INTERVIEW WITH THE DEAN
development of effective managers and leaders seems to be growing with every passing year. Asked about the challenge this presents for curriculum design, the IÉSEG dean notes, “It’s a question of regular and continuous adaptation. Each time we introduce a new topic, such as sustainability or AI, we try to decrease the teaching hours in another field because we want to preserve the overall volume. Sometimes I tell my programme directors that we have to stabilise because they are introducing too many changes.” However, emerging topics and related faculty expectations are just one part of the picture here, as Roussel highlights. “You have multiple factors to
staff. In March, the school embarked on the next step of its Transition 2026 Plan, in which each academic department or service presented its roadmap for sustainability to the school’s management board. Far from this process being a struggle of persuasion and coercion, there is a belief that the onus is no longer on the school to engage faculty and staff on sustainability. “I think it’s quite natural now,” Roussel muses. “It’s just something we have to do and an important aspect of our values. Part of the school’s vision we established together 10 years ago is ‘empowering changemakers for a better society’ and I think that it has really diffused everywhere.” It has been suggested that schools that become known as specialists
integrate. One is the capacity of attention from students, who are less able to focus on one topic than in the past. Then you have company expectations over the types of graduates they would like to hire… it’s really a question of balance.” For the IÉSEG dean, experiential learning
in sustainability might start to experience a form of self‑selection. In essence, its reputation attracts those who
are already interested in the topic but risks deterring those who are less enthusiastic, but who still need to be brought on board to instigate the change needed in the business world. However, Roussel is not unduly concerned. “When we promote the school, we explain our DNA, vision and values, so yes, maybe some students decide not to join because they are not aligned with the values. But at the end of the day, I prefer not to have students who do not fit 100 per cent with our values. “For faculty, it’s clearly part of the selection criteria because we want sustainability to be diffused in every course and programme,” she continues. “So, when we interview a professor in finance or in marketing, we are also looking at whether they have some aspect of sustainability in their research or teaching.” Juggling competing demands Beyond sustainability, IÉSEG has been promoting the value of multidisciplinarity. “We are convinced that the best way to prepare our students to find good jobs at a good salary level is to provide them with a broad perspective,” Roussel says. Whether this is in relation to sustainability, entrepreneurship, technology or another discipline, the number of topics deemed necessary to the
IÉSEG’s recently redeveloped Vauban building in Lille. The school has more than 8,000 students spread across its campuses in Lille and Paris
and group work go a long way towards bridging these multifaceted factors. Concrete projects, developed with industry, compel students to mobilise the knowledge required across different courses and provide valuable insights for companies, NGOs and public organisations. “For example, students have worked with fast fashion company Uniqlo on the recycling of unsold clothes and with a city close to our campus on green initiatives. For us, it’s the best way we have found to integrate everything and to engage students,” Roussel surmises. IÉSEG recently celebrated 10 years of offering specialised master’s and MBA programmes, the launch of which was the result of the school’s desire to grow both its portfolio and its international reputation. It acquired AMBA accreditation in 2016 to complete its triple-crown status. “Before 2010, we were a very small school and when you do not have many students and alumni, you are not so visible among companies and you do not have this virtuous circle,” Roussel reflects. She concedes that IÉSEG was a little late to enter what is a very competitive market, but is pleased with its progress and feels assured that the school stands on an equal footing with the very best in France.
15
Business Impact • ISSUE 3 • 2025
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online