Ecole Polytechnique

École Polytechnique (French: [e'kɔl pɔlitɛk'nik]

also known by the nickname "X") is one of the most respected and selective elite universities in France, known as grandes écoles. It is a French public institution of higher education and research in Palaiseau, a suburb south of Paris. The school was a founding member of the University of Paris-Saclay, but later left to join the Polytechnic Institute of Paris since summer 2019.

The school was established in 1794 by the mathematician Gaspard Monge during the French Revolution, and it was once previously a military academy under Napoleon I in 1804. However, Polytechnique is no longer a military academy, although the institution is still supervised by the French Ministry of Defence. Initially located in the Latin Quarter of central Paris, the establishment's main buildings were moved in 1976 to Palaiseau on the Saclay Plateau, southwest of Paris.

It is a founding member of ParisTech, a grouping of Paris-area engineering colleges established in 2007. In 2014, it became a founding member of the confederal "University of Paris in Saclay". Among its alumni are three Nobel prize winners,[5] one Fields Medalist,three Presidents of France and many CEOs of French and international companies. It was ranked 61st internationally by the QS World University Rankings 2021, 93rd by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020, and 2nd by the Times Higher Education Small University Rankings