What exactly is a Grande École?
When you google the term grande école you will see there is not too much coverage (in English). Also, in the existing coverage it remains rather intangible what it really means to be part of a grande école. So, let’s shed some light on this.
Grandes Écoles in general — a comparison
Grande écoles are a form of higher education in France after the A-levels which awards diplomas of the same level as normal universities. But, a degree from a grande école is much more recognised as they are renowned to train and develop the french elite. Many politicians and a large majority of top executives in France studied at a grande école. The term itself is not really defined or legally protected but in general, a school is a grande école if it is part of the “Conférence des Grandes Écoles”. For intuition what that means, one could compare these schools to the Ivy League Universities from the USA. The combination of a high brand value, quality education and an exceptional network opens students many doors to a successful career.
In comparison to the 8 universities in the Ivy League, there are over 100 schools in the conférence de grandes écoles, separated into a general, administrative, business and engineering track. The so-called ‘écoles normales supérieures’ offer a broad variety of fields from social sciences and engineering to economics. For service in the public sector, students are trained at the administrative schools. The ‘grandes écoles de commerce’, for example, HEC Paris, are internationally renowned for their business and management degrees. Lastly, there are the grandes ‘écoles d’ingénieurs’ which make up the majority of the schools. To make it a bit more confusing, the engineering schools are again divided into sub-organisations. For example, the ‘Institut Mines-Telecom’ is basically a conglomerate of 11 grandes écoles and gives the IMT Atlantique its first three letters.
All grandes écoles are ranked every year by various institutions and publications such as ‘l’Etudiant’. French students prepare after high school for two years in so-called ‘classe préparatoire’ to take a nationwide exam. Again, this can be compared to the SAT or GMAT score in the USA. Only the top candidates can freely choose from the top-rated grandes écoles. IMT Atlantique frequently ranks under the top 10 of the engineering grandes écoles in several rankings. Take these ratings with a grain of salt, but the IMT is not a bad place to be.
How does a Grande École feel like?
So far we had some superficial information on grandes écoles such as their organisation and that they play a vital role in the french political body and economy. But how does daily life look like? How does a grande école feel like? We will examine such characteristics with the example of the IMT Atlantique. So, while details may vary from school to school, a general tendency will become quite clear!
The IMT Atlantique is relatively small for a public higher education institution with about 2300 students and 250 researchers and professors across 3 campuses. All these people bring drive to the table. As mentioned, the french selection process is extremely competitive and international student applications are thoroughly reviewed. That results in an exceptional group of people who manage to learn a new language, engage in one of the various clubs or start to play an instrument besides studying. And as you can see from the interviews on the blog — there is a strong international flair combined with cultural open-mindedness.
The meaning of ‘Diplom d’ingénieur’
Before we see the details of how courses are taught, you have to understand the french notion of an engineer, an ‘ingénieur’ and their interpretation of the ‘diplom d’ingénieur’.
This diploma is awarded by the grandes écoles d’ingénieurs and is equivalent to a Masters degree. Even though students specialise themselves, the formation has a holistic approach. One of the interviewees called it the ‘human side’ to the technical aspects. Teamwork, character development, organisation and leadership skills are integral parts besides the technical curriculum.
The diplom d’ingénieur is also a school of thought. I told a french student that I didn’t have any experience in a field and therefore wasn’t sure if I could be successful there. She told me that I’m an engineer and that I’d have all the tools necessary to advance into this new field. So finally, the diploma is not only a technical certificate but also (if not more) proof of methodical thinking and a structured approach to solving any (!) problem.
The Focus of the IMT Atlantique
Courses are structured accordingly to this interpretation of an engineer. The ratio of students and teachers yields small courses with no more than 50 and usually 20–30 students. It resembles more a class in school than a lecture in university.
Courses are very applied and integrate many practical tasks. A typical course has theoretical lectures in the beginning, often already including practical sessions, and then goes over to a group project where you need to apply the theoretical foundation in a realistic context. Thereby, most of the theory finds application in the project so you don’t learn it for an exam but real application.
Another characteristic is that the theory is rather broad than deep. Professors give you the choice of what you want to deal with in detail. So you can choose what you want to focus on while you also have enough time left for the various activities outside the academic life.
Lastly, the IMT Atlantique is well connected to the industry. Many students find internships in large french companies but there are also many opportunities in startups which could even come from the IMT’s own incubator. In the internship season, professors forward offers every week which specifically look for graduates from a grande école. Another positive effect of the close relationship of the IMT Atlantique and the business community is that the curriculum is not outdated and focuses on the useful and important parts of the theory.
TLDR
To summarise, the grandes écoles are the french elite higher education and provide a strong social environment, due to their selective acceptance. Their degree has a large market value in France and focuses on forming a personality with character and strong technical capabilities rather than solely a technical specialist.
Hopefully, you now have a more concrete understanding of what a grande école really is. If I have left any questions open you can write me an email julian.kopp (at) imt-atlantique.net. Or, if you need a specific comparison to your culture — write to one of the interviewees from your region!
