HEC Paris launches new MasterTrack Certificate with Coursera, nurturing world’s future entrepreneurs and executives

HEC Paris, one of the world’s top ten business schools, has today announced that it has launched a new MasterTrack Certificate (MTC) with Coursera, one of the largest online learning companies in the world. The new MTC, entitled Leading Innovation With Creativity, will see HEC Paris’s students learn to incorporate design thinking and creativity into everyday business practices and drive innovation at any stage of business growth - from developing an idea to leading a company.

Learners who complete Leading Innovation with Creativity will, in addition to cultivating these career-enhancing skills, also earn credit that can be applied towards the HEC Paris MSc in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, upon acceptance. This online MSc graduated its first cohort in 2019, and is represented by students from over 30 countries - over two-thirds of whom are making use of the flexible learning modalities to study while employed.

The Leading Innovation With Creativity MTC will enable aspiring entrepreneurs, executive leaders, and other professionals responsible for business development and innovation to upskill at speed, and around their professional commitments. Learners will also:

• Develop a toolbox to solve the challenges entrepreneurs face when managing people, designing structures, building culture, and achieving growth in their firms.
• Develop team leadership skills and learn to encourage positive workplace relationships that can serve to overcome differences of opinion and unite diverse perspectives.
• Discover a systematic approach to unlock creative insights and develop innovative solutions.
• Hear exclusive talks, join interactive sessions, and connect with start-up founders at Station F, the world’s largest start-up campus, described by Poets & Quants as “the most impressive incubator in Europe.”
• Enjoy personalized support and coaching on team projects from industry experts and professional Coaches hand-picked by HEC Paris professors.

Leading Innovation With Creativity is the second stackable MasterTrack Certificate launched by HEC Paris and Coursera that contributes to the MSc in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The first, Innovation Management & Entrepreneurship, enables learners to gain hands-on management skills and know-how in innovation and entrepreneurship in as few as five months.

Betty Vandenbosch, Chief Content Officer at Coursera, said: “Stackable, modular, flexible credentials are the future of degree learning, allowing learners to take courses that are both recognised by employers on their own terms, while also contributing towards transformative higher qualifications. We are observing a growing appetite for degrees that can be delivered modularly and remotely, having recorded 30% growth in enrolments across our degree portfolio since the beginning of 2021. We’re delighted to continue collaborating with one of the world’s top business schools to offer a wider range of job-relevant, future-oriented credentials to future leaders and entrepreneurs.”

Anne-Valérie Corboz, Associate Dean of Executive Education at HEC Paris, said: "HEC Paris has always been at the leading edge of executive education, recognised by its Financial Times ranking as the best school in the world, both in open and custom programs. We have a passion for impact, for driving innovation, for supporting life-long learning, and for accompanying entrepreneurs and organisations in their ventures."

For Alexey Ermakov, who graduated from the HEC MSc’s fourth cohort in 2021, his participation in the program was the catalyst for his transition from corporate roles to successful entrepreneurship. Alexey said: “The program content and methodologies that I could apply immediately were really helpful. The program equipped me with essential knowledge for entrepreneurship. Through [it] I met interesting people from all over the world, with excellent experience, and this is how I met my business partner, Yuji Satoh.”

Since graduating together, Alexey and Yuji have founded Impala Hub, an Estonia-based sustainability-focused startup seeking to solve the plastic pollution problem with low-carbon sustainable materials and technologies.

Coursera currently supports the skills development of over 1.3 million French learners, who have used the platform to enroll in 3.2 million courses and log over 820,000 learning hours on the platform. Early applications for the Leading Innovation With Creativity MTC are open until October 31st. Prospective students wishing to learn more about the MTC, or submit an application, can do so here.

The HEC Paris MSc in Innovation and Entrepreneurship continues to accept applications from aspiring business leaders and entrepreneurs, and early applications for its next cohort, which begins classes on December 12th, 2022, close on October 30th.

Media contact: 

HEC Paris - Julie Dobiecki, Head of media relations: dobiecki@hec.fr