50 years since the foundation of ESIME Culhuacán

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Escuela Superior de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica (ESIME), Culhuacán Unit, we present a series of photographs documenting the laying of the cornerstone ceremony for the construction of the then-called ESIME Culhuacán Annex Unit.

On March 8, 1974, during the presidency of Luis Echeverría Álvarez, the Secretary of Public Education, Engineer Víctor Bravo Ahuja, accompanied by Dr. José Gerstl Valenzuela, General Director of IPN; Engineer Roberto Ulloa Castillejos, Director of ESIME Zacatenco Unit; and Architect Engineer Leopoldo García Elhers, former director of ESIA Ticomán Unit, carried out the laying of the cornerstone that marked the beginning of one of the most important schools in the field of engineering, located in the south of Mexico City.

In the 1970s, the economic and industrial development of the country led to an increase in demand for admission to ESIME. To address this need, on October 15, 1973, the then General Director of IPN, Engineer Manuel Zorrilla Carcaño, agreed with President Echeverría on the donation of land in the Culhuacán area to build another unit of ESIME, adjacent to the one located in Zacatenco; thus, construction work began in March 1974.

In October of the same year, seven months after that ceremony, the Annex Unit of ESIME began academic activities with a small pilot group, marking the origin of these 50 years of existence.

The photographic images can be consulted in physical format at the Historical Archive of IPN. For inquiries: Presidency of the Dean's Office of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional, telephone 5729 6000, extensions 63054 and 63057; email consultaah@ipn.mx.

Gaceta Politécnica #1779. (March 31st, 2024). IPN Imagen Institucional: Read the full magazine in Spanish here.