Ecole Centrale d’Electronique, Paris

Rated among France’s top engineering colleges, ECE which offers  undergrad and postgrad programmes in emerging information and communication technologies to 2,000 students, has recently introduced a newly designed English medium Masters programme

Traditionally the US, UK, Australia and Canada have been the preferred study destinations of Indian students because of their English medium of instruction advantage. But increasingly higher education institutions in non-English speaking countries such as France, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands are beginning to offer English-medium undergraduate and postgrad programmes to Indian students.

Among the education institutions anxious to welcome Indian students is Ecole Centrale d’Electronique (ECE, estb. 1919), Paris — rated among France’s top five engineering institutes. At a press conference in Bangalore on December 3, ECE representatives announced the introduction of three new specialisation options — transport and mobility, energy and environment, and healthcare technologies — in a newly- designed English medium engineering Masters degree programme. “It was only in 2009 that ECE opened its doors to admit foreign students into our two-year English medium Masters progra-mme in engineering, and we already have ten Indian students. India has a large pool of talented engineering students and we are looking forward to welcoming them in ECE,” says Laurent Hua, director of academics and inter-national development at ECE.

France’s first privately-promoted engineering college, ECE offers undergraduate and postgrad programmes in emerging information and communication technologies to 2,000 students instructed by 50 highly-qualified faculty. Its only English medium programme — the Masters in engineering — offers three majors: embedded systems, telecommunication and networks, and information systems. Recently conferred the title of grandes école (‘great school’), the disting-uishing features of the engineering programmes of this 91-year-old college are industry-relevant multi-disciplinary curriculum; strong focus on research and innov-ation; hands-on learning emphasis, and workplace internships. Moreover ECE prides itself for producing highly employable graduates with the average time to secure employment being less than two weeks. The average annual start-up remuneration offered to ECE graduates is Euro 36,730 (Rs.22 lakh). Last year over 800 recruiters including blue-chip corporates such as Alstom, Thales, PSA Peugeot-Citroen, Vector and Caps Gemini participated in the campus placement exercise.

“Our demanding English medium Masters programme provides a balanced curriculum of principles and practice. The most significant benefit of an ECE Masters degree is the return on investment. Learning with and from industry professionals, the programme accelerates students’ strategic thinking abilities enabling our postgrads to apply knowledge right away. The rigorous ECE programme offers a significant career trajectory advantage,” says Pascal Brouaye, president of ECE.

Conceptualised and established in 1919 by Eugène Poirot, a seaman whose primary mission was to propagate morse code and telegraphy technology, ECE was initially christened the Ecole Centrale de la Télégraphie Sans Fil. This pioneer radio technology school trained France’s first civil and military radio operators for the army, merchant navy, major airline companies, and later the French national radio and television companies. In 1963 it transformed into a specialised engineering school offering programmes in cutting edge science and technology.

Paris. One of the world’s most elegant cities, Paris is located on the banks of the river Seine and is at the centre of Île-de-France, the region which is today’s ‘Greater Paris’ with a population of 11 million. Île-de-France boasts the second largest concentration — after Tokyo — of head offices of the world’s 500 largest companies. It also top ranks worldwide for hosting the largest number of international organisations such as the OECD, Unesco and the European Space Agency among others. Moreover with 1,700 major events held annually, Paris is the world’s leading destination for trade fairs and shows.

An acknowledged fashion and gourmet capital of the world, Paris is one of Europe’s premier business and cultural centres with numerous road, rail and air links to London, Brussels, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Geneva and the cities of western Germany. Blessed with a rich history and vibrant cultural and literary tradition, Paris is an education in itself. Architecturally and historically momentous landmarks including the 12th century Gothic cathedral Notre Dame de Paris, the Napoleonic Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower grace the city’s landscape.  Paris is also a treasure house of museums including the Louvre, myriad art galleries, historical churches, spacious squares, sidewalk cafes, restaurants, cinemas and parks and gardens.

Campus facilities. ECE is sited in a self-contained multi-storied build-ing a stone’s throw from the Eiffel Tower. Its enviable location in the heart of Paris gives students easy access to the city’s historical monuments, galleries, corporate headquarters, embassies, ministries, publishing houses, shops, cinemas and restaurants. ECE offers students state-of-the-art classrooms, lecture halls and houses 18 hi-tech laboratories, 13 of which support research and academic training at the ECE Graduate School of Engineering. They include nine laboratories in computer science and networks, two electronic labs and one each for embedded systems, electromagnetic compatibility testing and telecommuni-cations. While its compact urban campus in the centre of Paris doesn’t provide sports facilities, students are encouraged to enrol as members of the institute’s 26 student associations.

Admission. Students with a bachelor’s degree (B.Sc or B.Tech) are eligible for admission into ECE’s English medium Masters in engineering degree programme. Foreign students are required to submit proof of proficiency in the English language (minimum TOEFL score of 220 and/or IELTS score of 6 required). According to an ECE spokesperson, admission decisions are based on academic record, references and work experience. Application forms can be downloaded from www.ece.fr. The last date for receipt of applications is June 15 for term beginning in September. ECE reserves one scholarship (Euro 6,000 or Rs.3.6 lakh per year) for Indian students.

Though the medium of instruction for the Master’s degree is English, minimum knowledge of French is required (B1 level). The best option is to take a six-month crash course in the language at any of the 15 Alliance Francaise centres in India.

For further information contact ECE-Immeuble Pollux, 37 Quai de Grenelle, CS 71520 75725, Paris Cedex 15, France. Tel:  +33144390600; e-mail: international@ ece.fr or india@ece.fr; website: www.ece.fr/en.

Accommodation. ECE does not offer on-campus accommodation. How-ever to facilitate house hunting, the college has tied up with EGIDE, a non-profit organisation which offers a range of facilitation services to foreign students including help with visas, opening bank accounts and subs-cription to a cultural integration progra-mme. EGIDE has an excellent listing of high-quality accommodation sited within 30 minutes of ECE by public transport

Degree programmes. ECE offers undergraduate and postgrad programmes in several emerging information and communication technologies. How-ever only its Masters in engineering programme is open to foreign students and is accredited by the French ministry of higher education and research and the European Union (see box). The unique feature of ECE’s Masters programme is its focus on hands-on learning with students required to complete a minimum five months workplace internship over two years.

Summiya Yasmeen & Paromita Sengupta