Scholarship award ceremonies like no others!

The ‘traditional’ scholarship award ceremonies were held on September 7 and 21 for incoming doctoral and scholarship MBA students. But due to the exceptional nature of the 2020/2021 academic year, we have had to adapt!

This year, only two of the usual three scholarship ceremonies for new arrivals on campus could be held. In light of the current health crisis, we were unfortunately unable to welcome the international scholarship students of the Master in Management in compliance with the government health regulations. There is a positive note, however: this year we awarded 50 more excellence scholarships to international students of the Master in Management than we did in the previous year. 309 international students should have received their scholarship certificate for the start of this academic year, compared to 259 students in 2019!

Regarding the other scholarship students for this 2020/2021 academic year, 50 MBA students and 9 doctoral students were invited to a lunch or evening event to receive their scholarship certificates.

Monday, September 7: scholarship award ceremony for MBA students

On September 7, the scholarship students on the MBA program came together in the Pierre Bellon lecture hall in the presence of Andrea Masini, Associate Professor and Deputy Director of the HEC MBA, and Déborah Aringoli, Director of International Development at the HEC Foundation. The ceremony was held in full compliance with health regulations, i.e. masks, ‘elbow shakes’ when receiving their awards, and a video-conference meeting with one of our donors (in normal circumstances, a donor honors us with their presence during these ceremonies).

This year, the MBA students had the opportunity to talk to one of our Major Donors, François Pérol (H.85), Manager of Rothschild & Co. and Managing Partner of Rothschild & Cie Banque and Rothschild Martin Maurel. Mr. Pérol congratulated the students and emphasized the importance of education in his view. The students listened attentively to François Pérol’s precious advice and were able to ask him a number of questions on his studies at the School and his professional experience.

See below for an extract of his speech in English, in which the donor explains to the students that the teaching they have had and are about to receive is the only thing they can take with them if they suddenly need to change their life someday.

Monday, septembre 21: scholarship award ceremony for new phd students

Two weeks later, it was the turn of the 9 incoming doctoral students to receive their scholarship certificates. In order to attract the best doctoral students and place them in the most renowned institutions, the HEC Foundation allocates a significant annual budget to the funding of doctoral scholarships. Thanks once more to the support of patrons, all doctoral students will receive financial aid from Foundation this year.
In 2020, more than €1 million were allocated to PhD students thanks to the generosity of donors. During their program, the doctoral students of HEC Paris will publish their first research articles in their field of specialization. They play a key role in the international renown of HEC; on receiving their doctorates, they head off to become professors at prestigious universities such as Harvard, Wharton, MIT or Princeton.

During the ceremony, and in keeping with tradition, the Executive Director of the HEC Foundation, Delphine Colson (H.94) personally handed over the certificate to each doctoral student, at a lunch event at the Château in the presence of Kristine de Valck, Head of the Doctorate program, and Jacques Olivier, Dean of Research Faculty at HEC Paris. 

Sylvia Metayer (H.86), Strategy & Growth Director at Sodexo, the Major Donor invited to preside over the ceremony this year, was unfortunately unable to attend the event, but left a letter for the students in the care of Delphine Colson.

I am so very sorry not to be with you today to celebrate your success… but as you know these are very strange times indeed, and I have to attend an emergency meeting for Sodexo. I congratulate you on what you have been able to achieve in spite of all the uncertainties of the last 9 months, I wish you all the best as you now go forward… and the one advice I give to everybody these days: keep your eyes, ears open for what the “new normal” will look like , and be part of those that bring solutions to this anxiety of uncertainty that we are facing! There are to be sure there are many challenges but there are also so many opportunities for change, for good, for better that we can bring if we rae careful to look for the insights.  Have a great ceremony and once again I wish I could be with you.

A huge thank you to our loyal donors, Sylvia Metayer and Francois Perol, for their engagement and participation in these ceremonies. These unique opportunities to discuss and share experience are always highly appreciated by the future graduates of HEC Paris.