The National Polytechnic Institute (), abbreviated IPN, is one of the largest

public universities A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

in Mexico with 171,581 students at the

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

and

postgraduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

levels. It is the second-best university in Mexico in the technical and engineering domain according to the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2018. It was founded on 1 January 1936 during the administration of President

Lázaro Cárdenas Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (; 21 May 1895 – 19 October 1970) was a Mexican army officer and politician who served as president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940. Previously, he served as a general in the Constitutional Army during the Mexican Revo ...

. The institute consists of 98 academic units offering 290 courses of study. It includes 57 technical careers, 79

and 154

programs. Its main campus, called 'Unidad Profesional

Adolfo López Mateos Adolfo López Mateos (; 26 May 1909 – 22 September 1969) was a Mexican politician and lawyer who served as President of Mexico from 1958 to 1964. Previously, he served as Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare, Secretary of Labor and Social ...

' or 'Zacatenco', located in northern

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, covers approximately . The IPN is based primarily in

, but with several research institutes and facilities distributed over 22

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

History

The institute was founded on January 1, 1936, during the administration of President

in what had been previously known as the ''Ex hacienda Santo Tomás'' — a large estate initially owned by Spanish '' conqueror''

Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (December 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions o ...

in the 16th century and donated by the

federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

. Prominent astronomer Luis Enrique Erro, former

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

Juan de Dios Bátiz Paredes and former

minister of education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

Narciso Bassols were among its initial promoters. During the administration of former director Alejo Peralta sufficient lands were given to IPN. Expropriated lands of Santa Maria Ticomán (213 ha) and San Pedro Zacatenco (43 ha) were used. The construction of what is now the Professional Unit "

" (Zacatenco) began in 1958. In 1959, former President

, the former

Jaime Torres Bodet, and former director of IPN Eugenio Mendez Docurro, inaugurated the first four buildings of Zacatenco, which were occupied by the Superior School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (ESIME) and the Superior School of Engineering and Architecture (ESIA).

Organization

The institute is organized around 98 academic units including 18 vocational high schools (operates as CECyT), 26

university college In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies f ...

s, 20 scientific and technical research centers, 17

continuing education Continuing education is the education undertaken after initial education for either personal or professional reasons. The term is used mainly in the United States and Canada. Recognized forms of post-secondary learning activities within the d ...

centers, 4 units for educational support, 3 support units for education innovation, 8 support units for research, development and technological and enterprise foment, and 2 units affiliated to science, enterprise research and development. These schools are primarily in

, although several extension and research facilities are distributed over 22

. Some units (particularly the semi-autonomous, internationally renowned CINVESTAV) enjoy a high degree of academic and budgetary freedom. The institute as a whole is headed by a

director-general A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

appointed by the

President of Mexico The president of Mexico (), officially the president of the United Mexican States (), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Constitution of Mexico, the president heads the executive branch of the federal government and ...

, usually (but not always) after some consultation with members of its academic community. Since December 2020, its director-general has been Arturo Reyes Sandoval. In addition to its academic endeavors, and as part of its cultural promotion strategy, the institute operates ' Canal Once' ('Channel Eleven'), the oldest public broadcast service in Latin America featuring original cultural, scientific, information and entertainment programming, foreign shows and classic, rare, and non-commercial films from all over the world.

Academics

EDIFICIO DE LA UNIDAD POLITECNICA PARA EL DESARROLLO Y LA COMPETIVIDAD EMPRESARIAL

The institute offers 80 undergraduate programs leading to four- or five-year

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

s and 135 postgraduate programs leading to 29

postgraduate diploma fILE:Prédio Pós Graduação IMECC Unicamp.jpg, The State University of Campinas, as well as many Brazilian universities, offer Postgraduate courses in Brazil A postgraduate diploma (PgD, PgDip, PGDip, PG Dip., PGD, Dipl. PGD) is a postgraduat ...

s, 70

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

s and 36 doctorate degrees. Like most public universities in Mexico, in addition to its undergraduate and graduate schools the institute sponsors several vocational high schools called 'Centros de Estudios Científicos y Tecnológicos' (C.E.C. y T.), most of which are in

Greater Mexico City Greater Mexico City is the conurbation around Mexico City, officially called the Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico (). It encompasses Mexico City itself and 60 adjacent municipalities of Mexico, municipalities of the State of Mexico and Hi ...

. Upon completion, they lead to a technician degree. For this level of study, the institute offers 78 technical careers.

Athletics

IPN fields 27 varsity teams in sports or activities such as

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

, athletics,

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, body building,

bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

, frontenis,

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer is a form of five-a-side football, five-a-side or six-a-side version of minifootball. It is derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arenas. It differs from the FIFA, FIFA ...

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

kendo is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords ( shinai) as well as protective armor ( bōgu). It began as samurai warriors' customary swordsmanship ex ...

mountaineering Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...

, rowing,

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

, touch football,

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

weightlifting Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

, and

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

. The university maintains a fierce rivalry with all the athletic teams from the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...

(UNAM); it has a particularly bitter competition with UNAM's football program, the " Pumas Dorados" (''Golden Pumas'').

Notable people

Notable alumni

Scientists and technologists

* Guillermo González Camarena: television pioneer; inventor of an early

color television Color television (American English) or colour television (British English) is a television transmission technology that also includes color information for the picture, so the video image can be displayed in color on the television set. It improv ...

transmission system. * Jerzy Rzedowski: plant scientist; pioneer of neotropical floristics. * Esther Orozco: biology researcher, winner of the 1997 UNESCO/Institut Pasteur Medal and the 2006 L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science for her work on amoebiasis. * Evangelina Villegas: biochemist laureated with the 2000 World Food Prize and whose work with

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

led to the development of Quality Protein Maize (QPM). * Pablo Rudomín: neuroscientist laureated with the

Prince of Asturias Award The Princess of Asturias Awards (, ), formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards from 1981 to 2014 (), are a series of annual prizes awarded in Spain by the Princess of Asturias Foundation (previously the Prince of Asturias Foundation) to individuals ...

(1987). * Gilberto Calvillo Vives: president of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

' Statistics Commission. * Alberto Pérez Gómez: architectural historian and winner of the 1984 Alice Davis Hitchcock Award. * Ruth Rivera Marin: architect, the first woman to study architecture at the College of Engineering and Architecture. * Constantino Reyes-Valerio: chemist and art historian, discovered the recipe to create Maya blue and coined the term Arte Indocristiano. * Raúl Rojas: professor of computer science and mathematics and a renowned specialist in artificial neural networks.

Politicians

* Ernesto Zedillo: former

(1994-2000) * Josefina Vázquez Mota: former Secretary of Education (Mexico) * Reyes Tamez: Secretary of Education during the Fox administration * Victor Bravo Ahuja: Secretary of Education during the Echeverría administration * Eugenio Méndez Docurro: Secretariat of Communications and Transportation during the Echeverría administration * Héctor Mayagoitia Domínguez: former Governor of Durango (1974-1979) * Miguel Borge Martín: former Governor of Quintana Roo (1987-1993) * Roberto Kobeh González:

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

Council President (2006-2014) * Luis Montes de Oca: former

Secretary of Finance (Mexico) The Secretariat of the Treasury and Public Credit (, SHCP) is the finance minister, finance ministry of Mexico. The Secretary of the Treasury is the head of the department, and is a member of the Mexican Executive Cabinet, federal executive cabi ...

1927–1932

Notable faculty

* Alexander Balankin: scientist, winner of the 2005 UNESCO Science Prize for his works on fractal mechanics. * Heberto Castillo: inventor of tridilosa and founder of several political parties. *

Juan O'Gorman Juan O'Gorman (6 July 1905 – 17 January 1982) was a Mexican painter and architect. Early life and family Juan O'Gorman was born on 6 July 1905 in Coyoacán, then a village to the south of Mexico City and now a borough A borough is an admini ...

: architect and painter. * Arturo Rosenblueth: physician, physiologist, and noted researcher.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Instituto Politecnico Nacional Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City Universities and colleges established in 1936 1936 establishments in Mexico Public universities and colleges in Mexico Universities in Mexico City Technical universities and colleges in Mexico