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Ten years ago, IÉSEG set out a bold Vision that still drives the School today: “Empowering changemakers for a better society.” That vision has shaped its 2022–2027 strategic plan and its CSR policy, fueling the School’s rapid growth and strengthening its global reputation.

In September 2025, IÉSEG takes a new step forward with the launch of “Becoming”, a distinctive educational approach that puts human transformation at the center of the learning journey. It is designed to guide students, alumni and professionals as they navigate in a fast-changing world. With “Becoming”, IÉSEG affirms its uniqueness: supporting the personal, professional and civic transformation of each individual throughout their lives, placing human development at the center of all its efforts.

Higher Education in a time of profound change

As an EESPIG (Private Higher Education Institution of General Interest), IÉSEG has built its strong identity in a highly competitive environment. Led by its Vision, embodied daily by faculty, staff and students and shared by all its stakeholders, the School has sped up its development, strengthened its reputation and established itself as a leading player in Higher Education, both in France and abroad.

However, higher education is undergoing seismic shifts and crisis: geopolitical tensions affecting student international mobility, demographic changes (particularly the predicted decline in student numbers), technological revolution (generative and agentic AI challenging traditional ways of learning and teaching), changing expectations among businesses and young people, the emergence of new forms of competition, all in an environment marked by high uncertainty and increased volatility.

To prepare its stakeholders for these challenges, IÉSEG recently engaged more than 400 faculty, staff and students in creating a “Higher Education Fresco”, a gamified workshop designed to anticipate and reflect on the transformations shaping the future.

“Becoming“, the signature of IÉSEG’s enriched educational identity

In a world where uncertainty is the norm and complexity constantly rises, companies expect their teams to question assumptions, adapt quickly, and seize opportunities. The rapid growth of AI is also challenging higher education, underlining the need for graduates to critically evaluate knowledge, methods, and results with rigor and perspective.

“Becoming” is therefore the concrete expression of the School’s ambition to adapt its educational approach to these new challenges and meet the expectations of both students and businesses. Relying on its established strengths (high quality, top-level academic standards, scientific methods, cutting-edge research and strong graduate employability), IÉSEG nurtures well-rounded individuals who can learn, grow, and change throughout their lives with resilience and critical thinking.

« The environment in which business schools operate is changing dramatically and IÉSEG must stay ahead and adapt. With “Becoming”, our educational approach, we affirm our uniqueness: IÉSEG is the School that supports every individual in their lifelong personal, professional and civic transformation. Human development is at the core of everything we do, enriched by technology and AI in service of a high-quality learning experience.”

Caroline ROUSSEL, Dean of IÉSEG

“Becoming” educational approach goes beyond acquiring knowledge, know-how and skills at a given moment during one’s studies. It aims to develop everyone’s “becoming”, that is to say everyone’s ability to transform and grow continuously, both personally and professionally.

« Becoming » is built on three inseparable dimensions: Knowing (continuously expanding and updating knowledge); Doing (developing strong, adaptable professional skills that adapt over time); Being (cultivating human qualities and interpersonal skills over time).

These 3 dimensions – knowing, doing, being – are already deeply embedded in IÉSEG’s educational approach and remain a core part of the School’s DNA—highly valued by employers. They are now further strengthened with a focus on continuous development and personal transformation, spanning the entire journey from student recruitment to lifelong alumni support.

“Becoming” is not just for students, alumni, or participants in Executive Education programs. It also encompasses the continuous development of all IÉSEG staff, helping them grow in their professional journeys and fully embody this culture of transformation within the School.

We want to help every student and learner to continuously develop in all aspects of their personal and professional lives, transforming themselves throughout their lives and contributing positively to society. For students, this can mean exploring other disciplines that encourage them to question facts or results—for example, using a philosophy or ethics course to step back and critically assess outputs generated by artificial intelligence, or use an AI tutor as an individualized learning coach.
IÉSEG is rich in extraordinary, highly innovative educational initiatives that foster development across all dimensions of the student experience. These initiatives are driven both individually and collectively, by faculty and administrative teams alike.
“Becoming” will allow us to formalize, recognize, and expand these initiatives wherever they make sense, while accelerating their implementation with the help of AI.

Caroline ROUSSEL, Dean of IÉSEG

Three priority areas focused on human transformation

During the first half of 2025, “Becoming” was introduced to all teams, both academic and administrative, as part of an effort to embrace and jointly develop the School’s educational project. Going forward, initiatives will be developed across three main areas.

1) Enriching programs and teaching

The research conducted by IÉSEG faculty plays a key role in the “Becoming” educational approach, helping to develop critical thinking, train students in analytical skills, promote a rigorous scientific approach, and assess the reliability of information.

The redesign of Specialized Master programs and of the Grande École Program’s Master cycle (including better integration of AI into course content, teaching methods, and student support), the cross-cutting integration of CSR, particularly environmental issues, and the complete overhaul of Executive Specialized Master programs are all measures IÉSEG is taking to adapt its educational offerings to current transformations. These updates also involve revising pedagogical methods to foster the development of critical thinking.

The School continues to invest in pedagogical innovation. For example, a Sales course in the Grande École Program will incorporate the platform ‘MuchBetter.ai’, already used in Executive Education, to provide students with increasingly realistic simulations, instant and personalized feedback, suggestions for improvement, and automated assessment.

Micro-certifications, critical thinking modules and humanities courses will continue to enrich the School’s programs. For example, the Humanities Diploma (DU), developed in collaboration with Université Catholique de Lille, will be more widely available to students, and online certifications will be expanded.

Building on partnerships with leading engineering schools—CentraleSupélec for the Grande École Program and École des Ponts for customized programs—blending diverse skill sets will be a key part of “Becoming”. Depending on corporate needs, new partnerships will be established to offer an increasingly broad range of dual-degree opportunities. By tailoring their academic journey, students will be able to shape their professional and life paths their own way.

Finally, short programs and customized certification tracks, focused on strategic business evolutions, will be expanded to help companies quickly strengthen their teams’ expertise.

2) Building students’ and graduates’ personal and professional identity

Building its personal and professional identity also means learning to live and work in a multicultural world and rely on each person’s differences. In January 2026, IÉSEG will open its first international campus in Montréal, Canada. Fifty students from the Grande École Program will have the unique opportunity to gain an intercultural experience from their very first year, discovering new ways of learning and working alongside both international students and Canadian companies. They will join the first cohort of the Bachelor in Management & Tech Design, which completes part of its program on the Canadian campus in collaboration with RUBIKA.

IÉSEG has developed an innovative Career Program, providing academic credits and integrated into the core curriculum as of the first year, for all students in the Grande École Program, the Bachelors, and Specialized Master programs.
Recently launched, Career Bootcamps will be expanded across all programs at the end of each curriculum to support students’ transition into professional life. These unique events are built around an escape game format focused on soft skills, as well as workshops and talks led by alumni and partner companies, providing opportunities for guidance and networking. They help students connect knowledge, skills and personal development, reflect on their journey at IÉSEG, and effectively prepare for entering the workforce.

Finally, IÉSEG will keep strengthening personalized student support provided by the Academic Affairs and Student Experience Department. In the 2024–2025 academic year alone, no fewer than 2,535 individual meetings were held with academic advisors to address students’ needs in terms of academic success, personal development, and well-being.

To help each student find their path and grow, the School has introduced “Entrepreneur” and “High-Level Athlete” student statuses, allowing students to balance academic rigor with personal projects. For the 2025 academic year, 4 new statuses will be added: “Artist,” “Reservist,” “Caregiver,” and “Parent”. These new statuses further support students in developing their capacity for lifelong growth and civic engagement.

3) Supporting personal growth and lifelong transformation

The “Becoming” educational approach aims to support each individual in continuous development across knowledge, skills and know-how. This development continues well beyond graduation, extending throughout a lifetime.

Starting in 2026, IÉSEG will offer all of its alumni the opportunity to update their knowledge and skills. This initiative will be available during the first few years after graduation, a key period for early career development. Providing this opportunity to refresh and expand skills is especially important in a context of rapidly evolving knowledge and competencies, or for those progressing into leadership roles. By giving alumni the opportunity to continuously update their knowledge and skills through certifications and short programs, each graduate will be able to enhance both their professional and personal development throughout their career.

Student well-being and health are also at the heart of the “Becoming” educational approach, since students can only learn, grow, and develop when they are in good conditions. In this context, IÉSEG, together with its partners teale and IPSOS, will soon release the Student Mental Health Barometer. The findings from this national survey, conducted with 2,000 students in France, provide practical recommendations and actionable insights to better understand and support student well-being.

Through the “Becoming” educational approach, we give each individual the opportunity to shape their own personal and professional identity, to grow, transform, and make a positive contribution to society and to the world.
At IÉSEG, we empower open-minded, committed and agile thinkers, ready to transform organizations and society with responsibility, innovation and humanity. With “Becoming”, we further strengthen what makes IÉSEG unique—combining personal and human development with the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence.
Our students embark on a journey of personal and collective transformation, one that teaches them to think independently and differently, to question assumptions, to reflect on their relationship with others, on their own commitment, and on their role in the world—so they can bring forward new solutions to the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Caroline ROUSSEL, Dean of IÉSEG