Education

Three sections to train tomorrow’s architects and engineers

©EPFL-SAR/EPFL-SGC/EPFL-SSIE

Each of ENAC’s three sections delivers excellence in education, with world-class courses that enable students to become experts. During their Bachelor’s degree, they acquire the foundations on which their chosen Master’s specialization will be based.

 

Architecture (SAR)

The Architecture Section (SAR) engages the big-picture thinking inherent in the discipline of architecture to address the pressing challenges of the climate crisis and the threat of ecosystem collapse. It takes a transdisciplinary and transcalar approach to teaching, exploring new ways of critically engaging urban design and architecture – and their holistic processes, instruments and technologies – in the ecological transition.

Civil Engineering (SGC)

The Civil Engineering Section (SGC) places the challenge of sustainability with respect to natural resources, urbanization and risks at the center of its polytechnic training priorities. Its teaching program is geared toward research and development for more sustainable structures, new forms of energy, and optimized transportation and mobility systems.

Environmental Sciences and Engineering (SSIE)

The Environmental Sciences and Engineering Section (SSIE) trains engineers to develop solutions to the complex environmental problems our planet is facing, such as climate change, resource depletion, pollution and biodiversity loss. It equips students with solid scientific and technological foundations, while factoring human, economic and social dimensions into its teaching.

Interdisciplinarity education

Combining disciplinary depth and interdisciplinary breadth, ENAC trains architects and engineers to excel in their chosen disciplines and to work effectively with professionals from other fields. This capacity for inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration is essential to address global sustainability challenges and to ensure ongoing innovation.

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“Projeter Ensemble” program

Students from the three sections work together in multidisciplinary teams to solve complex sustainability challenges.

Master in Urban Systems

A program to prepare graduates for key professional roles in sustainable transition

Interdisciplinary minors

ENAC hosts three interdisciplinary minors: Engineering for Sustainability; Integrated Design, Architecture and Sustainability (IDEAS); and Urban Planning and Territorial Development.

Student Kreativity and innovation Lab (SKIL)

This academic makerspace fosters hands-on learning and interdisciplinary collaboration between students, allowing them to transform their ideas into reality — whether physical or digital.

Continuing education

ENAC’s mission is not limited to the education of successful professionals. We also aim to update and develop the knowledge and skills of established experts. This is why the faculty offers a wide range of continuing education programs.

News about Education

Architect Ada Massarente explores movement on the banks of the Veveyse river.© Ada Massarente - CC-BY-SA 4.0

“I've always been fascinated with how the body moves through space”

— For her master’s project in architecture, Ada Massarente combined notions of dance, drawing and landscape, focusing on the intimate relationship between the body and the city. She proposed redeveloping the banks of the Veveyse – a river that empties into Lake Geneva at Vevey – to create new community spaces.

Matthieu Fehlmann, pictured here on the site of the extension to Collège du Cheminet in Penthalaz (Vaud), designed by Ferrari Architectes. © 2024 EPFL/Alain Herzog - CC-BY-SA 4.0

“Timber can be a good alternative if it's used wisely”

— For his master’s degree in civil engineering, Matthieu Fehlmann worked on a project in Australia where he studied methods for laterally stabilizing an eight-story timber building without using concrete. This experience was both personally and academically enriching, and it gave him exposure to a whole different set of construction standards.

Noé Fellay, at the now-defunct Sébeillon train station in western Lausanne. EPFL/Alain Herzog CC-BY-SA 4.0

EPFL student applies engineering to public health

— For his Master’s project, Noé Fellay mapped the presence of an autoantibody known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. This cross-disciplinary study, carried out in the Lausanne area, was an opportunity for Fellay to broaden his skillset.

© 2024 EPFL - ENAC / NASA

A new Master's degree to meet the challenges of urban transition

— From the start of the 2025 academic year, a Master's degree in Urban Systems will enable ENAC students to become specialists in adapting cities and surrounding areas to climate change.

Schmale strives to give students the teaching they expect . © 2024 EPFL/E4S - CC-BY-SA 4.0

“The variety of backgrounds in my classroom is to everyone's benefit”

— Julia Schmale is just as comfortable in an EPFL lecture hall as on an icebreaker in the Arctic. This adventurous spirit – along with the specific know-how of her students – enhances her cutting-edge research.

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