The Conservatoire national des arts et métiers is an AMBA-accredited French grande école and grand établissement. It is a member of the Conférence des Grandes écoles, 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 école system, with the École polytechnique and École normale supérieure in 1794, in the wake of the French Revolution. Note that the term arts et métiers 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.