Eloïc Peyrache meets with high school students and alumni in the south of france
Eloïc Peyrache, the Dean of HEC Paris traveled to Thiers high school in Marseille and Massena high school in Nice to encourage students to enroll in preparatory courses and inform them of the support schemes and financial aid open to Preparatory candidates. This trip was also an opportunity to meet with Alumni and donors based in the region.
Regional engagement for equal opportunities is one of HEC’s priorities.
The Dean of the School headed to the south of France in late February to meet the region’s high school students. He was accompanied by HEC students who had attended Thiers (Marseille) and Massena (Nice) High Schools, along with Joséphine Haquet, Director of Communication at HEC; Hélène Bermond, the HEC Paris Equal Opportunities Task Officer, and Hélène Gronier, Head of Development at the HEC Foundation.
Two meetings were organized in the high schools in Marseille and Nice to answer students’ queries, encourage them to enroll in preparatory classes, present the various business schools and provide students with the tools to make the right training choices.
Eloïc Peyrache also spoke about the equal opportunities schemes set up by HEC some fifteen years ago, such as the grants « HEC pour tous » awarded to scholarship students on preparatory courses. Applications rose by 15% this year, and we granted 581 scholarships in more than 120 high schools across France. We could not help all these students each year without the generosity of the Foundation’s patrons.
At HEC, 50% of our students took their high school leaving exam outside of the Île-de-France region. As the purpose of HEC is to have an impact on a nationwide level, the second reason for this visit is to meet with local players, businesses and public bodies, to discuss entrepreneurship, business development and equal opportunity projects.
Eloic Peyrache, Dean of HEC Paris
With around 2,000 alumni in the Provence and Côte d'Azur Groups, Southern France represents the second-biggest community of Alumni in France after the Paris region. An active community which hopes to contribute to HEC’s regional impact!
This trip to the south of France also provided an opportunity to meet with Foundation donors and former graduates of HEC Paris living in this region. Over dinner in Marseille and lunch in Nice, the HEC teams discussed the School’s key challenges, such as the renovation of the campus, the contribution of our community to the major societal issues of diversity and transition, strategic partnerships, the boom in entrepreneurship, and more. The Dean also reminded participants of the HEC Foundation’s key role in the School’s new economic model and to make our equal opportunities programmes possible.
Eloïc Peyrache was interviewed by La Provence newspaper, in connection with these visits.