"Generations 2050": EDHEC launches its new strategic plan 2024-2028

Reducing carbon emissions, protecting biodiversity, reducing inequalities, guaranteeing access to education: 2050 will be a crucial date for humanity. It’s also the year in which EDHEC’s generation 2050 – born during the course of the new strategic plan - will reach graduation age. "Our legacy for future generations depends on the ability of companies to reinvent their business model to serve the common good, emphasises Emmanuel Métais, Dean of EDHEC Business School. This new plan is dedicated to accelerating the world's major transformations. Its implementation will be based on our impact-driven research, our teaching and the commitment of our graduates". 

The four-year strategic plan will be backed by a €270 million budget, including €112 million devoted to our campuses. This investment is rendered possible by the School’s unique financial model, based on disciplined management, high-impact research and the support of the EDHEC Foundation.

In order to turn the School’s ambitions into reality, EDHEC prepared Generations 2050 around three major strategic priorities: rethinking business models to serve the common good, training students to transform organisations and accelerating climate finance. 

Priority 1: Advance Net Positive Business

One of the ambitions of "Générations 2050" is to go beyond the notion of CSR, to support companies in creating "net positive" businesses.

Based on this approach, the school will capitalise on its Centre for Responsible Entrepreneurship, whose Responsible by Design (RED) methodology, created in 2023, will be systematised in all incubation and pre-incubation programs. This methodology will also be offered as an open source to all entrepreneurs.

The acceleration of major societal transitions also requires the creation of fully sustainable startups, and the transformation of existing businesses. EDHEC is launching a Centre for Net Positive Business, based on the expertise and work of the Foresight, Innovation and Transformation (FIT) and UNESCO chairs. Headed by Professor René Rohrbeck, the Centre for Net positive Business will contribute to the evolution of business models, and provide a benchmark for measuring this positive impact.

The development of responsible entrepreneurship and the Centre for Net Positive Business will be fuelled by €21 million of investment over the next four years. 

Priority 2: Empower to transform

Today, 80% of young people at business schools consider that societal impact will be a determining factor in their choice of a job.

This observation led the school to design a new skills framework: EDHEC Impact Skills Model. Constructed by the NewGen Talent Centre, , this framework will be integrated into a new track - the Transformative Journey – from the start of the 2024-2025 academic year. The Transformative Journey will centre on the development of new core classes, practical workshops, projects and event days, for all of the School’s programmes. It will account for a minimum of 20% of ECTS credits.

In addition, "Générations 2050" aims to strengthen the societal impact of the student association experience. To this end, the school has created the Citizen Associations label. Based on strict criteria (ethics and governance, social impact and environmental impact), this formal recognition will assess the skills and inclusive culture of associations. The school will support this civic transition, so that 100% of its student associations are involved in this process by 2028.

Priority 3: Accelerate climate finance

The "Generations 2050" plan builds on research and initiatives already undertaken at EDHEC to promote investment models committed to climate issues. It also aims to train all students in new practices.

In pursuit of this objective, EDHEC is creating a "Climate Finance School", headed by the EDHEC Risk Climate Impact Institute. This initiative will pool expertise and disseminate knowledge and best practices in climate finance. The Climate Finance School will involve all EDHEC students (awareness-raising in core courses, acquisition of basic skills in finance programs, in-depth training in sustainable finance specialisations) and all the school's stakeholders.

The school is also pursuing the development of Scientific Portfolio, a new FinTech venture originated from EDHEC Business School’s applied research ecosystem. Its mission is to help investors independently analyse and construct equity portfolios. In line with EDHEC’s positioning on “impact research”, Scientific Portfolio conducts and shares research outputs in finance that support the design of an integrated framework where financial and extra-financial (ESG) considerations are jointly captured in portfolio analysis and construction.

Academic excellence

EDHEC continues to make academic excellence an imperative. This intellectual challenge will be reflected in the recruitment of 100 professors and researchers by 2028, bringing the total to 270 by the end of the plan.

It also means linking excellence and social diversity, and thus enriching the experience of all the school's students. Projects such as Ascension EDHEC, launched in April 2024 in partnership with Empower College, should contribute to this, as should the resources allocated to the development of scholarships, which are expected to total 75 million euros by 2028. Last but not least, it is reflected in the pursuit of partnerships of excellence with leading international schools and universities.

Augmented experience

Committed to projects linked to the rise of artificial intelligence and its use in education and business, the school is launching the EDHEC AI cross-functional initiative. Its ambition: to structure and accelerate all the school's projects on this subject (programs and research work). In addition, 20 million euros are being invested in the implementation of new pedagogical approaches piloted by the PILab, and in the development of EDHEC Online and its personalised student pathways.

Particular attention will be paid to the campuses, to ensure that they remain exceptional places for all students, offering optimal learning conditions, as well as great experiences, encounters and commitment, in a collaborative and inclusive environment.

Investments totalling 112 million euros will be made in this direction on the EDHEC campuses in Lille and Nice, as the school reintegrates its heritage, both built and landscaped, into the heart of exceptional metropolises.
 

• Find out more about EDHEC Business School's strategy

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