Collège des Ingénieurs


Collège des Ingénieurs is a European educational institution and business school founded in Paris, Munich, and Torino. It provides Engineering graduates with learning opportunities in business administration and finance, in order for them to develop the key skills and competencies required to succeed in the corporate environment and to take up executive positions.
Established in 1986 and with a focus on value creation and entrepreneurship for scientists and engineers, the school currently grants an M.B.A. degree, and runs in partnership, a joint Ph.D. - M.B.A. degree program in "Sciences & Management". Additionally, the school offers executive courses and runs Copernic, a Master program in Management designed for Central and Eastern European graduates in cooperation with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Grandes Ecoles and industry partners. Because of the international character of the programs, the official language of instruction is English; however, in the various national branches some lectures are occasionally given in French, German and Italian as well.
Entirely financed by supporting companies, the CDI is renowned within France and abroad for being highly selective, for its action learning approach and for its strong connections with industry: M.B.A. candidates are required to complete a project at one of the sponsor companies. All programs are tuition free. Past and current sponsor companies of the M.B.A. program include : Airbus, Air Liquide, BMW, Daimler, Lufthansa, Pirelli, Infineon Technologies Areva, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Siemens, EDF, Engie, ERG, Eutelsat, Telecom Italia, Porsche, Juventus Football Club, Safran, Sanofi and Total.

History

The Collège was founded in 1986 by Philippe Mahrer, the Pre-founding advisory committee was headed by Jean Peyrelevade, members of the committee were among others, the Directors of leading French Grandes Ecoles, as well as business leaders. M.B.A. classes started in September of the same year. In 1990, the Copernic Program was started, in cooperation with the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris, Ecole des Mines de Paris and ENPC. In 1992 the Actuary Diploma program was created. Other programs soon followed: the M.S. program in Applied Mathematics for Insurance, in partnership with University of Marne la Vallée, was established in 1993, while the CDI-China program started in 1994.
Up to this point, all of the CDI activities had taken place in France; in 1996, however, alumnus Knut Stannowski opened the German branch in Stuttgart with support from the Baden-Württemberg Land. The international expansion of the CDI was subsequently furthered by the opening of an agency in St. Gallen, Switzerland, in 2003 and of an office in Munich in 2008.
In 2009, by initiative of John Elkann, Vice President of :it:Fondazione Giovanni Agnelli|Fondazione Giovanni Agnelli, together with Marco Tronchetti Provera, President of :it:Fondazione Pirelli|Fondazione Pirelli, and Riccardo Garrone, President of :it:Fondazione Edoardo Garrone|Fondazione Edoardo Garrone, the was established in Turin, Italy, based on the CDI model of action learning. The school currently runs the CDI-licensed M.B.A. program for Italian graduates, fully affiliated with the one offered at Collège des Ingénieurs, and its students take a number of classes together with their French and German counterparts.

Academics

M.B.A. Program

Collège des Ingénieurs runs an innovative ten-month M.B.A. program in Paris, Munich and Turin. The uniqueness of the CDI M.B.A., as compared to traditional Business Administration graduate degrees, lies in being entirely financed by sponsoring companies, with an emphasis on action learning. All admitted students, therefore, receive a fellowship which covers tuition fees and provides a stipend to cover basic living costs. Since the number of fellowships is limited, the program is renowned for being highly competitive. Furthermore, the program is also international in nature, as all students are required to take classes and sit exams in Italy, Germany, France and Switzerland as part of the program.
In turn, CDI Fellows are required to spend six months working on strategic projects at the sponsoring company; generally referred to as mission, this is an integral part of the M.B.A. experience as it provides Fellows with an opportunity to test their newly gained competencies in a real business environment. To enhance learning, weeks of lectures are alternated with periods of company work, and Fellows are required to submit monthly reports regarding their work at the companies.
The study curriculum includes classes in accounting, strategy, marketing, entrepreneurship, innovation management, operations, corporate finance, business ethics, investments, leadership and human resources management. Moreover, throughout the year several lectiones magistrales are usually given by CEOs and industry experts on topics related to management, innovation and entrepreneurship.

CDI Fellows

Admission to the CDI M.B.A. program is extremely competitive. The Paris branch alone, on average, receives more than 1500 applications every year. About 90 students are selected to become CDI Fellows and about 15 doctoral students are admitted to the program. As the school name suggests, Engineering graduates make up for the majority of the student body; throughout the years, however, graduates in mathematics, physics, natural sciences and economics have also been admitted. The selection process is based on personality and leadership capacities, as well as on excellent academic record in the engineering or scientific field. The admission process includes interviews.
CDI Fellows hail from a variety of countries, educational institutions and cultural backgrounds. Represented countries include France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Austria, the United States, Canada, China, South Korea, Japan and India.
In the past, CDI Fellows attended institutions such as:
In Germany, the CDI has formal co-operations with the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes and the .

Notable graduates

The CDI maintains a strong alumni network, which in turn results in an extensive network of industry connections, since many former students have taken up positions in their sponsoring companies after graduation. Companies with links to the Collège include, but are not limited to: