Montpellier Business School announces the departure of its Dean, Didier Jourdan
Montpellier Business School announces the departure of its Dean, Didier Jourdan (64). After 26 years at the helm of the Grande Ecole, leading its spectacular development, Dr. Didier Jourdan will retire at the end of the year.
Director since 1992 of Montpellier Business School, Didier Jourdan has built the exceptional growth of the School upon a strategic vision unique in the business & management schools’ landscape: a parallel development of academic excellence and social footprint, in accordance with the values of Ethics, Openness and Diversity and Overall Accountability and Performance of the institution.
Under the direction of Didier Jourdan, the former ESC Montpellier has greatly evolved to become Montpellier Business School, 13th best French School of Management, at the gateway to the world’s Top 50, strong of more than 3600 students, of which 1000 are foreigners.
“Dr. Didier Jourdan has truly embodied the school and leaves a deep mark on our institution, more than a century old and today ready to open a new chapter of its development”, declared Jean-Christophe Arguillère, President of Montpellier Business School.
Didier Jourdan is replaced at the direction of the school, until a future recruitment is completed, by Mr. Didier Grino (Secretary General), surrounded by the school’s Executive Committee.
Le Figaro 2019’s ranking: MBS moves up 4 places and ranks 13th
Published on Wednesday 21st of November, Le Figaro’s 2019 ranking of business schools ranked Montpellier Business School and its Grande Ecole Programme in the 13th position among post-preparatory business schools (14th for all schools combined).
This 13th place is mainly synonymous with strong growth since MBS has moved up 4 places in this ranking which “highlights academic excellence, corporate relations and the international outreach of schools”.
Also synonymous with recognition for MBS, this 13th place is in line with the most recent national and international rankings: 12th for le Parisien and Challenges, 13th for l’Etudiant, 13th for the Financial Times and 10th for QS.
L’Etudiant 2019 ranking: MBS ranks the 13th best post-preparatory class Grande Ecole of Management 2019
Published on Tuesday, November 6th, the new “General ranking of the major management schools of 2019” of l’Etudiant magazine classifies the Montpellier Business School as the 13th best major post-preparatory class Management school (14th of all schools).
With 38 major schools ranked this year and despite the increasingly strong and qualitative competition, this 13th place, which is a recognition for MBS, confirms the progress made in 2018 in this national ranking.
Among the three main sub-criteria highlighted by l’Etudiant, it should be noted that MBS moved up a place in “Academic Excellence” (11th) and “International Excellence” (13th), and 2 places in “Proximity with businesses” (12th).
This place in the French Top 15 is also a confirmation of MBS’ progression in the most recent national and international rankings: 12th for Le Parisien and Challenges, 13th in France for the Financial Times and 10th for QS.
Montpellier Business School and Sage sign a Major Partnership
On Tuesday the 6th of November, Pierre Farouz, HR manager for Sage Southern Europe and Didier Grino, Secretary-General of Montpellier Business School, signed a partnership agreement marking the merger of the two institutions around an important sharing of common values and a broader collaboration in the recruitment of students and recent graduates. Sage, the international leader in software publishing, has become the 49th major historical business partner of Montpellier Business School.
A partnership based on shared values and students’ employability
This partnership primarily reflects our ambition to share common values: diversity and equal opportunities. It also reflects a desire to extend an already strong collaboration by the recruitment of MBS students and graduates through privileged access to internships, apprenticeship contracts and jobs within Sage.
Matthias Bauland, Deputy Managing Director in charge of Development at Montpellier Business School, states: “At Montpellier Business School, the employability of our students and graduates is our first priority through our academic excellence, the depth of our social footprint and our strong international focus. We are seeking to naturally surround ourselves with companies that adhere to this ambition and share our values. Our partnership with Sage is exemplary in this area: the promotion of diversity and equal opportunities is one of our major concerns. Beyond what we can set up together in the fields of recruitment and Executive Education, we would like to work together on projects with a strong social impact.”
Founded in 1981, Sage, which has today more than 13,000 employees in 23 countries and 3 million customers worldwide, aims to boost the success of businesses and their communities through innovative software solutions as well as the expertise and creativity of its employees.
In order to enable its students to discover and access the wide range of professions offered by its 49th major partner, Montpellier Business School and Sage took advantage of this partnership to set up a first promotional action on the campus of the Grande Ecole of Management of Montpellier. Thus, on Tuesday, the 6th of November, a conference by Pierre Farouz on the theme “Digital revolution and business transformation” preceded an “exchange and recruitment” meeting with Sage’s HR teams.
Pierre Farouz, HR manager at Sage Southern Europe, explains: “This partnership with Montpellier Business School is part of a broader approach of Sage’s CSR. All of our actions, whether economic, human or societal, are all constituent elements of our brand’s DNA. At Sage, we believe that all of our daily postures and behaviours must be part of a process of mutual aid and solidarity. That is why we are particularly committed today with Montpellier Business School in order to promote and develop learning and thus contribute to equal opportunities”.
By signing this major partnership agreement, Sage is also joining the Advisory Board of Montpellier Business School, a structure that monitors business developments and advises the Grande Ecole of Management on its global strategy and international development.
From management control to special effects! Interview with Yann Jouannic, a Class of 2000 graduate
Yann Jouannic, a 2000 graduate of the MBS Grande Ecole Programme (management control specialisation), currently works in the film industry in Montreal, Canada. At 43 years old, he remembers the years spent at MBS and tells us about his rich and unique career. A journey that even led him to win the 2018 Canadian Screen Award for Best Visual Effects!
What has been your career path within Montpellier Business School?
I had joined the first year of the MBS Programme after a preparatory class (two academic years) for Grandes Ecoles. If I had chosen MBS it was because of the quality and diversity of its programmes as well as its international outlook. During my studies, I had the opportunity to do an internship in London, to get involved in the student association Le Bureau des Arts, to take a year off to acquire professional experience in management control at Canal+ financial department and then to take up the post of management controller at PSG during my last year.
What do you remember from these MBS years?
Openness, especially to the international economy, and gaining a general understanding of business management. And not to mention the adaptability and flexibility to changes in the environment. I also remember the organization of the short film festival! This experience then was only the beginning of my involvement in a career where I have always tried to find a way to combine my work and my passion for cinema. MBS is also about meeting other students who have become 20-year-old friends!
How did your “after MBS” go?
Not at all as I imagined it as a student! In fact, after 6 years of management control at Canal+, rather than continuing and evolving within a financial department, I turned to film production. I started from scratch to learn how to prepare for and organize a film shoot as a studio manager. I think that my ability to adapt, my general vision of management and above all my willingness have allowed me to progress and gradually take responsibility for all kinds of projects, from independent French films to American blockbusters.
What is your job status now?
I am a project manager in production at VFX in Montreal. These are the visual effects in post-production of the films, i.e. after the shooting. I work on a daily basis with clients and producers, as well as VFX artists and supervisors to plan projects and determine resource needs etc. To explain a little to those who wonder what this is all about, the examples that would be easier to be understood by the spectators are those where imaginary environments are created to replace the green landscape behind the actors.
What advice would you give to future MBS graduates?
Keep an open mind about the opportunities that may arise. Don’t forget what you really want to do and what you are passionate about. A degree in management has the advantage of being very general and opening all of the doors if you’re able to use up all of your will power on it. The opportunities do not stop with CAC40 companies or the large multinationals that are talked about every day in the media. You will probably not all going to end up CEOs, but you can all express yourselves successfully and at the same time improve 2 or 3 things around you.
Meeting with Carolina and Atik, the MBS Foundation’ new international scholarship recipients
Carolina and Atik arrived in Montpellier in early September. They are MBS Foundation for Equal Opportunities’ new international excellence scholarship recipients. They have joined the 2nd year of the Grande Ecole programme’s English track, and are already well integrated after a short period of adaptation, including 3 weeks of intensive French classes.
A native of Venezuela, Carolina completed her Bachelor’s degree at Simon Bolivar University in Caracas. She is passionate about management and already has a business creation project that she is looking to set up in her country after her studies in France. Carolina is also convinced that the path to success lies in “optimizing human resources and promoting an open, innovative and diverse environment“.
For his part, Atik comes from Bangladesh and holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Limkokwing Creative Technology in Malaysia. Before joining MBS, he was supported by the French Embassy in Dhaka, which allowed him to learn some basic French. Passionate about sports, Atik’s project is to help his family’s business grow upon his return to his country thanks to the teaching carried out during the Grande Ecole Programme.
Every year, the Montpellier Business School Foundation for Equal Opportunities is issuing a call for applications for 2 international excellence scholarship grants, offered intended to students coming from several countries selected by the members of the Executive Committee: developing countries or countries facing particular difficulties (war situations or very severe economic hurdles). Countries such as Syria, Haiti, Colombia, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Mali have already been represented by the various winners since the international excellence scholarship was created in 2012.
Signing of a Major Partnership between Banque Populaire du Sud and MBS
On Tuesday 25 September 2018, Pierre Chauvis, Executive Director of Banque Populaire du Sud, Didier Grino, Secretary General of Montpellier Business School, and Matthias Bauland, Deputy Dean in charge of development at MBS, signed a partnership agreement marking the start of a joint collaboration between the two institutions around a managerial training programme.
Banque Populaire du Sud thus becomes the 48th Major Partner of the Grande Ecole of Management
The signing of this major partnership, at Montpellier Business School Campus, preceded the certification ceremony of the Banque Populaire du Sud 1st promotion in the presence of newly certified participants, members of the Bank’s Executive Committee, as well as the entire MBS team.
“For Montpellier Business School, providing major partners with the benefit of our expertise in terms of recruitment and, above all, in terms of Executive Education is a major strategic focus”, says Matthias Bauland, Deputy Dean in charge of Development at MBS. “This signature marks the concrete fulfilment of a collaboration initiated 2 years ago around the construction of our first joint executive education programme, which MBS has developed custom-made. The academic excellence of our programmes has enabled us to provide a response to their high requirements in terms of skills acquisition”.
“With the signing of this 48th major partnership, we are celebrating an already successful collaboration and affirming our shared values of responsibility and commitment to the development of our territory”, adds Matthias Bauland.
A tailor-made training to support employees
On this occasion, the 2 partners are sustaining this effort by launching the training of a second promotion of managers. This launch once again gives a practical expression to this collaboration, which began in 2015 when Banque Populaire du Sud expressed its need to support employees with high potential in the acquisition of managerial skills. MBS then proposed a tailor-made and BADGE-certified training programme (accredited by the Conférence of Grandes Ecoles) Top Manager PME/Business Unit, spread over a period of 18 months. The objective was to prepare managers for the changes in a sector that is constantly evolving, to equip them and make them reach new heights.
A multifaceted commitment
By choosing MBS as its major partner, Banque Populaire du Sud is thus expressing its desire to maintain indefinitely the professional training designed for its employees and perpetuate the relationships established with the Grande Ecole of Management. The 2 institutions are also committed to extending their collaboration to other levels: recruitment of students and young graduates (internships, apprenticeship contracts and jobs) or research and educational development (conferences, seminars, examination boards, etc.).
“For Banque Populaire du Sud, the objective of the partnership agreement is to combine our common values to carry out concrete actions and to share our mutual expertise in all our activities,” explains Pierre Chauvois, Executive Director of Banque Populaire du Sud. “Bringing the world of education and business closer together is fundamental. Today, we need to be open and attentive to changes. The world is changing, I am thinking in particular of the digital revolution. Becoming one of MBS major partners gives us the opportunity to exchange with other companies. I hope that our partnership will be sustainable, effective, inspiring and that it will serve our territory and the men and women who live there and make it truly alive”.
QS Global Business Master’s Ranking 2019: the MBS Grande Ecole Programme in the French top 10
Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), the reference body for its world university rankings, has just published its 2019 ranking of the best business Masters in Management and Finance in the world.
Montpellier Business School has recorded several very good results, starting with a national top 10 and an increase of 5 places worldwide! The MBS Grande Ecole Programme thus takes 10th place in France among the top business schools and 66th in the world. This new good ranking follows that of the Financial Times 2018, which ranked MBS 52nd in the world and 13th among the best Grande Ecole programmes in France.
In addition, the MBS Master of Science in Marketing ranks 7th in France for Masters in Marketing degrees (46th worldwide) and the MSc in Finance ranks 9th best Master in Finance in France (101st worldwide).
The QS rankings take into account 5 main criteria which are the employability of graduates, the diversity of students and faculty members, the intellectual leadership, the price-quality ratio of the training (return on investment) and alumni salaries. In other good news, Montpellier Business School obtains a score of 100/100 in Diversity and thus occupies the 1st place in France and worldwide, based on this criterion.
Financial Times Ranking 2018: MBS moves up one place to rank 52nd best Master in Management in the world
The Financial Times’ new ranking of the world’s best Masters in Management was published on Monday 10 September and the MBS Grande Ecole Programme posted a very good result, ranking 52nd. Despite the context of ever-increasing international competition and the entry into the ranking of 5 new schools, MBS has moved up one place compared to 2017, while remaining the 13th best Grande Ecole programme in France.
The 2018 Financial Times Ranking, which is considered as a global benchmark, includes the top 100 Masters in Management in the world, representing 27 countries. And among the indicators considered this year, MBS is making significant progress in terms of “the international mobility of graduates”, “the efficiency of its career service” and “the percentage of international professors”. On this last item, Montpellier Business School even moved from 26th to 16th place worldwide.
Recognized as the most prestigious international ranking, this 2018 Financial Times ranking confirms the recent good rankings of the MBS Grande Ecole programme with a 13th place in the 2018 SIGEM national rankings and a 12th place in Le Parisien 2018 rankings.
New BSIS audit: the economic impact of MBS on its territory amounts to nearly 260 Million euros
At the end of 2017, Montpellier Business School renewed the Business School independent audit “Business School Impact Survey” (BSIS) to measure the school’s economic impact at local and regional level. The results were presented on Wednesday 27 June by Professor Michel Kalika, auditor and co-Director of BSIS, and are up 60% from 2014.
Launched in 2012 by the National Foundation for the Teaching of Business Management (FNEGE), the BSIS system enables to assess the impact of a Business School on its environment on the basis of its specific features account and mission and via a quantitative and qualitative methodology. MBS, through the dual commitment of academic excellence and global responsibility that it has set itself, has naturally turned to this system with the aim of pursuing a continuous improvement approach.
258 million euros of economic impact on the region
During the first audit carried out in 2014, the results obtained demonstrated that beyond its worldwide influence and its internationalisation strategy, MBS also plays a real, concrete and quantifiable role for the economic and social development of its own territory. Renewed in 2017, the BSIS audit now shows the evolution of this impact, estimated at 251 million euros on the region Montpellier Metropole and 258 million euros on the Occitanie region, an increase of 60% from 2014.
Global influence on the territory and international influence
Beyond this economic impact, the audit report showed the overall positive influence of MBS on the regional ecosystem. That translates into major joint research activities and educational partnerships with the University of Montpellier, participation in the development of businesses through internships and apprenticeship training (490 full-time equivalents made available on the territory in 2016-2017), but also into a strong commitment to a large number of regional stakeholders who share MBS values of openness, diversity and equal opportunities.
“MBS is certainly one of the French institutions of higher management education that has done the most to promote diversity and provide the necessary support, both for students and staff,” pointed out the auditor and co-Director of BSIS. “It is ascertainable that there is an extraordinary diversity of actions undertaken by all of the actors within the school to benefit the environment, people in difficulty, students and businesses. MBS carries out its actions based on the values it upholds and defends”.
In accordance with the mission Montpellier Business School has set itself, this report reflects the academic, economic, social and societal footprint that the school has been able to create and develop in the region ; an anchoring and a reputation enabling it to contribute significantly to the region’s influence on an international scale.
