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Created in 1816,
the École nationale supérieure des mines de Saint-Étienne
is one of the oldest and most prestigious engineering schools
in the country. Initially founded as a training establishment
for master craftsmen to fill the needs created by the industrial
revolution which was fast spreading across Europe, the School
soon established a reputation as a centre of excellence. In 1890
the School received authorisation to award the first of its engineering
diplomas. Since then it can count some of the country’s
greatest industrial figures among its graduates, including Fourneyron
(inventor of the hydraulic turbine) and Boussingault (the founder
of modern agronomics).
Thanks to a culture of excellence and solidarity the ENSM.SE
now boasts an Alumni Association numbering over 3 000, a wide
and influential network which provides a rich and useful source
of economic contacts for its membership. |
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Coal mining at
the heart of the Loire region
Founded during the Restoration
the ENSM.SE was created by Royal decree on 2nd August 1816. As
an extension of the École
des mines in Paris (inaugurated 30 years previously), Louis
XVIII decided to open a new establishment near the source of
the River Loire with the aim of providing vocational training
to those young men of the region destined to enter the mines,
not as engineers (the Paris School was to remain the only establishment
to train engineers) but as master craftsmen. The first School
was built in the centre of the town. |
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An Elite School
The School quickly built a reputation and within only 10 years former graduates
did in fact manage large coal seams and major metal-working factories. These
graduates were not engineers but rather acted as intermediaries between them
and mine foremen and supervisors. To reflect the School’s new status
an amendment to the Royal decree raised the entrance criteria and the level
of education. As a solid testament to its success the School was forced to
relocate to a larger site. |
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Reputation
A succession of renowned principals, professors and students, a number of which
went on to make a major contribution to the development of French industry,
helped to further enhance the School’s reputation. Such was their impact
that by 1888 the ENSM.SE was considered on a par with its Parisian counterpart
and the level of education close to that of the École centrale. Therefore,
the time had come to amend its status and in 1890 the ENSM.SE was authorised
to issue an engineering diploma to its graduating students. |
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20th century: shifts
and innovations
In the early years of the 20th century the School was to undergo further changes
in status, becoming in 1908 the École nationale des mines de Saint-Étienne
and in 1926 the École nationale supérieure des mines de Saint-Étienne.
Following the two world wars (during which the students of the School acquitted
themselves with honours, notably as resistance protagonists during the 1939-45
conflict) the ENSM.SE extended its activity with the launch of a research department,
focusing on two core areas, metallurgy and chemical processes. Moreover, the
closure of mining interests in the region in 1960 provided the impetus for a
generalisation of the training offered and a redefinition of the student profile.
Although still called a diploma in civil mining engineering, today’s qualification
is far removed from that awarded in the early years of the century. |
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Under the auspices of the Ministry of Industry
Throughout the 20th century the School did not cease to develop
and grow. In 1932 the campus relocated
to a specially constructed site, on the cours Fauriel, where
the School remains to this day. In order to enlarge the laboratories
and accommodate the SPIN and SMS research facilities, east
and west wings were then added to the main building.
Following its incorporation to the Ministry of Industry in
1991 (like the country’s other Écoles des mines,
with the exception of that located in Nancy) the ENSM.SE opened
a second site in 1994. This division called “l’espace
Fauriel” was constructed to house the SITE and G2I
research departments. Under the direction of the School’s
new principal, Robert Germinet, the ENSM.SE has open two new research departments, the Provence Microelectronics Center (CMP), in
Gardanne and the Health and Engineering department.
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