Impact on talent inclusion
Diversity, whether social or international, is a key factor in the performance of any academic institution. It gives individuals the opportunity to learn from others from diverse backgrounds, develop a global outlook and engage in the major changes ahead.
What will your donations help us to achieve?
Diversity in our student body in terms of culture, background and viewpoints makes for a uniquely vibrant environment at HEC. This helps us attract top international students and train responsible leaders in an increasingly open and multicultural society.Associate Dean, HEC Paris MBA program
2024 projects for talent inclusion
- Overcome self-censorship prior to the competitive HEC entrance exam
Fighting against the self-censorship that limits young people in their educational choices and encouraging them to dream bigger are fundamental aspects of the policy carried out for high school and preparatory class students. Confidence-building is the watchword of HEC’s equal opportunity programs.Our goal is to support 400 high school students from disadvantaged and rural areas to ensure that 100% of them pass their Baccalaureate exam with honors and enroll in ambitious higher education programs.
Similarly, we will support 400 scholarship students in preparatory classes every year with the goal ofensuring that 100% of them enroll in French business schools.
- Affirm our commitment to equal opportunity
Since 2009, tuition fees for students who receive scholarships based on social criteria established by CROUS have been entirely or partially covered by the HEC Foundation.
This funding measure has had a dramatic impact on the proportion of CROUS scholarship students at HEC, which has increased from 5% in 2009 to 15% in 2019. Within the Grande Ecole program 18% benefit from means-tested financial aid from the HEC Foundation. We must now intensify our efforts with an aim for scholarship students to represent more than 25% of our student body, while maintaining our standards for excellence.
- Promote exchange by creating the “HEC Village”
By creating dedicated spaces for clubs andassociations, sports facilities, shared kitchens, a family area, a dance studio, an administrative service center and more, we plan to create an array of student spaces where art, a source for inspiration and innovation, will play an integral role, in an effort to improve quality of life and promote exchanges between students.
- Develop students’ soft skills
Soft skills are essential to working as a team,becoming an inspiring leader and are sought by companies of all sizes. Through its Career Center, HEC Paris strives to support all students in degree programs who want to learn more about themselves and fine-tune their career goals as a result.
- Consolidate HEC Paris’ position as a top-ranked international business school
One of the keys to HEC Paris’ success is its ability to attract top international students from the world’s most prestigious institutions. This diversity acts as a driving force for promoting the HEC trademark among leading global recruiters. At the same time, cultural differences in the classroom give students a preview of the intercultural career opportunities that await them.
- Develop international representative offices
Today HEC Paris is present in London, Berlin, New York, Tokyo, Beijing, Abidjan and Qatar.
Expanding our offices means supporting the HEC trademark in countries where the school is not yet represented and making the HEC trademark more visible in major global business hubs such as Hong Kong, Singapore, San Francisco, Mumbai, Sao Paulo, Nairobi, Lagos etc.
Lastly, it provides an opportunity to develop relationships with companies or local employers in connection with the Corporate Partnerships and Careers Department and to support Alumni services.
- Africa, a challenge for the future
Africa has an important role to play, both demographically and economically. Training its elite is a major challenge facing the continent.
HEC supports this challenge by offering training programs for business executives, helping creat promising start-ups and financing the education of its finest talents.
Your impact
It is with your help taht I was able to study in the best possible conditions. As a scholar of the HEC Foundation, I felt supported by HEC Alumni.Student, Media, Art and Creation at HEC Paris
Achievements already made possible through donations
For over ten years, the HEC Foundation has been supporting pupils benefitting from a scholarship from CROUS, France’s regional student services organization, and who are preparing the HEC entrance exam through preparatory classes. These pupils have obtained their baccalauréat high-school diploma with honors or distinction and have been recommended by their high school. This scheme was extended to the whole country in 2019 and 120 schools take part. In February 2022, 581 pupils received a grant for living expenses (vs 530 in 2021).
Beyond this financial aid that helps them and their family face the competitive examination with peace of mind, the support boosts pupils’ self-confidence and motivates them to do their very best in their tests!
The Prep Etoile program was launched in September 2021. It supports pupils from all over France in the second year of preparatory classes who benefit from a scholarship from CROUS, France’s regional student services organization, and who have the academic potential to enroll at HEC. The program takes place over a year and helps scholarship students familiarize themselves with the tests so they can overcome the psychological barriers that many of them face.
The aim is to also boost their selfconfidence so they can look to a bright future. Half of the pupils in the first year of this scheme enrolled at one of France’s top five business schools (HEC Paris,ESSEC, ESCP, EDHEC, EM Lyon). Three of them joined HEC Paris.
Amandine Ayrem (H.07), Managing Director of Eurazeo and a member of the HEC Foundation’s campaign committee, sponsored the Prep Etoile cohort. “The kindness and mutual assistance in our class helped me a lot at the time. Solidarity is a value I hold dear and it’s fundamental in our world. This is reflected in my support for Prep Etoile and I’m pleased to give back a little of what was given to me.”
Launched in 2019, the PACT Africa program (Support Program for African Talents) has enabled 5 talented students from Ivory Coast to prepare and succeed the international entrance exam and be admitted to HEC Paris in September 2020. The aim of the program is to double the number of students from sub-saharan and southern Africa in the HEC Paris Grande Ecole program within 5 years. It is based on the Dual Diploma agreement signed in 2017 between HEC Paris and the National Polytechnic Institute in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast, and will expand to other countries in the region with the support of the HEC Office in the Ivory Coast.
For the 2022 academic year, 13 PACT Africa students have been admitted to HEC Paris.
Thanks to the generosity of our patrons, the project is growing and now covers 3 countries: Gabon, Cameroon and Côte d'Ivoire! This year 75 students were supported, 29 were eligible for HEC Paris and 13 have just been admitted for the 2022 school year!
For the past 10 years, the “HEC For All” program has been providing financial support to preparatory class students through needs-based scholarships.
In 2018, this program involved 14 partner high schools, primarily in Paris. In 2019, it was expanded to cover the whole of France and almost 280 applications from 70 high schools were submitted. As a result, 261 scholarships to cover living expenses were offered in 2019 to preparatory class scholarship students (compared with 150 in previous years). The objective is to increase the number of scholarships funded each year from 250 to 400 scholarship students.
In 2020, the HEC Foundation awarded 452 living grants of an average €400 to CROUS scholarship students to support them with their living expenses. These grants are awarded to students enrolled in a Business School preparatory class who obtained their French Baccalauréat with distinction. This grant represents a form of encouragement for these students.
In February 2021, the Foundation awarded 530 living cost scholarships (452 in 2020) to CROUS scholarship students enrolled in Grande École Preparatory Classes (CPGE). The scheme went national in 2019, and is now present in over 120 establishments with CPGE preparing students for the HEC entrance examination. Above and beyond the financial support on offer, these scholarships provide a great motivation boost to students just a few weeks before their exams, constituting a clear show of support from HEC.
More information about inclusion talent at HEC Paris
