Ecole Polytechnique for Women: the first private university in France to train female engineers

Ecole Polytechnique Feminine (EPF) is the first private university in France that provides engineering education specifically for women. It was founded by Marie-Louise in Paris in 1925 with the aim of breaking the social restrictions on women's career choices at the time and providing women with the opportunity to receive high-quality engineering education. As a landmark educational institution in French history, EPF has not only witnessed the rise of women in science and technology, but has also become an important force in promoting gender equality and technological innovation.

Today, EPF has developed into a modern, international and highly recognized engineering school, whose excellent teaching quality and rigorous academic atmosphere attract students from all over the world. The school can issue engineering diplomas recognized by the French state and the French Engineering Qualification Certification Committee (CTI), which is not only a high recognition of students' professional ability, but also provides a solid guarantee for graduates to enter the global workplace.

The courses offered by EPF cover a wide range of fields including engineering, science, economics, management and medicine, fully reflecting the characteristics of interdisciplinary integration. By combining theoretical learning with practical operations, EPF is committed to cultivating future engineers with innovative capabilities, international vision and social responsibility. In addition, the school also has multi-level educational programs such as undergraduate, master and language center to meet the learning needs of students from different backgrounds.

History: From its founding to modern development

The history of EPF dates back to 1925, a time when gender discrimination was still deeply rooted. At that time, despite the great progress in science and technology, the participation of women in this field was extremely limited. It was in this context that Ms. Marie Louisa decided to establish a school dedicated to women's engineering education. She hoped to change the traditional perception of women's roles in society and open the door to the world of science and technology for more women.

Initially, EPF had only a small classroom and a small number of teachers, but it quickly gained a reputation for its firm belief and innovative teaching methods. Over time, the school continued to expand and gradually added new disciplines and teaching facilities. By the middle of the 20th century, EPF had become an influential female engineering education institution in France and even Europe.

After entering the 21st century, EPF continued to keep pace with the times, actively embracing the trend of globalization while maintaining its traditional advantages. The school has strengthened its cooperative relationship with internationally renowned universities and launched more dual degree programs and overseas exchange opportunities. At the same time, in order to adapt to the demand for compound talents in modern society, EPF has further optimized its curriculum and incorporated cutting-edge topics such as sustainable development and digital transformation into its teaching content.

Education system: Diversification and specialization

EPF's education system is known for its diversity and specialization. The school offers educational programs at multiple levels, including undergraduate, master's and language training centers, providing students with a wealth of choices.

Undergraduate Programs

For students who have just graduated from high school or have an equivalent degree, EPF's undergraduate program is undoubtedly the best starting point. The three-year program covers core courses such as basic mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computer science, while also focusing on cultivating students' communication skills, teamwork and leadership.

At the undergraduate level, students can choose different majors according to their personal interests and career plans, such as mechanical engineering, civil engineering, electronic and electrical engineering, etc. Each major is equipped with an experienced team of professors who not only impart professional knowledge, but also guide students to think independently and conduct critical analysis.

Master's Program

After completing undergraduate studies, students can choose to continue their studies in EPF's master's program to deepen their research in a specific field. The master's program usually lasts two years, with a more in-depth and specialized curriculum, and also requires students to complete a high-quality research paper or participate in a practical engineering project.

EPF's master's programs cover a wide range of hot fields, including energy management, environmental engineering, biomedical engineering, etc. In addition, the school has established close ties with many multinational companies, providing a large number of internship and employment opportunities for master's students.

Language Center

Considering that some international students may face language barriers, EPF has set up a language center to provide them with intensive training courses in French and English. These courses not only help students improve their language skills, but also allow them to better integrate into the local culture and social environment.

The language center adopts a small class teaching mode to ensure that every student can get enough attention and support. In addition, the center will organize various cultural exchange activities to promote mutual understanding and friendship between students of different nationalities.

Professional setting: multidisciplinary cross-disciplinary and innovation-oriented

EPF's professional settings fully reflect the characteristics of multidisciplinary cross-disciplinary and innovation-oriented. The school currently offers the following majors:

Engineering

• Mechanical Engineering: This major focuses on cultivating students' abilities in product design, manufacturing processes, materials science, etc. Graduates can find ideal jobs in aerospace, automobile manufacturing and other fields.
• Civil Engineering: focuses on imparting knowledge in infrastructure construction, urban planning and environmental protection, and is suitable for students who wish to enter the construction industry.
• Electronic and electrical engineering: With the rapid development of information technology, the employment prospects of this major are very broad, covering multiple sub-directions such as communication technology and automation control.

Science

• Applied Mathematics: Helps students solve complex real-world problems by studying tools such as statistics and operations research. It is widely used in finance, insurance and other industries.
• Physics: Explore the nature of matter and its laws of motion, and provide outstanding talents for high-tech fields such as new energy development and materials science.

Economics and Management

• Business management: Combine engineering technical knowledge with business management skills to cultivate compound talents who are both proficient in technology and good at management.
• International Economics: Focus on global economic trends and changes in trade policies to help students seize opportunities in the wave of globalization.

Medical

• Biomedical Engineering: combines engineering principles with life sciences to develop new medical devices and technologies to improve human health.

International cooperation: a bridge connecting the world

As a future-oriented international school, EPF attaches great importance to cooperation and exchanges with higher education institutions in other countries and regions. At present, the school has signed cooperation agreements with more than 80 top universities in the world, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States, the Technical University of Munich (TUM) in Germany and other world-class universities.

Through these partnerships, EPF students have the opportunity to participate in various forms of international exchange activities, such as short-term exchange programs, joint research projects, and dual degree programs. For example, the cooperation program with MIT allows outstanding undergraduates to study in the United States for a semester and experience the world's most advanced scientific and technological innovation atmosphere; while the cooperation with TUM allows graduate students to obtain degree certificates from both schools at the same time, significantly enhancing their international competitiveness.

In addition to academic cooperation, EPF also actively participates in various international conferences and forums to share its successful experience in women's engineering education, while also learning advanced concepts and practices from other peers. This two-way interaction not only promotes knowledge dissemination, but also helps build a more equitable and inclusive global education ecosystem.

Campus life: rich and diverse cultural experience

EPF's campus life is equally colorful. The school strives to create an open and inclusive learning and living environment so that students can enjoy fulfilling and enjoyable extracurricular time while pursuing academic achievements.

Club Activities

The school has many student clubs covering sports, art, technology and other fields. Whether you are keen on basketball games or photography creation, every student can find their own interest circle. These clubs not only enrich students' extracurricular life, but also provide them with a platform to showcase their talents and exercise their leadership skills.

Cultural Festivals

Every year, EPF organizes a number of cultural festivals to celebrate traditional festivals from different countries and regions. For example, the Spring Festival Gala and the Indian Diwali Celebration attracted a large number of teachers and students to participate, and everyone enhanced mutual understanding and friendship through singing and dancing performances and food sharing.

Career Development Support

In order to help students smoothly transition to the career stage, EPF has set up a dedicated career service center to provide a variety of services such as resume writing guidance and mock interview training. In addition, the school also regularly invites industry experts to give lectures and share the latest market trends and job search skills.

Looking to the future: Shaping the new era of female engineers

Looking back on the past 100 years of development, EPF has always adhered to its original intention and is committed to creating better engineering education opportunities for women. Looking forward to the future, the school will continue to uphold this mission and make efforts in the following aspects:

• Further expand the enrollment scale to attract more outstanding female students to join the EPF family.
• Increase investment in research and development, especially in emerging technology fields such as artificial intelligence and clean energy, to achieve breakthrough results.
• Deepen internationalization strategy, expand more high-quality partnerships, and provide students with more overseas study and internship opportunities.
• Optimize campus facility construction and create a more intelligent and greener learning and living environment.

In short, EPF is not only an outstanding institution for training female engineers, but also an important force in promoting gender equality and social progress. Here, every student will find a stage to realize their self-worth and jointly write their own brilliant chapter.

If you want to know more about the EPF, please visit its official website: www.epf.fr .