Institut supérieur de l'aéronautique et de l'espace

Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace ISAE-SUPAERO
MottoExcellence with passion
TypeGrande école
Established1909 (1909)
Location,
Websitewww.isae-supaero.fr

The Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace (French pronunciation: [ɛ̃stity sypeʁjœʁ laeʁɔnotik e lɛspas], ISAE-SUPAERO; lit.'Higher Institute of Aeronautics and Space') is a French grande école of engineering, founded in 1909. It is the world's first dedicated institute of aerospace engineering. ISAE-SUPAERO is part of University of Toulouse, ISSAT, PEGASUS, GEA, Toulouse Tech, CESAER and Aerospace Valley. The institute is ranked highly among Europe's engineering schools.

Historically ISAE-SUPAERO resulted from the merger between SUPAERO and ENSICA in the summer of 2007. The aim of this move was to increase the international visibility of SUPAERO and the ENSICA (both of which depend on the French Ministry of Defense), by sharing their faculty and experimental means. The institute also delivers continuing education through its subsidiary, EUROSAE.

In 2011, ISAE founded Groupe ISAE with the engineering school, ENSMA. In 2012, Groupe ISAE was joined by ESTACA and by École de l'air et de l'espace, which trains officers of the French Air and Space Force. In January 2018, the Supméca, now called ISAE-SUPMECA, joined the group. In February 2022, the École nationale de l'aviation civile, the biggest European aviation university, also joined the group.

Since its founding in 1909 ISAE-SUPAERO has produced more than 21,500 graduates. Some of them have achieved fame in their field, including: Henri Coandă, the discoverer of the Coandă effect; Henri Ziegler, father of the Airbus program; Frédéric d'Allest, first chairman of Arianespace; and Jean-François Clervoy, astronaut.