Back to school 2023-2024: The PGE/MiM unveils its new features

Published on 20 June 2023 by NEOMA

From the start of the next academic year, the Grande École Programme/Master in Management will be evolving in line with NEOMA’s new strategic plan. “As our flagship programme, the Grande École Programme was naturally the first area in which our new strategic plan would be implemented,” explains Delphine Manceau. “These new features, which will be added to the curriculum from September onwards, are designed to give our students the resources they need to meet the major challenges of the future, just like our strategic plan“.

The new initiatives around the Engage for Society theme,  “demonstrate our commitment to contributing to the major changes taking place within society, by supporting our faculty and training our students to make the step from intention to action. Our aim is to enable them to become committed players in the transformation of business and society”, Delphine adds.

• NEOMACT, announced last February, is now entering its operational deployment phase. This new scheme will put students in a position to play a positive role right from the start of their studies, thanks to a study programme offered throughout their course and open to all students. From determining their “eco-profile”, through to certification by the “2TONNES” agency, including interactive online training courses to help them better understand the issues affecting the climate and biodiversity, NEOMACT enables students to get involved and take tangible action on these vital issues. The scheme also foresees academic recognition for community-based projects carried out by student associations recognised as being in the public interest at local, national or international level, as well as the launch of a new mandatory role for all student associations: the ‘CSR Representative’. Thanks to a tailor-made training programme, the CSR Representative’s role will be to steer the CSR approach of his or her student association and to play an active part in the School’s governance committees on these issues of social and environmental transformation.

• Launch of the MSc Sustainability Transformations will train change agents capable of setting organisations in motion and transforming them from within. “Transforming companies for the better requires the skills of an architect to drive and support change,” analyses Delphine. “Against a backdrop of strong regulatory requirements in terms of extra-financial performance, the aim is to learn how to foster collaboration between different departments on cross-functional projects”. Students will master the complexity of the issues linked to social and environmental transformations, create the conditions for change at the very core of a company and raise community awareness by facilitating dialogue. The decarbonisation of business models, regulatory aspects and change management will also be at the heart of the curriculum. By the end of the programme, students will have acquired a number of key skills, including complex project management, consultancy, compliance, monitoring, forecasting and change management.

• Faculty training on transition challenges, deploying a cross-disciplinary approach to accelerate the transformation of teaching. NEOMA is introducing a training programme for all faculty members on these subjects, including master classes led by faculty experts and e-learning resources. In addition, workshops and role-playing exercises will encourage dialogue and peer-sharing at dedicated Faculty events.

Strengthening the Engage for Academic Excellence theme “involves redesigning the last semester of the Master Year 1 and implementing a strategy of key partnerships with the best universities in France and abroad”, explains Imen Mejri, Director of the PGE/MiM.

• A semester of in-depth study in Master Year 1, during which students will be able to choose a major (from a choice of 4) alongside 4 minors (from a choice of 10). Offering 40 possible combinations, this development responds to the dual expectations expressed by students: ‘guided freedom of choice’ and a preliminary level of in-depth study before the choice of specialisation during Master Year 2.
• 12 new double degree agreements with leading national and international institutions. Three new agreements will be offered in France in the field of Human Resources, the first with CIFFOP and two with the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. Students will also benefit from 12 new international double degree agreements, including four with the Catholic University of Porto, one of Portugal’s most prestigious universities, and two with ESAN University (#1 in Peru).
• 40 new study abroad agreements, in line with the immersive international approach that the School has historically championed. As a result, the programme will offer 40 new highly renowned partners, including Pompeu Fabra University (Spain), Yonsei University (South Korea) and Tulane University (USA).

Finally, the PGE/MiM programme will be introducing five new features in line with the Engage for Students theme: “Our commitment to our students has always been our top priority, as evidenced by the strength of our Wellness Centre, the richness of our student life and our dynamic drive for educational innovation, which has become NEOMA’s signature“, Delphine explains. NEOMA is the only European school to have received three awards for educational innovation from the prestigious American accreditation body AACSB in the last five years.

• A number of teaching innovations will be rolled out from September, as NEOMA continues to push ahead with innovation as part of its 2027 strategic plan. Firstly, there will be a third iLearning course in Data Management, which will place students at the heart of a storyline that will evolve as they learn. A third case study in Immersive Virtual Reality will also be launched, focusing on new workspaces and their impact on collaborative models and changes in working practices.

• Faculty training in teaching innovations. Spread over a period of two years and structured around workshops, this training will provide lecturers with an opportunity to discover and experiment with new methods (gamification, interaction, etc.) and tools to develop their courses, resulting in an ever more optimal learning experience for students. Artificial intelligence (with ChatGPT, Adaptive Learning, etc.) will play a central role in this course.

• A new study path for elite athletes, which will enable students playing at a professional level to combine academic excellence with their passion for sport. Supervised by the Wellness Centre, to ensure that students are able to find the right balance between their student life and their sporting life, this pathway will feature a personalised class and exam schedule adapted to the sporting calendar, as well as academic recognition for international competitions.

• Strengthening of the Talent & Career service, in line with NEOMA’s commitment to student employability. in line with NEOMA’s commitment to student employability. The service will be enriched with four new modules, ranging from tools for assessing self-awareness and knowledge of career options to recruitment interviews at the end of the Master Year 2. An “Assessment Centre” (individual and group test sessions) and a coaching service specifically dedicated to the specificities of recruitment in the consulting and investment banking sectors will complete the programme.