Francuskie „grandes écoles” i batigniolczycy. O wybranych karierach inżynieryjno-technicznych i naukowych drugiego pokolenia Wielkiej Emigracji

The article discusses higher education in engineering and technology of the second generation of the Polish Great Emigration in France. It begins with an overview of the network of grandes écoles functioning in the second half of the 19th century, admission and study rules, and the position of these schools within the entire system of higher education. Then it presents the biographies of outstanding graduates of the Polish émigré school at Batignolles, who managed to enrol at the government schools in question. Selected, little-known careers of émigré students are shown as part of the upward mobility trend within the whole generation. The author also tackles the problem of preserving Polish national identity in the context of France’s cultural elite.