Chinese mathematician Hong Wang (Class of 2010 and recipient of an honorary doctorate from École Polytechnique) has been awarded the 2026 Fields Medal, the highest international honor in mathematics. Honored for her proof of Kakeya's conjecture in three-dimensional space, she became the third woman in history to receive this prestigious award. This award highlights the excellence of her scientific career and reflects her close ties to École Polytechnique, where mathematics plays a central role in the training of engineers and researchers.
Fiona O’Brien, a student in École Polytechnique’s Master of Science & Technology program “Economics for Smart Cities and Climate Policy”, was invited to present her joint research with Emma Jung, a master's student at TUM, at the TRA (Transport Research Arena). This year, Europe’s largest conference on transport research and innovation took place in Budapest from May 18–21, 2026. Fiona and Emma conducted their research on the impacts of the Paris low-emission zone (ZTL) on mobility and environmental outcomes as part of the “Cities and Transportation” course at l’X.
Professor Éric Vivier, a professor at École Polytechnique and an internationally recognized expert in immunology, is the recipient of the 2026 William B. Coley Prize, one of the world’s highest honors in the field of tumor immunology. This award recognizes his pioneering work on natural killer (NK) cells and their decisive contribution to the development of new approaches to cancer immunotherapy.
The ceremony formalizing Bernard Arnault’s sponsorship of École Polytechnique’s Institute of Mathematics and Fundamental Sciences project took place on July 2 at the Hôtel des Invalides in Paris, attended by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, Defense Minister Catherine Vautrin, and numerous prominent figures from the political, economic and academic worlds. This institute will host an ambitious program of research and scientific collaborations. Its future building, to be located in the heart of the Palaiseau campus by 2030, will be funded by an exceptional donation of 50 million euros from Bernard Arnault (X69).
Committed to reinforcing their international collaboration, École Polytechnique and Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) signed a new partnership agreement for a double degree program in June 2026. This new partnership fully contributes to École Polytechnique’s international strategy to increase its academic partnerships and presence in Latin America.
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 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).
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 Christel Heydemann (X94), CEO of the telecommunications and digital services provider, on the topic of digital sovereignty.
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.
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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