EPF Troyes: Legacy of Women Engineers

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EPF Troyes: The Forgotten Legacy of Pioneer Women Engineers

Ladies and gentlemen, today, our journey takes us to the heart of the beautiful city of Troyes, in the Champagne region of France. Here stands a school that, though discreet, has played a revolutionary role in shaping the world of engineering. An institution that, for nearly a century, has challenged conventions and paved the way for women in a field long dominated by men.

This is the incredible yet little-known story of EPF Troyes – École d’Ingénieur Polytechnique des Femmes.

It all began in 1925, at a time when France, still recovering from the Great War, was reshaping its industrial future. In this changing world, a bold idea emerged: to offer women a top-level engineering education. A true revolution! Let us not forget that, at the time, the engineering profession was an exclusive male domain.

And so, in Paris, the École Polytechnique Féminine was born—a visionary institution created to grant young women access to knowledge that had long been out of reach. But the road ahead was far from easy… Mockery, skepticism, resistance—the academic and industrial worlds struggled to accept these pioneering female engineers. Yet, determined and courageous, they persevered and proved their worth.

As the decades passed, the school adapted and evolved. In 1994, it made a strategic decision: to open its doors to men while remaining true to its core mission—promoting diversity and excellence in engineering. Then, in 2010, a major milestone was reached with the opening of a brand-new campus in Troyes. A city of history and innovation, providing EPF with the perfect setting to continue shaping the engineers of tomorrow—men and women—ready to tackle the challenges of the future.

And yet… who truly knows this pioneering institution? Who remembers the first graduates who defied expectations and shattered barriers?

EPF Troyes is a hidden treasure in the world of engineering. A school whose story deserves to be told, whose legacy is still being written. Because sometimes, the greatest revolutions are the ones history nearly forgets.

This was… the secret history of EPF Troyes