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In this age of digital disruption, enterprise innovation is more important than ever before &ndash; if not completely necessary for survival.

leveraging-artificial-intelligence-for-enterprise-innovation

LEVERAGING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR ENTERPRISE INNOVATION

Cergy, September 3rd, 2026 &ndash; Lutz Sager, Assistant Professor of Economics at ESSEC, has been awarded a prestigious <a href="https://erc.europa.eu/news-events/news/erc-2026-starting-grants-results" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Starting Grant from the European Research Council </a>(ERC), amounting to &euro;1.4M over five years. The 2026 edition selected 421 laureates out of 4807 total applications. Lutz is among the 38 French laureates, and among 11 French laureates in the Social Sciences and Humanities domain. Dr. Sager is the second ESSEC professor to receive an ERC grant, following Dr. Pierre Jacob&rsquo;s Consolidator Grant in 2024. His project, "LEGEND: A New Framework for Local Economic Growth Without Environmental Destruction", will pioneer local-level green growth indicators, addressing a critical gap in sustainability science.&nbsp;
The ERC is a public body that funds cutting-edge research across the European Union. Every year, the ERC awards highly competitive grants to researchers in all fields of science and technology, categorized by seniority according to the date on which they received their PhD (Starting, Consolidator, and Advanced Grants). The Starting Grants target early-career researchers with fewer than 10 years of experience following their PhD and who show significant potential for groundbreaking research.

Lutz Sager

ESSEC’s Lutz Sager Awarded €1.4M European Research Council Starting Grant for Groundbreaking Research on Green Growth

Founded in 1907, ESSEC Business School is a leading academic institution with a strong humanistic tradition. At ESSEC, the start of the 2026 academic year is more than the beginning of a new academic year. It is a time for learning, experimentation, and engagement in service of society. In a world where artificial intelligence is accelerating change and uncertainty is becoming the norm, ESSEC encourages students to reject passivity, develop their agility, and embrace action. It is a demanding way to relearn how to take initiative.
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<img loading="lazy" alt="ESSEC-Cergy-juin-2026-by-Nicolas-Launay (86)" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="//images.ctfassets.net/vmb6iqn8sgcm/5K0h56UO1IMXlsbTMvrNBt/18d0016b5ba3a34affcaa91f8f966ff8/ESSEC-Cergy-juin-2026-by-Nicolas-Launay__86_.jpg" width="549" height="366">

ESSEC-Cergy-juin-2026-by-Nicolas-Launay (86)

Fall 2026: at ESSEC, learning to take initiative in a changing world

At the heart of the ESSEC Executive MBA, ESG projects serve as a powerful catalyst for action. Rather than stopping at ideas, participants are expected to turn a collective ambition into a concrete initiative, working across cultures, functions and perspectives. Through his role as an alumnus and mentor, Eyram Adzra (ESSEC Weekend Executive MBA 2024), working at UNICEF, guides these cohorts in navigating the complexities of leadership, governance, and stakeholder engagement, transforming diverse professional perspectives into a collective force for lasting change.
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<img loading="lazy" alt="ESSEC EMBA - Eyram ADZRA" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="//images.ctfassets.net/vmb6iqn8sgcm/1fDUgdG5BJCKKxkD3ZjDjI/18a0efde7263dc1c9c342b28842ade90/ESSEC_EMBA_-_Eyram_ADZRA.jpg" width="500" height="333">
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