ESSCA head: French students enjoy their time in Budapest – INTERVIEW

ESSCA School of Management creates knowledge and develops responsible managers and entrepreneurs, while fully considering the human, ethical and economic dimensions of organisations in a multicultural environment driven by technology and social innovations. The French university has one of the best management courses worldwide and operates a campus in Budapest. We talked about their mission, programs, how they use AI in education, the strengths of their Budapest campus and his impressions about the Hungarian capital with CEO and Dean Jean Charroin.

DNH: ESSCA has a French base, but it already has campuses in several countries. Can you tell us your secret?

Jean Charroin: 30 years ago, ESSCA began its internationalisation process by establishing its first European campus in Budapest. At the time, it was an ambitious strategy aimed at providing quality education and management skills to an economy that was in the process of opening up to the European and Western markets. Today we are proud that ESSCA is the only French business school in Hungary that provides a diploma labelled by the Conférence des Grandes Ecoles.

I joined the school in 2018. At that time we were contemplating whether it is feasible to be a multicampus network with a large portfolio program or not. Michael Porter the famous professor of corporate strategy says: “When you do not make a choice you are stuck in the middle.” When we were at the crossroads of choosing between a multicampus organization or a multiprogram portfolio, I said that we have to make a tradeoff and we opted to develop a multicampus network with a very narrow portfolio program.

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• French university with the best management courses worldwide celebrated Budapest campus – Read more HERE

ESSCA has 3 major programs, two of which recruit 90% of all students: the bachelor in management and the master in management. On top of this, the institution is about to launch an MBA program. Almost 95% of our students are in 3 programs at 10 different campuses. With such a narrow portfolio we were able to “copy and paste” a program to have a standardized and efficient approach. If you want to meet the international standards laid out by the most prestigious accrediting bodies in the world such as the American AACSB, the British AMBA and the European EQUIS, and also meet the guidelines of the French Ministry of Education, your institution has to be efficient. This means achieving operational and academic excellence. There are just over 110 business schools in the world that have received recognition from all three aforementioned bodies, i.e. that have been awarded the ‘Triple Crown’.

These accreditations can also serve as the basis of inter-institutional collaborations. For example, all our students have to spend at least one semester abroad, and thus, it is of the utmost importance to propose them international partners, which are of the same quality as ESSCA.

2023 is an exceptional year in the life of ESSCA, as – in addition to Budapest – the Paris Campus is also celebrating its 30th anniversary. The School opened its Luxembourg and Malaga Campuses this year, and will also inaugurate a new facility at its Bordeaux Campus.

DNH: Decades come and go in the life of the ESSCA, but you always teach to a high standard. How do you maintain this high level? Do you renew the university’s strategy from time to time?

Jean Charroin: The School continuously strives to integrate new practices, principles and challenges into all of its activities and to be a trend-setter in shaping the educational field. All of its instructors receive training from ESSCA on how to use the ever-creative and inventive methods it is developing for teaching, tutoring, teamwork, etc. in their varied roles.

The businesses are also effectively incorporated into the school’s operations: for example, they have seats on the Board of Trustees, test panels, curriculum development committees, etc. This proximity to the corporate world shows how diligently ESSCA works to ensure that students obtain the most up-to-date, relevant trainings, specializations, courses and skills.

DNH: How is sustainability integrated into the life of the university?

Jean Charroin: We work to broaden our students’ understanding of the significance and meaning of sustainable development as part of our efforts to make our campus a truly sustainable institution. We arrange at least one optional, CSR-related program each month that educates them on the various facets of sustainability.

ESSCA was one of the first education institutions to integrate the topic of sustainable development into its educational and organizational portfolio. In addition our management considers one of its top priorities that all campuses organize their activities in accordance with sustainability guidelines. Sustainable development and social responsibility does not only part of the curriculum, as it also permeates many other aspects of the School’s operations. The university also serves as an outstanding example, even at international levels, for domestic educational institutions. At the School’s campus in Angers, following the assessment of its carbon footprint, energy consumption was effectively reduced. Furthermore, many new measures were introduced: their buildings were properly insulated, motion-detecting lighting and energy-saving light bulbs were installed, and computers in the classrooms are automatically shut down every night. The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the minimization and recycling of waste can be mentioned among our active efforts we have been continuously exercising for years on our campuses. The ESSCA School of Management has achieved many milestones over the decades, such as assessing its ecological efficiency and establishing the ESSCA Sustainable Development-CSR Steering Committee.

DNH: AI has completely turned education systems upside down. How consciously is AI used in education?

Jean Charroin: In order to help students recognize the potential effects of new technologies and how to apply them from an economic, social, legal, and technological perspective, ESSCA places more emphasis on introducing cutting-edge technology into the classroom, such as artificial intelligence.

This September, at our Budapest Campus we hosted the first flagship event of a thought-provoking conference series on Artificial Intelligence titled ‘Leading the Way to Develop New Skills for Europe’s Digital Era’. This conference serves as a demonstration of ESSCA’s commitment to provide its colleagues and students with the tools necessary to succeed in the rapidly changing modern world.

DNH: What do you see as the strengths of the Budapest Campus? Why should talented students apply here?

Jean Charroin: Budapest is located in Central Europe. We made a strategic decision 30 years ago to expand here and this strategy still holds up till this day. The case is quite interesting for our Budapest campus, since it is in a Central European location and Hungary is an industrial country. This is why we wanted to provide a specialization in supply chain management, where students can receive in-depth knowledge about industrial operational efficiency. Within Hungary Budapest is located at a prime geological location where it can take advantage of the opportunities offered by industrial activities.

DNH: What is your impression of Budapest?

Jean Charroin: It is not the first time I have visited here. I am fascinated by history, culture and arts. The decision to have a campus in Budapest was made long time ago before I joined ESSCA. It is a beautiful place for its history, art, culture and its atmosphere. When we share with our French students that they would spend a semester in Budapest, initially they are surprised thinking about why we haven’t established a campus at a fancier location. Nonetheless, after having spent one semester in Budapest all of our students attest to that they enjoyed their time here and feel satisfied at the end of the semester. This can be attributed to the quality of life and the unique student experience they encounter here.

We already made an interview with Director of ESSCA Budapest dr. Zsuzsa Deli-Gray, read here.