École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées

Founded in 1747, the École nationale des ponts et chaussées (ENPC) ("National school of Bridges and Roads"), often referred to as les Ponts, is the world's oldest civil engineering school. It remains to this day one of the most prestigious French Grandes Écoles of engineering. It is headquartered in Marne-la-Vallée (suburb of Paris). It is the oldest and among the most prestigious institutes members of ParisTech (Paris Institute of Technology). F... more

Founded in 1747, the École nationale des ponts et chaussées (ENPC) ("National school of Bridges and Roads"), often referred to as les Ponts, is the world's oldest civil engineering school. It remains to this day one of the most prestigious French Grandes Écoles of engineering. It is headquartered in Marne-la-Vallée (suburb of Paris). It is the oldest and among the most prestigious institutes members of ParisTech (Paris Institute of Technology). Following the creation of the Corps of Bridges and Roads in 1716, the King's Council decided in 1747 to found a specific training course for the state's engineers, as École royale des ponts et chaussées. In 1775, the school took its current name as École nationale des ponts et chaussées. The school's first director, from 1747 until 1794, was Jean-Rodolphe Perronet, engineer, civil service administrator and a contributor to the Encyclopédie of Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert. Without lecturer, fifty students initially taught themselves... less