ParisTech and its member institutes have always maintained close links with industry
Having been created in the first place to provide industry and the state with engineers having a solid scientific background, but also an up-to-date technological knowledge and a certain experience with business life and methods, the Paris Tech institutes have naturally developed close links with the professional world in many respects. These connections make it easy for students to enter a professional career. They also guarantee that education stays in touch with industry's needs and contributes to the development of the institutes.
Some of the major areas of interaction between institutes and businesses are:
Teaching
Many professional engineers come to teach in the institutes, and companies receive students for numerous internships.
Continuing education
Most ParisTech institutes have developed continuing education programmes for businesses. These include off-the-shelf collective training sessions, as well as home sessions within the companies. Long and personalised training programmes have also been created throught common collaborative efforts among various ParisTech institutes.
Startups
ParisTech's researchers and students who plan to set up new businesses can rely on support from different nurseries.
Research
Whether it is of a fundamental or applied nature, research conducted at the ParisTech institutes is largely oriented towards industry's requirements, while preserving a balance with major scientific aims. Companies take a considerable part in financing research work.
Participation in governance
Most of the boards of the institutes are chaired by top managers of large companies which play a significant role in the sectors corresponding to the institute's activity. More specialised instances (orientation committees) include many representatives of industrial firms, who are asked to make recommendations for the evolutions of research and education activities. Moreover, the business world predominates in the alumni associations, which are themselves very much implicated in the institutes' orientation.
