CERAM Business School & ESC Lille merger: the largest French business school (by students numbers)
"The new multi-campus business school will operate in 3 sites around France - Lille, Paris and Sophia Antipolis - and promote the strengths..."
Faced with growing international competition over the last 10 years, the French government has encouraged consolidation amongst the country’s higher education and research establishments such as universities, Grandes Ecoles and R&D labs. The goal is to establish clusters which are big enough, and have the right assets, to compete on the international scene.
The merger of Groupe ESC Lille and CERAM Business School subscribes to this dynamic. And the new entity will become France’s leading business school in terms of student numbers.
Alice Guilhon, Director of CERAM Business School will become head of the new school, whilst Jean-Pierre Raman, director of Groupe ESC Lille, will become Delegate General of the association, in charge of relations with the University as well as of the group’s pedagogical projects.
4 questions to Alice Guilhon, Director of the CERAM Business school, who will head the new group:
1. What does this merger represent in terms of potential?
This merger will make CERAM and the ESC Lille a key player in higher education, a school that symbolizes innovation and one that will play an important role in making the Alpes-Maritimes more competitive and increase its profile on the international stage. At the heart of this project are the students, who will benefit from an enriched offer in terms of choices, professors, student experience and overall training. And the merger makes sense since the two schools share a common academic vision and have the same ambitions for the future.
2. What is the nature of the project?
This is an atypical and innovative development project. Groupe ESC Lille, with its 3,000 students, is a non-profit association and private school, whilst the CERAM Business School, home to 2,600 students, is an organization dependent on the Nice Côte d'Azur Chamber of Commerce. The merger of these two important institutions, with distinct legal and management systems, is a pioneering initiative, geared at achieving growth rather than mere rationalization.
3. How does this translate in concrete terms?
The new multi-campus business school will operate in 3 sites around France - Lille, Paris and Sophia Antipolis - and promote the strengths of these different territories which contribute to its success. This will give students an outstanding opportunity to choose between locations and schedules for their curriculum.
Subsidiary sites are also to be deployed throughout the world to provide students with a truly international experience. To date, the school already has a campus in China and in Morocco and a USA campus should be operational in 2010.
The new business school, whose name and identity will be announced before the end of the year, will kick-off its first school year in September 2010.
4. How will the Sophia site be impacted by this merger?
Our strong foundation within Sophia Antipolis is part of our DNA with an ongoing contribution to this territory in terms of networks, jobs and training, at the service of local companies. And our expertise in areas that include the innovation chain, tourism, risk management, territorial intelligence and sustainable development, etc, enable us to play an active role alongside key players in the region. We plan to do our utmost as a new group to promote this local expertise on the international scene. This is already happening in China where the opening of the CERAM campus has helped increase the visibility of Sophia Antipolis and the Alpes-Maritimes. Tomorrow, we will do the same with the Nord-Pas-de-Calais! So this merger is definitely a Plus for the technology park and its international reputation. We plan to build a Grande Ecole of international importance, which is strongly rooted within France’s foremost economic territories.
Key figures:
* One Grande Ecole and a range of Bachelors, Masters of Science, Specialized Masters, PhD and MBA programs,
* 5,600 students,
* 20,000 alumni,
* 138 permanent professors,
* 62 CNRS stars,
* 268 publications,
* 46 million euro budget.
More information: www.oneworldoneeducation.com/
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