The Conservatoire national des arts et mĂ©tiers (French pronunciation: [kÉÌsÉÊvatwaÊ nÉsjÉnal dezâżaÊ e metje]; transl.â"National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts"; abbr. CNAM) is an AMBA-accredited French grande Ă©cole and grand Ă©tablissement. It is a member of the ConfĂ©rence des Grandes Ă©coles, which is an equivalent to the Ivy League schools in the United States, Oxbridge in the United Kingdom, the C9 League in China, or the Imperial Universities in Japan. CNAM is one of the founding schools of the Grande Ă©cole system, with Ăcole polytechnique and Ecole Normale SupĂ©rieure in 1794, in the wake of the French Revolution. Note that the term arts et mĂ©tiers historically refers to practical arts, industrial skills, and techniques, encompassing applied science, engineering, and technical craftsmanship rather than fine arts. It is closely related to the term techniques.
Headquartered in Paris, it has campuses in every major French city, in overseas France and in every francophone African country, China, Haiti, Germany, and Switzerland. Founded in 1794 by the French bishop Henri GrĂ©goire, CNAM's core mission is dedicated to provide education and conduct research for the promotion of science and industry. With 70,000 students and a budget of âŹ174 million, it is the largest university in Europe in terms of Budget for distance learning and continued education, and in terms of enrolment, slightly ahead of the University of Hagen.