The
Technical University of Madrid or sometimes called
Polytechnic University of Madrid is a Spanish University, located in
MadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
. It was founded in 1971 as the result of merging different Technical Schools of Engineering and Architecture, originated mainly in the 18th century. Over 35,000 students attend classes during the year.
According to the annual university ranking conducted by
El MundoEl Mundo is the second largest printed and the largest digital daily newspaper in Spain and one of the newspapers of record in that country, with a daily circulation topping 300,000 readers for the printed edition and 24 million unique web visitors per month for the...
, the Technical University of Madrid ranks as the top technical university in Spain, and second overall. The majority of its Engineering Schools are consistently ranked as leading academic institutions in Spain in their fields, and among the very best in Europe.
The UPM is part of the
TIMETop Industrial Managers for Europe is a network of more than fifty engineering schools and faculties and technical universities....
network, which groups fifty engineering schools throughout Europe.
History
The Technical University of Madrid (UPM) was founded in 1971, although the majority of its centres are over hundreds of years old and were founded in the 18th and 19th centuries. Each of them maintained its independence until being grouped together to form the UPM in 1971. It is no exaggeration to state that over one and a half centuries great part of the history of Spanish technology has been written by the Schools of Architecture and Engineering of the UPM. They have been during a lot of years nearly the only and in some cases actually the only schools. All of the important personalities in the area of teaching and research passed through the respective centres as students or lecturers.
One of the oldest records of technological studies in Spain is the Royal Academy of Mathematics in Madrid, leaving aside the Quatrivium of arithmetics, geometry, astronomy and music, the four liberal arts, that form the base of the technical disciplines, which were studied in the monastic and cathedral schools and later in the medieval and renaissance universities. The Royal Academy of Mathematics was created after the idea and personal initiative of King Philip II after his return from a visit to Portugal in 1582, where he realised that the Portuguese cartographers were more advanced than those in Spain. The Academy did not award qualifications that entitled to exercise a profession. Its prestige was based on the lecturers and subjects taught. Cartographers, pilots, architects and engineers were trained in a way that the latter two started to gain a certain degree of recognition. In 1643 the Academy was closed down. The second relevant record of technological studies was the Body of Army, Cities, Ports and Frontiers Engineers founded by King Philip V in 1711. This date marked the foundation of the Spanish engineers as an organised profession. In 1716, for their training, the Royal Military School of Mathematics in Barcelona was created, even if it was not opened until 1720 and besides was limited to a strictly military context.
Architecture
Among all the subjects that nowadays form part of the Technical University of Madrid, the first to start specific and concrete lectures and not in a generalised manner, as it was the case of engineering that started with a military background, was architecture, years before the School and the Academy of Fine Arts were created. The Foundation Assembly of the Royal Academy of the Three Noble Arts of Saint Ferdinand was held on 18.07.1744 in the home of G.D. Olivieri, first sculptor to the king since 1741 where he had a private academy and its studies prepared the way for the ones that were officially regulated in the assembly. Twelve lecturers, four for each subject where appointed. The classes of the new School that depended on the Academy of Fine Arts started in the Casa de la Panadería in the Plaza Mayor of Madrid and continued there until 1773 when the Academy moved to its present building.
Although the Special School of Fine Arts was founded in 1845 as an independent entity, it was at the beginning under the inspection and monitoring of the Academy. At present the Higher Technical School of Architecture is located in a modern building in the Ciudad Universitaria in Madrid.
School of Naval Engineering
King Charles III ordered on 13.08.1772 the foundation of the School of Naval Engineering for the training of the future members of the Body of Marine Engineers (24.12.1770). The academy was opened in El Ferrol. After several years of teaching a series of difficulties led to the closure of the centre. French naval engineers were taken on after intense negotiations and the centre was reopened in the Arsenal de la Carraca in Cadiz in 1848. Today's School of Naval Engineers, located in the Ciudad Universitaria, is one out of two UPM schools that started with a military background and is completely civil nowadays. Several years later the same happened in the School of Aeronautics.
School of Mining Engineering
The School of Mining Engineering was the first that from the day of its foundation had a civil character. It was established in 1777 by the orders of King Charles III in Almadén, Ciudad Real, where already some type of informal teaching existed, in order to make use of a very important element: the mercury mines. Mercury was in those days an irreplaceable material for the amalgamation of silver, which was one of the key sources of wealth in Latin America, especially in Mexico. This School started its activities in a similar historical context to that of other centres such as those in Saxony (Freiberg 1767), Hungary (Schmnitz 1770) and France (Paris 1778).
The center was transferred to the Mexican viceroyalty, and it remained there until the end of the Mexican Independence War from Spain. It was then transferred to Madrid and the Interior Minister, Martín de los Heros, inaugurated the new premises on 7.01.1835.
School of Civil Engineering
At the beginning of the 19th century, in 1802, the School of Civil Engineering was founded at the initiative of Augustin de Bethencourt, an outstanding representative of the eloquent restless and inquiring spirit of the Spanish Enlightenment. It was located in the Palacio del Buen Retiro in Madrid until May 1808.
At the beginning of the academic year 1889-90, students and professors continued their activity in the new building in Alfonso XII Street, where the School remained until it moved to its current location in the Ciudad Universitaria in Madrid.
School of Forestry Engineering
A Royal Decree created the Special School of Forestry Engineering in 1835, although it did not start its activity until 1848 in Villaviciosa de Odón, Madrid. The first graduates of the School of Villaviciosa created the Body of Forestry Engineers. Its current premises are in the Ciudad Universitaria in Madrid.
School of Industrial Engineering
The industrial engineers' lectures descend from the Patriotic Seminar of Vergara and the activities of the Economic Associations of Friends of the Country. José I in Madrid opened the Arts Conservatory, an imitation of the one in Paris, in 1809. The Royal Decree (18.08.1842) reopened it with the same name but within a short period of time it was again shut down. The Minister of Trade, Seijas Lozano, signed a Royal Decree (4.10.1850) in order to create the Royal Industrial Institute and the degree in Industrial Engineering.
School of Agricultural Engineering
The Minister of Public Works, Manuel Alonso Martínez, founded the Central Agriculture School on 1 October 1855. At first it was set up on the "La Flamenca" estate on the Royal Property in Aranjuez. It was closed on 3 November 1868 and by another Decree (28.01.1869) immediately moved to Madrid. Ratified by several legal norms, it was given the so-called "La Florida" or "La Moncloa" property, the present University Campus of Madrid, as well as other nearby land. The new building of the Agricultural Institute of Alfonso XII was constructed on the property. Later it was called National Agronomy Institute and today Higher Technical School of Agricultural Engineering of Madrid.
School of Telecommunication Engineering
The General School of Telegraphy was the first of the three Higher Schools to be created in the 20th century. It was founded by a Decree (3.06.1913) with three sections and another Decree (22.04.1920) created the qualification of Telecommunication Engineer. From 1912 to 1935 it was located in a building on Paseo de Recoletos in Madrid, until 1936 on Ferraz Street, then on Conde de Peñalver Street until it was finally transferred to the Ciudad Universitaria in Madrid.
School of Aeronautical Engineering
In 1926 and 1928 the qualification of Aeronautical Engineer and the Higher School of Aeronautical Engineering, located near the airfield of Cuatro Vientos in Madrid, were created almost simultaneously. The Military Academy of Aeronautical Engineering was set up by a Decree (15.10.1939) and by another recovered its civil character. The Technical Education Organisation Law (20.07.1957) provided it with its current name of Higher Technical School of Aeronautical Engineering. It was established in a modern building in the Ciudad Universitaria in Madrid.
School of Computer Sciences Engineering and Mathematics
The newest of the centres is the School of Computer Sciences. Madrid's Institute of Computer Sciences was created in 1969 outside the university framework until the studies in 1976 became part of the University and simultaneously the School of Computer Sciences was set up. From the first day of lectures in October 1977, it was integrated into the UPM. Since 1988 it has been located on the campus of Montegancedo.
The School of Computer Sciences offers the first Spanish undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Computer Sciences. The program condenses studies of mathematics and computer sciences into one degree, placing special emphasis on the mathematical foundations of computer science and computer-based tools for mathematics. It combines mathematics and informatics subjects, focusing on fields where the two are most relevant to each other and stressing the interrelationships between the two disciplines to shape a degree course that is being successfully taught at leading world universities such as
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in the USA, the
University of OxfordThe University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
in the UK or
Université Pierre et Marie CurieThe Paris VI University , or the Pierre and Marie Curie University , is a university located on the Jussieu Campus in the Latin Quarter of the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France....
in France.
School of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences (INEF)
Since 14 September 1998 the Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences (INEF) was an affiliated centre and on 1 October 2003 was integrated to our University.
Technical Assistants Engineering schools
The University Schools of Technical Engineering were mainly set up at the same time as the Higher Technical Schools to provide training for Assistants or Technicians. However, these names gradually disappeared and gave way to the present names and qualifications.
Education
Traditionally, in Spain there were two levels of technical studies. For engineering studies there was a 3-year degree called (Technical Assistant Engineer) and a 5 or 6-year degree called (Engineer). In the case of architecture studies there was a 3-year degree called (Technical Assistant Architect) and a 5 or 6-year degree called (Architect). Those degrees disappeared as a result of the
Bologna processThe purpose of the Bologna Process is the creation of the European Higher Education Area by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe, in particular under the Lisbon Recognition Convention...
and the new structure features 4-year degrees with master's degrees on top. That approach of integrated long-cycle (5 or 6-year) undergraduate degrees followed the formerly widespread tradition of technical universities in
Continental EuropeContinental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....
, that awarded their students an
Engineer's degreeAn engineer's degree is an advanced academic degree in engineering that is conferred in Europe, some countries of Latin America, and a few institutions in the United States....
, being that degree comparable to a
master's degreeA master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
.
Some of the degrees still or partially offered at the UPM are:
- Aerospace Engineering
- Agriculture Engineering
- Architecture
The Superior Technical School of Architecture of Madrid is the superior school of architecture of the Technical University of Madrid , Spain. It prepares future architects and grants the title of Architect, as well as doctorates and diverse master degrees. The center is located on the Avenida Juan...
- Chemical Engineering
- Computer Science, Software Engineering, Hardware Engineering and Information Systems
- Civil Engineering
- Electronics, Information Technology and Telecommunications Engineering
- Geology Engineering
- Industrial and Electrical Engineering
- Forest Engineering
- Mine Engineering
- Naval Engineering
Campuses
UPM's Schools are spread all over Madrid, instead of being placed in a unified campus. They are:
- University City (Ciudad Universitaria) or Moncloa Campus
- Montegancedo Campus
- South Campus (Vallecas's Politechnical Complex)
- Downtown Campus (Schools inside Madrid's historical center)
Research
The Scientific and Technological Park of the UPM (“Parque UPM”) represents a significant boost to the University’s R&D&i activity through the creation of new R&D&i centres, business incubators, and specialized laboratories, with the backing and participation of public and private institutions.
The concept of “Parque UPM” covers various scientific and technological areas linked with engineering and architecture. It is geographically distributed in various sites, all of which are located in the region of Madrid (Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid): South Campus, Montegancedo and Getafe.
- University Institutes and Centers:
- Solar Power Institute
- Institute of Automobile Research (INSIA), with hybrid electric vehicle
A hybrid electric vehicle is a type of hybrid vehicle and electric vehicle which combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. The presence of the electric powertrain is intended to achieve either better fuel economy than a conventional...
research.
- Microgravity Institute Ignacio da Riva
- Spanish User Support and Operations Centre (E-USOC)
E-USOC is a centre of Polytechnic University of Madrid specialized in Research and Development activities in the fields of space science and technology...
- Institute of Optoelectronics and Microtechnology Systems (ISOM)
- Supercomputing and Visualization Center of Madrid
The Supercomputing and Visualization Center of Madrid also called Madrid Supercomputing and Visualization Center depends on the Computer Science Faculty of the Technical University of Madrid. This center houses Magerit, one of the most powerful supercomputers in Spain...
(CeSViMa)
- Center for the Transport Research (TRANSYT)
- Laser Center
- Institute for Solar Energy
- Institute for Nuclear Fusion
- Institute for Automobile Research
- Institute for Microgravity
- Institute for Optoelectronic Systems and Microtechnology
- Integral Domotic Center (CeDInt).
UPM Double Degrees
The UPM has signed 87 specific double degree agreements with centres of excellence at a number of worldwide Universities.
A double degree gives the best students the opportunity to study for an international degree by combining studies in two types of engineering, at the same time as it prepares them better for their future career. On completing their studies, students will simultaneously obtain a degree from the UPM in addition to a degree from the foreign university they have attended.
A list of the Universities that have double degree programs with the UPM is shown above.
France
- École Polytechnique
- École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris
- École Supérieure d'Électricité (SUPELEC)
- École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications Paris
- École Nationale Supérieure d'Informatique et de Mathématiques Appliquées (ENSIMAG)
- École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures París
- École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC)
- École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées
- École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts et Métiers de Paris (ENSAM)
- École Nationale Supérieure de l'Aéronautique et l'Espace (SUPAERO)
- École Nationale Supérieure de Génie Industriel
- École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications de Bretagne
- École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Saint-Étienne
- École Nationale Sup. des Mines de Nantes
- École Nationale Supérieure des Techniques Avancées de Paris (ENSTA)
- École Centrale Lille
- Ecole Centrale Lyon
- École Centrale Marseille
- École Centrale Nantes
- École Nationale Sup. d'Ingénieurs des Constr. Aeronautiques
- École Nationale Supérieure de Mecanique et d'Aerotehnique (ENSMA)
- École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Nancy
- Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Toulouse (INSA Toulouse)
Germany
- Technische Universität München
- Technische Universität Berlin
- Technische Universität Darmstadt
- Universität Stuttgart
- Fachhochschule Hannover
- Fachhochschule Mannheim
Belgium
- Faculté Universitaire des Sciences Agronomiques de Gembloux
- Université Catholique de Louvain
- Université Liège
- Université Libre de Bruxelles
- Faculté Polytechnique de Mons
- Faculté Universitaire des Sciences Agronomiques de Gembloux
Others
The UPM has Erasmus agreement with most of European engineering schools. Moreover, it has many other international agreements. Here a summary of the different international agreements.
- Erasmus Grants
- Athens Program
- Magalhães Program
- Erasmus Mundus Program
- MIT exchange.
- GE4 Program
- Spanish Chinese Exchange Program
- Spanish Indian Program
- Vulcanus Program
- Student Mobility with no Exchange Program
Notable alumni
- Florentino Pérez
Florentino Pérez Rodríguez is a Spanish businessman, civil engineer, former politician, and current president of Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, as well as ACS...
, Real Madrid C.F.Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
chairman and ACSActividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A. is a Spanish company dedicated to civil and engineering construction, all types services and telecommunications. It is one of the leading construction companies in the world, with projects in many countries around the world...
CEO
- Práxedes Mateo Sagasta
Práxedes Mariano Mateo Sagasta y Escolar was a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister on eight occasions between 1870 and 1902—always in charge of the Liberal Party—as part of the turno pacifico, alternating with the Liberal-Conservative leader Antonio Cánovas...
, seven times Prime Minister of SpainThe President of the Government of Spain , sometimes known in English as the Prime Minister of Spain, is the head of Government of Spain. The current office is established under the Constitution of 1978...
- Francisco Álvarez Cascos
Francisco Álvarez Cascos is a Spanish civil engineer and politician. He is the current President of the Principality of AsturiasIn 1976, he joined Reforma Democrática and Alianza Popular, two right-wing parties...
, former Deputy Prime Minister of Spain
- Rafael Benítez
Rafael "Rafa" Benítez Maudes is a football manager, and former player. He is currently unemployed, after leaving as manager of Internazionale in December 2010....
, football manager
- Josep Borrell
Josep Borrell Fontelles is a Spanish politician. He was nominated President of the European University Institute on 12 December 2008, and assumed this position in January 2010. Borrell was President of the European Parliament from 20 July 2004 until 16 January 2007...
, politician, President of the European ParliamentThe President of the European Parliament presides over the debates and activities of the European Parliament. He or she also represents the Parliament within the EU and internationally. The President's signature is required for enacting most EU laws and the EU budget.Presidents serve...
and former minister
- Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo
Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo y Bustelo, 1st Marquis of the Ría of Ribadeo and Grandee of Spain was a Spanish political figure and prime minister during the period of transition after the end of Francisco Franco's regime.-Biography:...
, former Prime Minister of Spain
- Ángel Cabrera, Dean Thunderbird School of Global Management
Thunderbird School of Global Management is a private business school whose main campus is located in Glendale, Arizona. Founded in 1946 by retired U.S...
- Jaime Caruana
Jaime Caruana is the General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements. His five-year term began on April 1, 2009. He was also the Governor of the Bank of Spain from July 2000 to July 2006....
, former Governor for the Bank of Spain from 2000 to 2006
- Rafael del Pino
Rafael del Pino y Moreno was one of the wealthiest men in Europe. He had a net worth of approximately 8.6 billion US dollars in 2007. Del Pino founded the construction company Ferrovial in 1952, which became one of Spain's largest builders...
, civil engineer, Founder and Former CEO of FerrovialFerrovial, S.A. is a Spanish multinational company involved in the design, build, financing, operation and maintenance of transport, urban and services infrastructure. It is a publicly-traded company and is part of the IBEX 35 market value-weighted stock market index...
, 79th wealthiest man in the world according to Forbes
- Pedro Duque
Pedro Duque Duque is a Spanish astronaut and a veteran of two space missions.Duque earned a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid in 1986. He worked for GMV and for the European Space Agency for six years before being selected as an astronaut candidate in...
, astronaut
- Rafael Moneo
José Rafael Moneo Vallés is a Spanish architect. He was born in Tudela, Spain, and won the Pritzker Prize for architecture in 1996. He studied at the ETSAM, Technical University of Madrid from which he received his architectural degree in 1961. From 1958 to 1961 he worked in the office in Madrid...
, architect
- Leonardo Torres y Quevedo
Leonardo Torres y Quevedo was a Spanish civil engineer and mathematician of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.- Biography :Torres was born on 28 December 1852, on the Feast of the Holy Innocents, in Santa Cruz de Iguña, Molledo , Spain...
, inventor (several engineering fields)
See also
External links