To attract international talent, École Polytechnique (l’X) is pulling out all the stops. On Thursday November 14, the Fondation de l’École polytechnique launched its third fund-raising campaign, entitled “The École Polytechnique Foundation”. “Serving Science”, with a target of 200 million euros to be raised from individuals and companies over the next five years. The Foundation has already raised 85 million euros.

At a time when science courses are struggling to recruit, and the international higher education and research environment is increasingly competitive, the Fondation de l’école aims to accelerate the school’s development and make it more attractive. Signed in April 2022 by the Ministry of the Armed Forces and the school, this plan defines ten objectives to be achieved by 2026, and aims to increase the international influence of the school, and in particular of the Institut polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris), the branch that carries out research.

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A higher target

With a target of 200 million euros, the Foundation is doubling its ambitions: the previous edition of the fund-raising event “Serving sciencewhich closes in September 2021, had already exceeded its initial target by raising 87.3 million euros. “Serving science is the most ambitious fundraising campaign in the last twenty years. With this campaign, we intend to continue supporting the ambitions and development projects from École polytechnique, and thus contribute to its history “says Frédéric Oudéa, Chairman of the Fondation de l’École polytechnique.

By renovating the buildings on the Palaiseau campus – where X has been established for 50 years – and diversifying its training courses, the school aims to attract more international students and researchers. “This renovation […] will contribute to its worldwide reputation”.reads the fundraising brochure. Designed in the 1970s, the campus’s sports grounds and living spaces are to be brought up to the level of “best international standards”.. In its 2022-2026 strategic plan, the École Polytechnique has also set itself the goal of increasing its interaction with industry by creating joint laboratories and doubling the number of start-ups in its incubator.

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Guiding French baccalaureate holders

But the Foundation also wants to revitalize the science stream in France. At a time when high school reform in 2019 has led to half of all baccalaureate holders dropping math, the École polytechnique is keen to “strengthen diversity by pursuing existing initiatives implemented by the School in favor of equal opportunity, and by initiating new programs, particularly in research”explains the Foundation’s press release. One of these programs, led by teacher-researcher Guillaume Hollard, aims to put artificial intelligence (AI) to work for baccalaureate holders.

Based on data collected by the Pronote software on the academic results of thousands of students, AI will be able to “inform pupils about their chances of success”. in different streams – preparatory classes, post-baccalaureate engineering schools, Sciences Po, etc. – explains the researcher in a online master class on the Fondation de l’X website. By guiding high school students on the basis of objective criteria, the program aims to boost the confidence of high school girls who, on average, are less confident than boys in their ability to perform in mathematics.