A history that structures the regional academic landscape

When the School was created under the name IPO (Institut Polytechnique de l'OuestI), it was the only scientific higher education institution in the region, alongside the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce (now Audencia Business School). To begin with, it conferred its diploma under the authority of the University of Rennes. Yet, as early as 1927, the School was already conferring its first PhDs, still under the authority of the University of Rennes.
The University of Nantes, founded in 1460, began without significant support. A few decades later only the law faculty was still running, only to disappear itself in 1735. The University did not reopen until 1961. This very long interruption weighed heavily on the city's relations with higher education. Yet, higher education institutions emerged over the centuries: a naval school, a public notary school, some medical and pharmacy courses ... and the IPO.