A word from the Director

For more than 100 years, the École Nationale Supérieure de Géologie has been taking on the formidable educational challenge of training geological engineers.

As a geologist, the geo-engineer masters a scientific discipline which enables him or her to observe, with varying degrees of sophistication, natural objects over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales.

As an engineer, the geo-engineer is capable of harnessing modelling and optimization tools to solve complex problems, and, through their knowledge of the industry, of transforming them into cost-effective operational tools.

The School’s mission is based on three principles:

1. A comprehensive and varied education, leading to a solid scientific base and strong skills in geology, mechanics, applied mathematics and information technology.
2. Research of the highest-level, which guarantees the excellence of academic staff and the promotion of creativity and innovation in the student training programmes. To this end, the School is part of a university and is recognised by the national research organisations.
3. Close and enduring relations with major industrial groups, ensuring precise and continuous adaptation to the job market.

The academic mission likewise strives to pass on human values to the students:  

• The desire for scientific and technical excellence.
• A sense of duty and integrity in scientific or technical choices.
• The assumption of responsibility and accountability with regard to the consequences of their decisions

These policies result in a body of skills that can be summed up in the sequence: observe-measure-model-decide-act.
As a state-owned, public institution, the École Nationale Supérieure de Géologie is committed to the values of public service and does not make financial means a pre-requisite for access to an education at the highest level.

Perhaps never before has humanity had such a need for geo-engineers who can meet the challenges it faces. How do we find and exploit mineral resources in a responsible manner? Which energy solutions will maximise development? How do we construct the mega-cities that will soon accommodate the majority of the world’s population, and how do we protect them against natural catastrophe or the impact of global-warming? How do we ensure the supply of safe and clean water to the populations? How do we balance the exploitation of resources with preservation of the natural environment? These problems and the solutions they demand are becoming ever-more complex, requiring ever-higher levels of expertise, the mastering of increasingly abstract concepts and the use of ever-more sophisticated tools.

The concept of the geo-engineer has a future. The École Nationale Supérieure de Géologie views itself as an international centre of training, which, through its various degree programmes, offers students from around the world access to a unique education.

Professor Jean-Marc Montel