Amid the excitement and dynamism of the annual ESSEC Global MBA Integration Week in Chablis, France, the program’s new “Sustainability for Common Good” course was unveiled. Taught by ESSEC Professor Xavier Pavie, this 6-month course equips participants for responsible innovation through a unique learning-by-doing approach. The course, developed in partnership with Oxfam Great Britain, a major NGO, provides students with an opportunity to address real-world challenges.
RISE-ing to the occasion: A new hands-on experience in sustainability addresses real case studies
14.10.2022
In the words of Irene Guijt (PhD), Head of Evidence and Strategic Learning at Oxfam, “Professor Pavie’s cohort is helping OxfamGB flesh out what an ‘academy for activism’ could look like to support today’s changemakers and nurture next generations, linking them to inspiring learning opportunities.”
True to its humanist values, ESSEC is committed to infusing tomorrow’s leadership with meaning. Its diverse programs provide the tools and knowledge for its participants to be able to create and run companies that make a positive impact on the world. An offshoot of the school’s RISE strategy, the Sustainability for Common Good course reinforces this future-facing, sustainably-minded commitment. It is part of the strategy’s “Together” axis, ESSEC’s 360-degree environmental and social transition plan. The aim of this pillar is to transform the school’s research, training programs and campus life in order to tackle environmental and social challenges through innovation, experimentation and the creation of new business and economic models.
Hence this new course led by Xavier Pavie, Professor at ESSEC Business School and Director of the iMagination Center whose activities are centered on imagination, innovation and transdisciplinarity for responsible innovation. He continues to spearhead initiatives for innovation, including this new Global MBA course. In his words, “It has been my goal to develop a course like this for ESSEC: a course where students can have a hands-on experience of sustainability problem solving, where there are real expectations and real stakes. Being able to partner with an organization like Oxfam, and to work on their cases, adds so much meaning and value to the participant experience.”
Guided by Pavie’s broad and impactful pedagogy, participants work as consultants on real Oxfam case studies over the course of six months, with exposure to responsible innovation frameworks, theories and strategies. They work in teams, assembled for maximum diversity and complementarity in terms of backgrounds, skills and nationalities. They also attend workshops on responsible innovation throughout the course. At the end of the course, they present their recommendations to Oxfam during a field trip to their main office in the UK.
According to Marie Becker, a current participant in the ESSEC Global MBA in Luxury Brand Management , “The chance to work in partnership with Oxfam GB is very exciting, giving my first [ESSEC GMBA] project greater meaning. Also, Professor Pavie really transmits his passion for becoming a responsible leader.”
As current participants already note, by fulfilling the course objective of thinking about sustainability and responsibility innovation, they learn to develop concrete, creative solutions that address specific issues. As future leaders and decision-makers, they learn to reflect creatively and responsibly on real-world problems at various levels. Through working on these real-life case studies, they are exposed to the reality of the challenges that face responsible and sustainable innovation on a global scale. Working in teams, they explore and deliver the prototype of an innovative solution that responds to the brief. And they’re not working in the bubble: An additional upside of the project is that their solutions may be implemented.
As Pavie sums it up: “For participants to learn about and practice responsible innovation at the same time, is a singular learning-by-doing approach. Through ‘Sustainability for Common Good,’ Global MBA participants must push themselves to develop creative solutions that work, and that make a positive impact.”
This 6-month “Sustainability for Common Good” course is among ESSEC’s latest higher-education offerings in the responsible innovation space. It directly supports the school’s mission to “Enlighten, Lead and Change” our world, creating more value and making our world more sustainable, inclusive and fair. To learn more about the Global MBA Program, visit the Global MBA Program website here.
Get in touch with our team to see if the Global MBA is the right fit for you.
