A Management Grande Ecole expresses first and foremost a commitment: graduating young people who will integrate the job market fast, equipped to move on unfazed and fulfil their lives throughout their professional careers. It is also a guarantee to be taking a top level academic programme, recognised internationally and in the business world. Furthermore, it is also the guarantee not only to share and exchange with lecturers-researchers, professionals and experts from all over the world.… but also with students from all horizons. These facts are the hallmark of EM Normandie, which has managed since 2007, to mix student populations recruited either just out of secondary education, or after a Classe Préparatoire, other Higher Education diplomas and degrees, or via international recruitment examinations.
All roads lead to… Grandes Ecoles!
Traditionally, recruitment was through Classes Prépas, which contributed to positioning our institutions as centres of excellence. The world has changed however, our sourcing can no longer be restricted to one single educational track. Whatever purists may say, varying admissions routes is not detrimental in any way to the quality of young graduates when they arrive on the job market. Quite the contrary actually! We know from experience how rich the sharing process can be between Classe Prépa students and those from a great variety of programmes, both in France and abroad. Our campuses are just as many Babel Towers where all types of languages are spoken, and where centres of interest are amazingly varied. People from IUTs, universities and specialised institutions contribute to the richness of the student experience, prompting us to improve our pedagogy in the right direction to nurture young open talents, who are eager to learn about new things and gifted with outstanding adaptability. As a matter of fact, companies themselves do acknowledge this when they recruit our graduates by the hundreds.
The richness of diversity
This variety in profiles is matched in the training itself. We have done away with linear study tracks: today every student is given the opportunity to build up his or her own study path in accordance with his/her initial education, likings and aspirations. Whether this be through tracks taught 100% in English, cooperative schemes, expatriation, or specialisation: there are many combinations available which offer an extensive field of professional opportunities. In this respect, it is no surprising coincidence that our Business Schools are less and less referred to as ‘Ecoles de Commerce’, but rather as ‘Ecoles de Management’! Today, the role of our Grandes Ecoles is to train agile managers who can operate in all key functions of an organisation, moving from Human Resources to Logistics, from Finance to Marketing or even Events Management. All this while proving their definite inclination for new technologies, mobility and corporate social responsibility. They also make up the fertile ground for entrepreneurship as young people who are no longer afraid of embarking on such ventures, provided their careers allow them to realise their dreams and simply live fulfilling lives. In fact, the level of entry is not the point. What counts above all is indeed the degree students graduate with and what they will do with them later on by applying their knowledge and their intrinsic competencies! And in this respect, Grandes Ecoles are unparalleled springboards!
