Collège des Ingénieurs

What Collège des Ingénieurs does

Collège des Ingénieurs (CDI) is a private, non-profit post-graduate business school founded in 1986 in Paris by Philippe Mahrer, dedicated to training top graduate engineers and scientists for management and entrepreneurial leadership. It operates a 10-month, full-time MBA for Engineers and Scientists, the Science & Management double-degree (PhD + MBA), the Copernic programme for Central and Eastern European graduates (run with Sciences Po, École des Mines Paris, and École des Ponts ParisTech and supported by the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs), an accredited Actuary Diploma, and an expanding portfolio of summer schools (Innovation for Change, AI as Co-Thinker/Co-Builder, Deep Tech Entrepreneurship Bootcamp with Max Planck, Brain to Market with the Paris Brain Institute, Future Role of AI with TUM Heilbronn, AI and the Environment), plus the School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (SEI) in Turin offering Explorer, Pioneer, Change, and Inventor tracks. The programme is delivered across three European campuses - Paris (headquarters, 215 Boulevard Saint-Germain, 7th arrondissement), Munich (Bogenhausen, established 1996, moved from Stuttgart in 2008), and Turin (Piazza San Carlo, founded 2009 by John Elkann, Marco Tronchetti Provera, and Riccardo Garrone) - with CDI Italia as a regional subsidiary.

The core pedagogical technology is the "Learning Through Action" methodology, in which approximately 65% of a Fellow's time is spent on company missions inside partner firms and 35% on seminar weeks. Admission is merit-based, drawing roughly 174 current Fellows (84 of whom are in the Science & Management PhD/MBA track) from approximately 1,400 annual candidates, with >90% of Fellows sourced from European universities and 15 nationalities represented. The financial model is structurally distinct: tuition is fully covered and Fellows receive a salary during the programme, with 100% of CDI's financing provided by over 70 European corporate partners including Airbus, Air Liquide, Bouygues, Dassault Systèmes, Engie, Eramet, Evonik, Grimaldi Group, Infineon, Philips, Porsche, Sanofi, Siemens, Snam, SOL Group, TotalEnergies, and Volkswagen. Partners fund the programme, host Fellows on real business missions, and gain access to a recruitment pipeline. Corporate Advisory services complement the partner model by offering open-innovation and ecosystem-development support.

The legal entity is Société du Collège des Ingénieurs, société par actions simplifiée (SAS), registered in Paris (RCS 831242078), with a staff in the 11-50 range (headcount estimate) and no parent company. The alumni body exceeds 2,985 MBA Fellows, 1,019 Copernic alumni, and over 900 Corporate Executive programme alumni, and includes two CAC40/DAX CEOs (François Jackow, CEO of Air Liquide, and Lars Wagner, CEO of MTU Aero Engines, both appointed 2022), one former French Prime Minister (Élisabeth Borne, CDI 1987), and the founders of more than 300 tech startups including five unicorns (Alan, Cast AI, Mistral AI, Neoen, TagEnergy). Recent strategic moves include founding-partner status in the SouthwestX (SWX) cross-border startup factory (2025), the Single Entry Point Presidency for the EU Horizon Europe-funded H2Shift Open Innovation Test Bed (October 2025), and the Dieter Schwarz Stiftung / TUM Heilbronn partnership on digital-age leadership formats (2024).

Name

Collège des Ingénieurs

Legal name

Société du Collège des Ingénieurs, société par actions simplifiée

Website

https://cdi.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Collège des Ingénieurs is a private, non-profit business school founded in 1986 in Paris, offering a 10-month MBA plus PhD/MBA and Copernic programmes for graduate engineers and scientists across Paris, Munich, and Turin, fully financed by 70+ European corporate partners under a paid-fellowship model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Business Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Management Research Institutes & Doctoral (PhD/DBA) Programs (EDAHAHAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Project, Quality & Operations (PMP PDUs, Six Sigma, Quality CE) (EDAAALAM)

Keywords

• Executive MBA programs
• Engineering management education
• Corporate-sponsored fellowships
• Post-graduate business school
• STEM leadership training

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Industry-sponsored education: The Collège is 100% financed by industry partners. Corporate partners fund the programme in exchange for access to top engineering and science talent, company mission outputs, and recruitment pipeline. No tuition is charged to Fellows.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CDI operates a private business school that delivers MBA-level management education to graduate engineers and scientists, fully financed by its 70+ corporate partners. Approximately 65% of the curriculum is delivered as real company missions (the "Learning Through Action" methodology), and programs are run across campuses in Paris, Munich, and Turin. The institution also offers a combined PhD+MBA track, an Actuary Diploma, corporate advisory services, and short-format executive programs in entrepreneurship, AI, and innovation.

Product overview

Collège des Ingénieurs is a post-graduate educational institution offering a portfolio of programs centered on its core 10-month MBA for Engineers and Scientists, supplemented by the Science and Management (PhD + MBA) program and Actuary Diploma. The institution provides experiential learning through company missions alternating with seminars, and maintains a network of over 70 partner companies. Its innovation ecosystem includes specialized summer schools (Innovation4Change, Deep Tech Entrepreneurship Bootcamp, AI as Co-Thinker and Co-Builder, Brain to Market, The Future Role of AI, Venture Lab, AI and the Environment), a School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (SEI) with four distinct tracks, and Corporate Advisory services for open innovation support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Science and Management Programme: Combined PhD and MBA programme for doctoral students
• Copernic Programme
• CDI-China Programme
• Actuary Diploma
• CDI Italia
• School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (SEI)
• H2Shift

Products and services

• MBA for Engineers and Scientists

Quantifiable outcome

• 20% average salary increase post-MBA compared to direct post-university entry
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and flagship.

• H2SHIFT ConsortiummajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025CDI is Single Entry Point (SEP) President for H2Shift, an EU Horizon Europe-funded open innovation test bed (OITB) connecting hydrogen technology test infrastructures. CDI's Piera Della Porta serves as SEP President.
• SouthwestX (SWX)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025CDI became founding partner of SouthwestX, a 'Startup Factory' bridging deep-tech entrepreneurship between Germany and France. Collaborates with Universität des Saarlandes, WHU, DFKI, and Inria through Startup Leaders programme.
• Dieter Schwarz StiftungcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partnership with Dieter Schwarz Foundation in cooperation with TUM Heilbronn. Objective is to develop new leadership formats for the digital age. Funding provided for Future Role of AI summer school.
• Scuola Normale Superiore di PisamajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Collaboration agreement to combine PhD path with MBA programme at Collège. Broadens Science & Management programme to top Italian scientists.
• École des Mines de ParismajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019International double degree agreement signed between Vincent Laflèche (Director) and Philippe Mahrer (President). Committed to continuing cooperation in management education.
• CERNflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2016Collaboration on entrepreneurship activities including Knowledge Transfer, IdeaSquare, and CERN & Society Foundation. CDI assists CERN in creating relationships with industry partners, incubators, and investors. Successfully collaborated on Innovation for Change (I4C) programme launched in 2016.
• Politecnico di TorinoflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Collaboration in management education, entrepreneurship, and technology innovation. Birthed the Innovation for Change (I4C) programme where Politecnico di Torino PhD candidates join CDI MBA Fellows for multidisciplinary impact innovation.
• Institut du Cerveau (ICM) - Paris Brain InstitutemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Scientific partnership with one of the largest European neuroscience research centers. CDI conducts the annual 'Brain to Market' summer school at ICM premises.
• KIT - Karlsruhe Institute of TechnologyflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Agreement to create the unique 'Science & Management' programme for PhD students wishing to pursue an MBA alongside their doctorate. PhD candidates benefit from research and business exposure simultaneously.
• Sorbonne UniversitéflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Agreement to create 'Science & Management' programme for PhD students wishing to pursue MBA alongside their doctorate. Enables research and business world exposure simultaneously.
• Studienstiftung des deutschen VolkesmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2000Since 1999, over 100 alumni from Studienstiftung have completed the Collège MBA or Science and Management course combining MBA with PhD.
• Ministry of Science and Technology (China)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1994Annual exchange of young Chinese STEM graduates from top universities (Fudan, Shanghai Jiao Tong, Tsinghua). Programme prolonged in 2019. Fellows go on to have successful careers in China.
• Sciences Po, Ponts Paristech, Mines ParistechmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1990Launch of Copernic Programme focusing on management training for young master's graduates from Eastern Europe, Russia, Turkey, Egypt, and Tunisia. Public-private partnership supported by French Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
• Corporate Partners (70+ companies)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1986Over 70 European corporations including Airbus, Air Liquide, Bouygues, Dassault Systèmes, Engie, Eramet, Evonik, Grimaldi Group, Infineon, Philips, Porsche, Sanofi, Siemens, Snam, SOL Group, Total Energies, and Volkswagen. Partners fund the programme and host Fellows on company missions where real business challenges are tackled. Partners gain access to top technical talent and innovation outcomes.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• IMD Business School: IMD in Lausanne is a leading European business school focused on MBA and executive education with strong corporate partnerships. Comparable to CDI on small selective cohorts, deep executive-education revenue mix, and European industrial client base.
• WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management: WHU is a leading German business school offering MBA and BSc programmes with strong corporate partnerships in the DACH region. Directly comparable to CDI's Munich operations and partner base (Infineon, Evonik, Porsche, VW, Siemens).
• HEC Paris: HEC Paris is France's flagship Grande École business school offering MBA, MS, and executive education programmes. Operates in the same French higher-education ecosystem as CDI and competes for the same top STEM-graduating candidate pool transitioning into management.
• ESSEC Business School: ESSEC is a French Grande École business school with MBA and specialised masters programmes, including tracks integrating engineering and management education. Comparable to CDI on the France-based, STEM-to-management candidate profile.
• London Business School: LBS is a top European MBA destination with strong MBA, EMBA, and executive education programmes. Overlaps with CDI on the selective-admissions, global-recruitment, industry-sponsored executive talent angle, although LBS operates at materially larger scale.
• EDHEC Business School: EDHEC is a French business school with strong MSc and MBA programmes, including technology- and finance-focused specialisations. Operates in the same French higher-education market and competes for graduate-school candidates with engineering backgrounds.
• INSEAD: INSEAD is a top-tier international business school with campuses in Fontainebleau (France) and Singapore, offering accelerated MBA programmes to diverse cohorts. Comparable to CDI as a European-rooted, internationally-minded business school targeting high-calibre candidates with a compressed programme format.
• ESCP Business School: ESCP runs a multi-country European MBA across Paris, Berlin, London, Madrid, Turin, and Warsaw — the closest structural analogue to CDI's Paris/Munich/Turin tri-city model. Both schools combine European multi-campus delivery with industry-linked MBA programmes for international candidates.

Emerging players

• EIT InnoEnergy: EIT InnoEnergy is a European innovation engine training scientists and engineers for clean-energy industry leadership. Comparable to CDI on the Europe-wide engineer-to-leadership talent-pipeline positioning and deep-tech corporate sponsorship model.
• CERN Knowledge Transfer / IdeaSquare: CERN is both a CDI partner (post-2016) and a parallel European institution translating frontier science into industry and entrepreneurship. Comparable on the PhD-to-entrepreneur talent-pipeline mission, though CERN focuses on deep-tech researcher training more than MBA delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/coll%C3%A8ge-des-ing%C3%A9nieurs/people
• Facebookfacebook.com/CDI.MBA

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Collège des Ingénieurs