What Concours Advance does

Concours Advance is a French engineering-school admissions consortium created in 2012 as the unified entrance examination for four wholly-owned schools of IONIS Education Group: EPITA (computer science, founded 1984), ESME (generalist engineering, founded 1905), IPSA (aeronautics and aerospace, 60+ years), and SupBiotech (biotechnologies, founded 2004). All four schools are accredited by the Commission des Titres d'Ingénieur (CTI) and operate 15 campuses across 7 French cities, collectively offering 24 programs accessible through a single Parcoursup application — counting as one wish out of a candidate's ten.

The consortium's core platform integrates written examinations (multiple-choice in Mathematics and English), oral motivation interviews, and dossier evaluations across the four schools. It operates four distinct admissions pathways: Advance Post-Bac (Terminale students via Parcoursup), Advance Parallèle (Bac+1 to Bac+4 transfers, including apprenticeship tracks), Advance Bachelors (12 three-year professional programs), and Advance Prépa (CPGE graduates entering the engineering cycle). Complementary services include paid preparation sessions (Journées de Préparation Advance at €30-€40 per session) and downloadable jury reports and past papers. In 2025, the consortium filled all 2,000 available engineering places and reached 98% graduate employability within two months of diploma award, with 26.51% female candidacy.

Concours Advance does not operate as an independent for-profit entity; it is the integrated admissions mechanism of IONIS Education Group, with member schools holding 'Société à Mission' status since July 1, 2021. Revenue mechanics are twofold: candidate-paid application fees (€75 per candidate, waived for scholarship holders) and preparation session fees, while the bulk of economic value accrues downstream through school tuition. Distribution is anchored by native integration with Parcoursup, supplemented by Salesforce-based portals for parallel admissions and a dedicated CPGE concours portal, and reinforced through Twitch/Teams live events, YouTube content, social media, and on-campus open houses.

Name

Concours Advance

Legal name

Concours Advance

Website

https://concours-advance.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Concours Advance is a French engineering-school admissions consortium offering Terminale, CPGE, parallel-admission, and Bachelor candidates single-application access to four IONIS Education Group schools — EPITA, ESME, IPSA and SupBiotech — across 15 campuses in 7 French cities via the national Parcoursup platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Engineering School Admissions

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Application Intake & Processing (EDALAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Graduate & Professional School Admissions Exams (GRE/GMAT/LSAT/MCAT) Prep (EDANABAB), Certification & Exam Prep eLearning Modules (EDAGAEAL), University-Affiliated Pathway & Foundation Programs (EDAIAJAA)

Keywords

• Engineering school admissions
• Post-bac concours
• Parallel admissions
• Engineering education
• CTI-habilitated schools

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Application Fees: Candidates pay application fees to register for the Advance Post-Bac competition. Standard fee is 75 euros per candidate, with waivers available for scholarship holders (boursiers).
2. Preparation Sessions (Journées de Préparation Advance): Paid preparation sessions where candidates can train for written and oral exams. Math sessions are 2 hours at 30 euros; oral preparation sessions are 3 hours at 40 euros.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Concours Advance operates a unified entrance examination system that grants a single application access to four CTI-habilitated French engineering schools (EPITA, ESME, IPSA, SupBiotech) within the IONIS Education Group. It administers four distinct admission pathways — Post-Bac via Parcoursup, Parallel admissions for Bac+1 to Bac+4 transfers, 3-year Bachelor programs and CPGE preparatory-class entry — and offers paid preparation sessions to train candidates for written and oral exams.

Product overview

Concours Advance is a unified entrance examination system providing access to four French engineering schools within the IONIS Education Group. The portfolio consists of four distinct admission pathways: Advance Post-Bac for Terminale students (using Parcoursup with 24 program options as a single vœu), Advance Parallèle for Bac+1 to Bac+4 students seeking reorientation or advanced entry (including apprenticeship options), Advance Bachelors offering 12 specialized 3-year professional programs, and Advance Prépa for CPGE graduates entering directly into the engineering cycle. The four member schools—EPITA (computer science/informatics), ESME (generalist/pluridisciplinary engineering), IPSA (aeronautics/aerospace), and SupBiotech (biotechnologies)—share 15 campuses across 7 French cities and are all habilitated by the CTI (Commission des Titres d'Ingénieur). Additional services include preparatory sessions (JPA), downloadable past examination papers, and jury reports.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Advance Post-Bac: Common entrance examination for high school graduates (Terminales) to join one of the four engineering schools via Parcoursup
• Advance Parallele
• Advance Bachelors
• Advance Prepa

Products and services

• Advance Post-Bac The main entrance examination for students in Terminale (final year of high school) to gain admission to one of the four engineering schools via the Parcoursup platform. A single vœu covers up to 24 different programs across EPITA, ESME, IPSA and SupBiotech. Application fee is €75, waived for scholarship holders.
• Advance Parallèle Parallel admission pathway for students who have already started higher education (Bac+1 to Bac+4) or hold a foreign baccalaureate, allowing them to integrate an engineering school directly or through a preparatory cycle, including apprenticeship options.
• Advance Bachelors A collection of 12 specialized 3-year Bachelor programs (grade de licence) across the four engineering schools, designed for rapid career entry in engineering fields. Targets Terminale students and those up to Bac+3 level.
• Advance Prépa Admission pathway for students who completed a Classes Préparatoires (CPGE) program, enabling direct integration into the third year (first year of the engineering cycle) of one of the four schools, including specialized Concours Polytech A Bio and A TB for SupBiotech entry.
• Journées de Préparation Advance (JPA)

Quantifiable outcome

• 98% of graduates find employment within 2 months of obtaining their engineering title
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, significant and minor.

• IONIS Education GroupcoreOthersConcours Advance is an integrated concours of IONIS Education Group, a French private higher education group. The 4 member schools (EPITA, ESME, IPSA, SupBiotech) are all part of IONIS. The consortium was created in 2012 as a unified admissions system for these schools united by shared educational philosophy emphasizing humanism in technology.
• Amazon Future EngineersignificantStrategic or Co-development PartnerEPITA is a partner of Amazon Future Engineer program, which offers scholarships and dedicated mentorship for female students wishing to join computer science schools. This partnership supports EPITA's diversity and inclusion initiatives in technology education.
• Pôle d'Excellence Cyber (PEC) - Cadettes de la CybersignificantStrategic or Co-development PartnerEPITA participates in the Cadettes de la Cyber program, part of the French Cybersecurity Excellence Center (Pôle d'Excellence Cyber). This initiative promotes and supports women's participation in cybersecurity careers.
• Kayane (E-sport Professional)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerProfessional e-sport player Kayane (67 podiums in Guinness World Records) served as godmother for the IngénieuresDemain event organized by Concours Advance on March 6, 2024, to promote women in engineering and technology careers.
• Conférence des Grandes Écoles (CGE)significantStrategic or Co-development PartnerESME is a signatory of the CGE charter, committing to fight against gender-based discrimination and sexual violence in higher education. The school has implemented a dedicated reporting portal and support team for victims.
• Association Elles BougentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEPITA supports the Elles Bougent association which connects female engineering students with industry professionals to promote gender diversity in technical careers.
• Transavia FranceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNathalie Stubler, CEO of Transavia France, served as godmother for IPSA's Class of 2021, supporting the school's initiatives to promote female representation in aerospace and aviation.
• Claudie HaigneréminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFrench astronaut Claudie Haigneré served as godmother for IPSA's Class of 2016, supporting the school's mission to inspire students in aerospace and space careers.
• ParcoursupcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorConcours Advance Post-Bac is integrated into France's national Parcoursup higher education admissions platform. All applications are processed through this government platform, which counts as a single wish out of the student's 10 maximum choices.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• INSA Group: INSA Group is a network of public engineering schools accepting students directly after the baccalauréat, similar to Concours Advance's post-bac positioning. Both compete for the same French high-school students seeking engineering degrees, with overlapping specialization portfolios in computer science, mechanical, and generalist engineering.
• Concours Communs Polytechniques (CCP): CCP, now part of Banque PT, runs a common entrance exam serving multiple French engineering schools for CPGE graduates. It competes directly with the Advance Prépa pathway for the same bac+2 candidate pool seeking engineering school entry.
• Concours Centrale-Supélec: Centrale-Supélec runs the most prestigious French engineering school admission concours after the bac+2 (CPGE) pathway. It is comparable because it is a shared admissions platform serving multiple top-tier engineering schools, targeting the same elite French student pool that Concours Advance's Prépa pathway also serves.
• CCINP (Concours Communs INP): CCINP is the unified admissions consortium for the INP (Institut National Polytechnique) public engineering schools in France. It is the most direct functional analogue to Concours Advance, operating a common entrance exam that grants access to multiple engineering schools — both compete for the same high-school applicant pool via Parcoursup.
• CESI: CESI is a major French private engineering school network offering post-bac and parallel admissions across multiple campuses. It is comparable as a private-sector engineering education group with similar multi-campus, multi-program admissions structure targeting French bacheliers and reorientation candidates.
• Concours Mines-Ponts: Mines-Ponts is one of the elite French engineering school admission concours, primarily serving Mines ParisTech, Ponts ParisTech, and other top schools. Like Concours Advance, it aggregates admissions across multiple prestigious engineering schools, competing for the same CPGE-level candidates.

Others

• IONIS Education Group: IONIS Education Group is the parent conglomerate that owns the 4 member schools (EPITA, ESME, IPSA, SupBiotech) and operates Concours Advance. It is comparable as the umbrella entity but functions as parent/operator rather than a direct competitor in admissions.

Broad incumbents

• Université Paris-Saclay: Université Paris-Saclay aggregates multiple engineering schools and research-intensive programs under a unified admissions umbrella. It is a broader incumbent comparable in structure — a multi-school, multi-program entity — though publicly operated and research-led rather than a private consortium.
• Arts et Métiers ParisTech: Arts et Métiers is one of France's most established public engineering grande écoles with a multi-campus footprint and a distinct admissions track. It is a broader incumbent in the same engineering school category, offering overlapping programs in mechanical and industrial engineering.
• École Polytechnique (l'X): École Polytechnique is France's top engineering grande école, dominating the most elite segment of the candidate pool. It is comparable as a top-tier French engineering institution competing for the same high-talent bac+2 candidates that Concours Advance's CPGE pathway targets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ConcoursAdvance
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ConcoursAdvance
• Facebookfacebook.com/Concours.Advance
• Instagraminstagram.com/concours.advance/?hl=fr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/concours-advance-ingenieur

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Concours Advance