne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. A fortifie ...
. The Orsay branch of the University of Paris eventually became an independent university, called
Paris-Sud University Paris-Sud University (), also known as the University of Paris — XI (or as the Orsay Faculty of Sciences, University of Paris before 1971), was a French research university distributed among several campuses in the southern suburbs of Paris, ...
. In 1976, the joined the region, by moving from central Paris to
Palaiseau Palaiseau () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Palaiseau is a sub-prefecture of the Essonne department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Palaiseau. Palaiseau was a royal doma ...
. Other institutes joined the region in the following decades, most notably ENS Cachan,
Télécom Paris Télécom Paris (also known as ENST or Télécom or École nationale supérieure des télécommunications ; also Télécom ParisTech until 2019) is a French public institution for higher education (''grande école'') and engineering research. Loc ...
, and
ENSTA The ENSTA Paris, officially École nationale supérieure de techniques avancées (; ), is a French graduate school of engineering (''école d'ingénieurs''). Founded in 1741, it is the oldest ''grande école'' in France. It is located in Palaise ...
, as part of the
Paris-Saclay Paris-Saclay is a research-intensive and business cluster currently under construction in the south of Paris, France. It encompasses research facilities, two French major universities with higher education institutions (''grandes écoles'') and ...
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 Paris-Saclay University (, ) is a combined technological research institute and public research university in Orsay, France. Paris-Saclay was established in 2019 after the merger of four technical ''grandes écoles,'' as well as several technol ...
. 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 The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
and
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, where each constituent college keeps its independence while being grouped under a '
university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
'. Confronted with disagreements between its members (engineering schools versus universities,
French Ministry of Defense The Ministry of Armed Forces (, , ) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of managing the French Armed Forces inside and outside French territory. Its head is the Minister of the Armed Forces. From 1947 until 2017, the Ministry w ...
versus Ministry of Higher Education), the
University of Paris-Sud Paris-Sud University (), also known as the University of Paris — XI (or as the Orsay Faculty of Sciences, University of Paris before 1971), was a French research university distributed among several campuses in the southern suburbs of Paris, ...
proposed to transform itself into
Paris-Saclay University Paris-Saclay University (, ) is a combined technological research institute and public research university in Orsay, France. Paris-Saclay was established in 2019 after the merger of four technical ''grandes écoles,'' as well as several technol ...
in 2017, with the engineering schools being only associated to the future institution. On October 25, 2017, the French president
Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...
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 HEC Paris () is a business school and ''grande école'' located in Jouy-en-Josas, a southwestern outer suburb of Paris, France. It offers Bachelor, MiM, MSc in International Finance, MBA, EMBA, executive education, professional developm ...
also joined the new university pole without becoming a member. Other higher education or research institutions may join in the future.
Paris-Saclay University Paris-Saclay University (, ) is a combined technological research institute and public research university in Orsay, France. Paris-Saclay was established in 2019 after the merger of four technical ''grandes écoles,'' as well as several technol ...
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 Paris the
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
research center '' Hi! PARIS''. On July 15, 2024, the
École des ponts ParisTech École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...
joined the Institute. The 2025
AI Action Summit The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit was held at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, from 10 to 11 February 2025. The summit was co-chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The 2025 AI Actio ...
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, with support from the Hi! PARIS research center.


Organisation


Grandes écoles

The Polytechnic Institute of Paris comprises six ''
grandes écoles Grandes may refer to: *Agustín Muñoz Grandes, Spanish general and politician * Banksia ser. Grandes, a series of plant species native to Australia * Grandes y San Martín, a municipality located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain ...
'': * *
ENSTA Paris The ENSTA Paris, officially École nationale supérieure de techniques avancées (; ), is a French graduate school of engineering (''école d'ingénieurs''). Founded in 1741, it is the oldest ''grande école'' in France. It is located in Palaisea ...
*
ENSAE Paris ENSAE Paris, officially École nationale de la statistique et de l'administration économique de Paris (; "Paris National School of Statistics and Economical Management"), is a grande école in France and a member of IP Paris ( Institut Polytec ...
*
École des ponts ParisTech École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...
*
Télécom Paris Télécom Paris (also known as ENST or Télécom or École nationale supérieure des télécommunications ; also Télécom ParisTech until 2019) is a French public institution for higher education (''grande école'') and engineering research. Loc ...
*
Telecom SudParis Telecom may refer to: * Telecommunications ** A telecommunications company ** The telecommunications industry * Telecom Animation Film, a Japanese studio See also * Telcom (disambiguation) * Telekom (disambiguation) * List of telecommunication ...


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) *
CNRS The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 eng ...
(French National Centre for Scientific Research) *
Inria The National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology (Inria) () is a French national research institution focusing on computer science and applied mathematics. It was created under the name French Institute for Research in Comp ...
(French Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation) *
INSERM The (Inserm, ) is the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research. History and organisation Inserm was created in 1964 as a successor to the French National Institute of Health. Inserm is the only public research institution ...
(French Institute of Health and Medical Research) *
Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques The Institut des hautes études scientifiques (IHÉS; English: Institute of Advanced Scientific Studies) is a French research institute supporting advanced research in mathematics and theoretical physics (also with a small theoretical biology g ...
(Institute of Advanced Scientific Studies) * INRA (French National Institute for Agricultural Sciences) *
ONERA The Office National d'Études et de Recherches Aérospatiales ( English: National office for aerospace studies and research) or ONERA, dubbed ''The French Aerospace Lab'' in English, is the French national aerospace research center. Originally f ...
(National Board of Study and Aerospace Research) * SOLEIL (national
synchrotron A synchrotron is a particular type of cyclic particle accelerator, descended from the cyclotron, in which the accelerating particle beam travels around a fixed closed-loop path. The strength of the magnetic field which bends the particle beam i ...
facility)


University rankings

In international rankings, the Polytechnic Institute of Paris is ranked 38th overall and 12th in graduate employability by
QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...
. It is ranked 71st by
Times Higher Education ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The THES''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...
, 301-400 by the
Shanghai Ranking The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (''ARWU''), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong University ...
, and 41st in the world by the CWUR Ranking.


See also

*
List of public universities in France by academy The French Ministry of Higher Education and Research lists 160 public higher education establishments. It divides these into four categories: * 65 universities * 60 ''écoles'' * 25 ''grands établissements'' * 10 other establishments These are ...
* Paris-Saclay Medical School


References


External links

*
Polytechnique Online
{{Authority control Paris-Saclay Universities and colleges in Paris