The history of Centrale Lille
Centrale Lille celebrated 170 years of history in 2024. Here are the main dates in its history:
1 October 1854
Inauguration of the “École des Arts industriels et des mines”, under the patronage of Louis Pasteur and Frédéric Kuhlmann. The school is located at 2 rue du Lombard in Lille.
1862
After adapting its training programme to an industrial higher education curriculum under the Ministry of Trade, the École des arts industriels et des mines becomes the “École impériale des arts industriels et des mines“.
5 October 1872
The Imperial School of Industrial Arts and Mining is renamed the “Industrial, Agronomic and Commercial Institute of Northern France” in view of the general political context in France.
1875
The institute moves to 17 rue Jeanne d’Arc and is renamed “Institut Industriel du Nord de la France” (IDN).
1914-1918
German authorities occupy the institute. There are no courses in 1914-15. Classes resume on 10 November 1915 in a part of the building not occupied by the German army, and then in the teachers’ homes.
14 May 1927
Order awarding the IDN the Croix de Guerre with commendation in the Army Order:
“Occupied militarily by the enemy during most of the hostilities and stripped of almost all of its equipment, it quickly recovered its position among the great schools of higher education, the place it occupied before the war, during which its former students distinguished themselves to the country’s recognition by their moral qualities, their technical value and their spirit of sacrifice”.
Official Journal of 14 May 1927
1939-1945
The German army occupies the institute for the second time. Many students and alumni are killed in action, in prison camps or during deportation.
1944
The Board decides to perpetuate the memory of three of them by naming the school’s 3 lecture theatres after them: Georges Poirier: died in German prisons on 4 June 1944 / Pierre Goubet: shot by the Germans on 4 June 1944 / Jean Boda, F.F.I., a lieutenant who was deported to Dachau in April 1944.
19 June 1968
The Ministry of Education assigns the buildings originally intended for a National Institute of Applied Sciences, located on the Villeneuve d’Ascq campus, to the IDN, thereby increasing the size of the engineering classes.
1972
The IDN joins the Centrale-Supélec competitive entrance exam
23 April 1975
Promulgation of the decree nationalising the IDN and attaching it to the Ministry of Education.
5 December 1990
The Ecoles Centrales Intergroupe charter, defining the rules for working collaboration between these schools, is signed by Centrale Paris, Centrale Lyon, École Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique de Nantes and IDN.
31 July 1991
IDN becomes the École Centrale de Lille
1992
- École Centrale de Lille builds a brand-new hall of residence with 581 flats to provide optimum accommodation for its students: the Léonard de Vinci residence.
- École Centrale de Lille creates a new CTI-accredited engineering course in Lens: the Institut de Génie Informatique et Industriel (IG2I).
1994
The school’s status changes from that of a public administrative establishment (EPCA) to that of a public scientific, cultural and professional establishment (EPSCP), and as a result it is accredited to award the DEA and Doctorate degrees.
2003
École Centrale de Lille creates a new CTI-accredited engineering course: Institut technologique européen d’entrepreneuriat et de management (ITEEM) in partnership with SKEMA BS (formerly ESC Lille).
2012
The school’s transition to extended responsibilities and skills: greater management autonomy.
2019
Centrale Lille becomes Centrale Lille Institut. École Centrale de Lille, IG2I and ITEEM become three in-house engineering schools.
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2020
The École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Lille joins the school on 1 January 2020, bringing the number of in-house engineering schools to 4.