At the end of the 19th century, electrical engineering was a discipline rarely taught. In 1881, Georges Montefiore-Levi, the founder of this college attended the International Exposition of Electricity (Paris 1881). He was immediately convinced of the need to establish a separate department for this subject at universities. Barely two years later, the electrical engineering department was established. It was part of the then mining school of the Liege university.

Originally, the university established the new department in an auditorium of the central building. Due to the department's rapidly growing success, more space was soon needed. This was found when the Belgian state made these spacious classrooms available. Until then, they had been used as a regular school.

The faculty was expanded and fully equipped thanks to a generous donation from the college's founder. From then on, it could accommodate 300 students. The same benefactor also purchased the former hotel, which stands at the front of the current site. He converted the building into a library and reading room for students and donated it to the association of electrical engineers who graduated from the college.