First HEC Paris Summer School on Inclusive and Social Business
This summer from June 9th to June 20th HEC Paris is welcoming students from all over the world for their inaugural Summer School Program.
The intensive two-week program on Inclusive and Social Business is modelled after a similar three-month program that HEC offers during the school year, and will examine societal challenges that many businesses face.
Poverty is still prevalent in the developing world, and as philanthropic efforts and international institutions have limited resources for their efforts, businesses have been stepping in with market-based solutions to lessen poverty.
The professors who will be teaching the courses offered, Frédéric Dalsace and Bénédicte Faivre-Tavignot, who have designed the course which will include several guest lecturers, will focus on the new reality of what it takes to build a social enterprise, and maintain an inclusive business model.
Over the two-week period students will attend classes and work together to study innovative ways businesses are approaching social needs.
The inaugural class at the HEC Summer Program is highly diverse, coming from 20 nationalities all over the world, which mirrors the diversity that is common with all HEC Programs. Students range in age from 19-29, and have various areas of academic focus. This class diversity will allow students to learn and appreciate different points of view that they may not normally be exposed to in a typical school environment.
In addition to taking classes, students will hear presentations from guest speakers and participate in team building activities; which will allow further opportunity to learn from new perspectives and work together.
Over the two-week period participants will also work on a case study where they will be able to inspect how the Michelin Company has been able to react to societal change, and will offer insight to Michelin executives at the end of the program concerning potential ways to solve problems that the company faces.
Outside of the class environment, participants will be invited to join many of the social events on campus that HEC has planned for the program- including cinema showings, sports activities, and a wine and cheese tasting.
As HEC is located in an ideal location, near Paris and Versailles, the program will also introduce the students to life off campus. This will include a cultural excursion to the Palace of Versailles to discover the renowned French historic Castle.
Additionally, students will be given the unique opportunity to visit Paris together for a field study at a company in the city. Students will have open weekends allowing them to travel in or around Paris, and explore on their own.
The Summer Program at HEC Paris aims to give students the chance to build relationships with top students from all over the world, as well as highly-esteemed faculty and staff.
They will have the exceptional opportunity to combine classroom learning with real world experience, in order to further their understanding of what Social Business really means. HEC hopes that each student leaves feeling inspired that they are able to facilitate societal change with their work and their interactions.
Learn more about the program