Out of 45 foreign students who passed the entrance exam to the Ecole Polytechnique Paris, 33 are Moroccans (from all the preparatory classes in the Kingdom) and 6 are Tunisians. The other six are of British, Burkinabe, Italian, Cameroonian, Egyptian and Czech nationality.
Generally, and every year that God gives, our young fellow students, who are excellent in maths and physics, shine in the competitions of the best French engineering schools such as the Ecole polytechnique (founded in 1794) and CentraleSupélec. For the most part, they come from a Moroccan breeding ground of excellence, the Lycée d’Excellence precisely in Benguerir, or Lydex in this case. During this exercise, at least 24 of his students, including six girls, successfully passed the written competition at the Ecole Polytechnique de Paris, considered the most prestigious school in France and even in the world.
This feat places the Lydex at the top of the basket of the best high schools preparing for the entrance exams to the Grandes Ecoles, close to century-old and prestigious establishments such as the Louis-le-Grand high schools in Paris and Sainte-Geneviève in Versailles. During the past financial year (2021/22) nearly 10% of students at the Ecole Polytechnique were Moroccans, in fact, there were 160 of them, 110 of whom were following the engineering cycle out of the 1,645 enrolled in the program. A very creditable performance in view of the success at other Grandes Ecoles, where each year, Moroccan students shine in the competitions of French engineering schools.
The Kingdom, it should be remembered, has around twenty establishments offering 19 scientific preparatory classes: a record. In Casablanca there is a Central School where EIGSI La Rochelle has opened a campus there. Moroccans are the first foreign community to study in France, with 44,933 students in 2020-2021 according to Campus France. Year after year, 13% to 15% opt for engineering schools.
At the Ecole Polytechnique de Paris, students are paid during their studies (about 900 euros per month) and when they leave, they get large salaries (more than 41,000 € per year). The school welcomes many researchers on its campus and companies are very present there through the funding of 39 chairs. Its cooperation with the Kingdom is not negligible. L’X de l’Ecole Polytechnique has signed numerous agreements to this effect, in particular with the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) of Benguerir, allowing the implementation of various cooperation projects in research, entrepreneurship and the academic plan.
It should be mentioned, in particular, the double degree agreement within the framework of the Master’s program in Science and Technology centered on energy (STEEM). Several training and exchange agreements have also been signed with four major establishments in Casablanca and Rabat: the Hassania School of Public Works (EHTP), the Mohammadia School of Engineers (EMI), the National Superior of Mines of Rabat (ENSMR) and the National School of Electricity and Mechanics (ENSEM).
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