The head of a prominent European business institution asserts that universities bear a responsibility to “train the leaders of tomorrow,”, particularly as global political shifts risk fragmenting economies, undoing globalization, and disrupting established routes for both skilled individuals and population movement.
TL;DR
- Universities must train future leaders amid global economic and political fragmentation, according to Vincenzo Vinzi.
- ESSEC Business School emphasizes multiculturalism and diverse experiences for its students to prepare them for global challenges.
- Stricter U.S. immigration policies and reduced funding are deterring international students, potentially benefiting European and Asian institutions.
- ESSEC's MBA program integrates sustainability, AI, entrepreneurship, and geopolitics, aiming for societal impact beyond the classroom.
“[Globally,] there is this sense of fragmentation,” Vincenzo Vinzi, the dean of ESSEC Business School, tells Coins2Day.
Essec was founded in 1907 in Paris, France, originally as the Economic Institute within the École Sainte-Geneviève. It’s now a global institute of higher education with four campuses across three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa.
As part of its signature program, students rotate through campuses in Morocco, Paris and Singapore. This builds leaders who are “multicultural,” Vinzi says—a trait he believes tomorrow’s leaders will need. “By attending classes in three continents, they are exposed to different experiences, cultures, ways of doing business, political environments and diversity as a whole,” he explains.
Established centers for advanced learning are beginning to view prospective students from abroad with increased doubt. The United States' stricter immigration policies, coupled with reductions in financial support for scientific inquiry and increased demands on leading academic institutions, are discouraging individuals from seeking enrollment at American campuses. Data from the Institute of International Education, a U.S. Charitable organization, indicates that the enrollment of new international students in the U.S. Decreased by 17% for the ongoing academic term. Similar centers for advanced learning, such as the UK and Australia, are also contemplating reductions in their intake of international applicants.
That could open up an opportunity for universities in other parts of the world, like Europe or Asia.
Vinzi states that 40% of Essec's student body comes from abroad. The most common countries of origin for students at the institution are China, India, and Morocco, he mentions. “I think that higher education—especially in business—has a societal role we need to fully undertake: to train the leaders of tomorrow,” he further comments.
Essec’s MBA program is built around four key pillars: sustainability, human-centred AI, entrepreneurship and geopolitics. “You don’t have to be a politician to care about these topics. As a leader of a company, you need to understand the links between geopolitics, [current affairs] and business,” Vinzi explains.
The institution adopts a 'transversal' strategy for the four key domains, integrating them into current course material instead of presenting them as distinct subjects, he clarifies. “It’s not a matter of simply adding courses on geopolitics, AI and sustainability, but understanding them within, for instance, the area of finance,”
The AI revolution
Higher education is also undergoing a transformation due to artificial intelligence. Business programs are placing greater importance on exercises that cultivate not only technical proficiencies but also essential human capabilities.
“Our pedagogical model is enriched by experiences—it goes beyond what is taught in the classroom,” Vinzi said.
He pointed to the school's iMagination Week as an illustration, which seeks to “enrich students culturally” by removing them from the academic setting. This year's event included paleoclimatologist Valerie Masson-Delmotte, rock climber Catherine Destivelle, and astrophysicist Fatoumata Kébé. Students “meet people who come from many other domains, not necessarily business and management—who are a source of inspiration, who stimulate their creativity,” Vinzi stated.
When questioned about his aspirations for ESSEC, Vinzi expressed a desire for the institution to be progressive, offering education in niche subjects and fostering connections between different academic fields. “We have to break silos between academia and civil society as a whole. I think it’s very important that higher education institutions are not ivory towers,” he stated.
Vinzi highlights that investigations ought to be not only thorough but also pertinent to the community.
“At the end of the day, the mission of the business school is to have a positive impact on society—through the research of our professors, and the [work of] our graduates,” he said.