Ranking for Computer Science & Electronics in EPFL : École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne

Facts About EPFL : École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne

Located in Lausanne, Switzerland, the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) is a public university and research facility known for its high research output and racial diversity. The institution centers on engineering and the natural sciences, but also offers programs for business, computer science, engineering, mathematics, and the arts.

EPFL is one of the two branches of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Domain; the other being the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich. It has a total of five campuses, with the other four located in Geneva, Fribourg, Neuchâtel, Valais. Given that the university is also a research center, EPFL houses sophisticated industrial tools, including a nuclear reactor, a modern supercomputer, a biocontainment facility, and a tokamak fusion reactor. The institution also maintains a conducive environment for research with its 370 laboratories. Fields like life science, engineering, and mathematics are accommodated, with their respective subjects primed for deeper study.

Founded in 1853, EPFL was once a private academy that only had 11 students and strictly offered a two-year curriculum, composed of subjects like mathematics, chemistry, engineering, physics, and architecture. Previously a part of the University of Lausanne, the school became a federal institute of its own in 1969 and expanded in both geographic and academic coverage.

Present-day EPFL accommodates more than 11,000 students and over 4,000 academic staff, administrative staff, and researchers coming from 120 different countries. It automatically grants admission to locals who completed the maturité high-school certificate but tightens its selection process during the initial school year, subjecting learners to a block examination that covers all first-year subjects taken. International students, on the other hand, are required to maintain a grade of at least 80% for all subjects if they are to continue with their studies in the institution making it among the most competitive universities globally.

Notably, EPFL was either directly involved or contributed to the development of Solar Impulse (the first solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the globe), SwissCube-1 (the first locally built satellite), Hydroptère (a hydrofoil that set a new speed record for sailing), and the Human Brain Project. The faculty is equally prolific, as the university employs renowned scientists, mathematicians, architects, and computer scientists.

Meanwhile, its alumni are bannered by luminaries in the fields of science and technology as well as top executives of large conglomerates such as Sage Group CEO Guy Berruyer, Logitech co-founder Daniel Borel, and Ferrari chief technical officer Mattia Binotto.

Currently, EPFL intends to expand the knowledge base of its learners through education, innovation, and research. To fulfill its mission, it has established an expansive network of local and international partners, which include other schools, politicians and political groups, economic groups, and the general public.