The Polymath Summer School held its second edition at École Polytechnique from June 15 to 26, organized by Guillaume Dubach, a Monge Professor at École Polytechnique and a member of the Laurent Schwartz Center for Mathematics. The program included master classes, group discussions, and math games designed to introduce students to research.
Mathematics, a historic hallmark of École Polytechnique, lies at the heart of many contemporary strategic and technological challenges. To strengthen its international influence in this field and foster interdisciplinary collaboration, École Polytechnique today announces the creation of an Institute of Mathematics and Fundamental Sciences, which will host an ambitious program of research and scientific collaboration. Its future building, to be located in the heart of the Palaiseau campus by 2030, will be funded through an exceptional €50 million donation from Bernard Arnault (X69).
A CNRS research fellow at the Plasma Physics Laboratory (LPP*), Lina Hadid specializes in space plasmas and, in particular, the interaction of the solar wind within the solar system. Interview with a passionate researcher involved in numerous space exploration missions who has just received the Young Researcher Award from the Société Française d’Astronomie et d’Astrophysique.
Nine startups incubated at X-Up, École Polytechnique’s incubator, were present at the VivaTech 2026 trade show, which celebrated its tenth anniversary this year. Polytech students interning at the Orange Group also participated in a roundtable discussion with Chrystelle Heydemann (X94), CEO of the telecommunications and digital services provider, on the topic of digital sovereignty.
Sergio Rajsbaum, researcher at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and CNRS, has spent seven months at École Polytechnique as a Gaspard Monge Visiting Professor. During his visit, he and Professor Éric Goubault further developed a new research line focused on the connections between epistemic logic and distributed computing. This was also the theme of an international workshop organized by the researchers on June 15 – 17, 2026.
École Polytechnique announces the launch of a new degree program for professionals committed to unlock the potential of artificial intelligence. The first class of this new Executive Specialized Master’s in AI is expected to begin in March 2027.
Three Master of Science & Technology students won this year's EuroTeQaThon with their project. The international student competition organised by the European university alliance EuroTeQ took place from 13 to 15 June 2026 at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). This first-place finish at the EuroTeQaThon marks a first for l'X since the competition was created.
The winners of the 2026 edition of the Next40/FrenchTech 120 program, which supports the most promising French startups, were announced on June 17. One in three Next40 startups was founded, co-founded, or is led by an École Polytechnique alumnus; for the FrenchTech 120, the figure is nearly one in four.
Elisabeth Maria Niel, Simone Kotthaus, Chloé Techens, and Clément Bonet have received funding from the École Polytechnique Foundation. These Launching Packages will enable them to set up their research teams within École Polytechnique’s laboratories.
The Structural Biology of the Cell Laboratory (BIOC*), in collaboration with Ifremer in Brest, the CBI in Toulouse, and Institut Pasteur, has identified a molecule in archaea capable of putting the ribosome, a cellular machinery essential to cells, into a state of dormancy. This “hibernation factor” binds to the ribosome when external conditions are unfavorable.
Speaking to the X25 cohort of École Polytechnique students, Antoine Bordes, Chief Scientific Officer at Helsing, emphasised the importance of developing technologies that serve European defence, whilst not overlooking the issue of the responsibility of engineers and military personnel. With their first-class training in science, and now in artificial intelligence, students at École Polytechnique will be able to innovate within the government or private companies to build a society capable of protecting its values by placing people at the heart of decision-making.
Philippe Hazet, head of the École Polytechnique X-UP incubator, outlines the key considerations behind our participation in the 2026 edition of the Viva Technology trade fair. This major global event for innovation and new technologies will take place from 17 to 20 June at the Porte de Versailles in Paris.
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