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Grande Ecole - Master in Management

All of the students who take part in the Master in Management (MiM) Grande Ecole program at HEC Paris follow modules related to the thematics of Purpose & Sustainability.

L3: First Year with the "Commitment" Track

The urgency of environmental and social issues questions and even distresses our students. They are aware that economic activity is part of the problem, but also that it can be part of the solution, provided that we have the courage to rethink the role of business in society and the purpose of each individual's work.

This is the objective of the "Commitment" track, followed by all first-year students at HEC Paris. This track is at the heart of our mission: to help the future leaders grow by encouraging them to reflect on their commitment to society and the planet, the meaning of their work, and the role and responsibility of organizations. Our mission is also to enlighten this personal reflection with a deep understanding of environmental, social, and societal issues both based on scientific foundations and personal experience.

The Society & Organizations Institute (S&O) at HEC Paris provides the academic direction of this track in five steps:

Committment Track in 5 blocs

 


The "Commitment" Track begins with a seminar organized in two steps :

- A seminar in Chamonix, where our students experience a fundamental collective experience. They explore physically and intellectually an intense three-day journey in the Alps devoted to climate change and questions of purpose in life.

- Back on campus, they are nourished by conferences with inspirational engaged business leaders, as well as by scientific experts in environmental and social sustainability issues.

All of this is embodied in a program called "Purpose & Sustainability", which has its roots here in Chamonix when new students are accepted into HEC, and which will take them all the way in their journey into the professional world. This seminar is therefore the bedrock of the program. They will also go through other stages, through courses like building new models of regenerative and sustainable businesses. Romain Briat, Executive Director of the S&O Purpose Center

More about the Chamonix learning expedition

The second step implies 30 hours of volunteer work within a non-profit organization. In this context, our students participate in field actions, directly interacting and serving directly the beneficiaries of these organizations.

 Romain Briat, Executive Director of the S&O Purpose Center, explains the aim of the civic engagement.

The third step is the course "Planetary Boundaries" which is the foundational teaching at HEC Paris regarding planetary boundaries, their implications, and the necessary commitments of the private sector to respect them.

The objectives of the course are:

  • Understand planetary limits and the impacts of exceeding them on biodiversity, lifestyles, the economy and society;
  • Analyze the levers of governance in a world turned upside down by environmental change: economic, foreign, financial and regulatory policies;
  • Examine the levers of action for engaging companies in the ecological and inclusive transition.

The "Hands-On Internship" in a company involves students in operational tasks for 3 weeks, in January or June. A non-managerial role without required qualifications, immersing the students in a team. It is the first experience in the business world for the students. A founding experience and an essential element of their curriculum. This is also an opportunity for a fruitful collaboration with our corporate partners, bringing together our two worlds for the better.

More about the hands-on internship 

The final stage of this track: a thesis that draws on the experiences and encounters lived, the knowledge acquired, and aims to help our students project themselves in their academic and professional paths. This thesis is an invitation to introspection and reflection on the mission of organizations based on each individual's journey, academic knowledge, and the humanities.

Examples of Thesis:


M1: Second Year program with Electives

A rich and diverse portfolio of 18-hours electives open to all second year HEC students to learn from academics and professionals about topics and tools related to Purposeful Leadership


You probably know how to create effective teamwork. But are you aware of your own limits? Everybody has some.
All great projects are collective successes. For protecting the planet, creating a start-up, playing team sports, forming a music band, exploring space, organizing the Olympic Games, creating a family, or simply living in society. Working and living together in a group seems at first to be easy but it is not that simple in reality, especially when facing the inevitable difficulties that arise either outside the group or… from inside.

In this experiential course, the students will likely:

  • Identify his/her limits in effective teamwork, and how he/she react in different situations.
  • Know better the basic needs of people in groups, and his/her own.
  • Clarify his/her strengths and his/her areas to develop to be more aligned with oneself and others.
  • Discover simple tools and methods to facilitate effective teamwork.

Identifying your professional aspirations is not easy. Daring to make them happen is even less easy. 

Find your Purpose is an experiential course designed to help M1 students define their professional project and overcome certain obstacles to getting there. It consists of six 3-hour workshops, led by certified coaches who are experts in professional evolutions, and who accompany young graduates to find their own path.

Key learning objectives:

  • Clarify your skills and potential.
  • Develop self-esteem.
  • Strengthen your ability to network.
  • Find your purpose and clarify your professional project – from your gap year to the longer term.
  • Present your project in a clear, impactful, and inspiring way.

The course will be mostly experiential and participative, inviting each student to explore and develop his/her own style of leadership through personal reflection and group work, games, a questionnaire and times for sharing and feedback – plus of course some theory on human behavior, leadership and effective teamwork.

  • Develop leadership skills based on self-awareness
  • Increase clarity on your own identity, values and purpose
  • Understand your behavior and the reactions of others to it
  • Learn how to identify and overcome relational blockages
  • Learn how to implement successful team dynamics

The course provides an introduction to business ethics. It is aimed at students who are interested in questions of morality and curious about moral philosophy and moral psychology: 

At the end of the course, students will:: 
•    have gained a sense of the complexity of questions of morality in business contexts; 
•    have acquired fundamental knowledge about business ethics, which will help them to build an informed opinion on moral issues in business contexts; 
•    have practiced their moral reflexivity, i.e., their ability to reflect on moral norms and judgments, including their own. 


M2: Last year with a companionship program

 

In 2022, the Purpose Center's teaching team, accompanied by Eotekum, launched a pedagogical innovation: "Companionship - Starting up a purposeful career" module.

In the format of an 18-hour elective course from January to March, it is articulated in parallel by "companionship": each student is put in contact with an alumnus with whom he or she will have the opportunity to share his or her progress, receive encouragement, welcome an experienced viewpoint, etc. And vice versa: the alumnus benefits from the student's viewpoint, can welcome his or her ideas and ideals, and learns to question himself or herself in order to, at times, better get back on the right track.

Read more about the course and its participants

 

We need to build bridges between generations, allowing for mutual listening that is benevolent but not complacent, to bring out other forms of leadersip. Pascal Stefani (H.88), Business angel, philanthropist, administrator.