Over 1,000 students take part, more or less actively, in the life of the associations on campus. The AEECL (Association des Etudiants de l'Ecole Centrale de Lyon students' association), aka Assoce is the hardcore, with its 80 or so members (from 1st, 2nd and 3rd year).  Assoce runs everything, except classes: events, parties, cafeteria, dorms - and relations with other Schools, partner corporations and the School administration.

Always to be found in or around the Assoce premises, the President (Prez), Co-president (Co-prez) and Secretary General (SG) co-ordinate the various activities and maintain permanent dialog with the students and campus authorities. Three treasurers (Trez) run the accounts for Assoce and its affiliated clubs. The bar treasurer (Trez-bar) keeps the bar stocked as of 10 am. The Vice Presidents (VPs) supervise the various activities: clubs, corporations, media, alumni relations, School life, and campus life.

Assoce also includes the Sports Bureau (BDS), Arts Bureau (BDA), Humanities Bureau (BDH), and fifteen or so teams running big events, daily events and the campus media.

There are some 60 clubs offering a broad range of activities (sports, arts, culture and leisure, international connections, etc.) Association life also involves the two Junior Corporations on the campus (shared with the Ecole de Management) and two humanitarian associations, also shared with the Ecole de Management, the Ecole Centrale de Lyon Association Informatique et Réseaux (ECLAIR) IT association which keeps the whole campus connected and provides the students with ICT access.