Press release
NEOMA Business School: an improved Master in Management Programme and a redesigned start to the 2020 academic year
Published on 11 June 2020 by NEOMA
NEOMA Business School has unveiled the redesign of its Master in Management Programme. Three key themes now structure the curriculum, which is also enriched by a new teaching system based on peer-learning. Four new courses of excellence combining expertise and international immersion complete this evolution. Effective from September, this overhaul is part of an unprecedented context in which NEOMA is rethinking the start of the new academic year in depth, with the aim of encouraging on-campus attendance, international departures and the reception of international students despite the current circumstances.
Three key themes: Becoming a player in tomorrow’s world, understanding new professions and addressing the challenges of sustainable transition
“The constant evolution of the Master in Management Programme is a natural process. It is a curriculum that must constantly anticipate the changes in our environment“, explains Delphine Manceau, Dean of NEOMA Business School. “Even if it was conceived before the crisis, this redesign is fully in line with the current challenges of sustainable transition, the evolution of professions and business practices”.
The redesign of the Master in Management Programme is characterised firstly by the introduction of three themes directly related to the challenges of the 21st century: becoming an actor in tomorrow’s world, understanding new professions and addressing the challenges of sustainable transition. “Each theme will be introduced by a seminar, a real highlight that will allow students to begin structuring their thinking on these complex subjects. This will be followed by courses and conferences led by experts. Our objective is for each student to fully grasp these three key issues for the future.”
4 new courses to combine international experience and cutting-edge expertise
In terms of international experience, NEOMA Business School has always defended a very strong immersive approach. “We believe that sending students abroad in small cohorts, combined with the academic excellence of the partner, are the two key ingredients for a successful immersive and intercultural experience“. At the start of the 2020 academic year, four new courses of excellence combining cutting-edge expertise and international immersion will be offered to students.
– Two new immersive courses
The new ‘Future in Europe’ and ‘Future in Latin America’ programmes will be based on the same model as ‘Future in Asia’, which was launched in 2019. They will offer students with a passion for a region and culture the opportunity to follow two academic semesters in two different countries, as well as two internships on site. “For these two new courses, the School relies on the best local partners in order to guarantee students an experience combining excellence and local immersion,” explains Delphine Manceau. “For example, we can mention IE Business School in Spain for the course in Europe, and Universidad del Pacifico in Peru for the course in Latin America”.
– Two new expertise tracks
The Master in Management Programme also offers two expertise tracks: “Global in Finance” and “Global in CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility)“. “Thanks to these tracks, students will be able to compare points of view and build a solid and globalized vision on finance and CSR issues. They will follow two academic semesters abroad, in universities recognised for these specialisations, such as Bentley University in the United States for the Finance course. “For the CSR course, Scandinavia being at the forefront of environmental and societal issues, we are proud to count among our partners BI Norwegian Business School in Norway, Jönköping University in Sweden and Jyväskylä University in Finland.”
The introduction of peer-learning in the service of the learning ecosystem
In line with its desire to constantly challenge learning practices, the Master in Management Programme has adopted a new pedagogical approach based on peer-learning with the NEOSMART system. “The student is the bearer of knowledge. With this new system, the objective is to activate methods of sharing and exchange.”
NEOSMART capitalises on the students’ knowledge and their desire to pass it on to their peers. The teacher will accompany this transmission by helping the student mentors to become aware of their knowledge and by mobilising the right methods to transmit it. “Several courses are concerned by this new teaching format, such as data analysis, economics and accounting.
A new school year in 2020 that will be unlike any other
In a context marked by profound uncertainties about the conditions in which teaching and campus life will take place, NEOMA is defending an assertive pedagogical approach: blended-learning, mixing face-to-face and distance learning. “The school is working on a model that is both hybrid and flexible, adaptable to the situation. It will be built around 60% face-to-face courses dedicated to exchanges and debate and 40% distance learning for the more technical sessions,” explains Delphine Manceau. “The 100% digital challenge has been successfully met in recent months, but the experience we have just had has also highlighted the invaluable contribution of face-to-face teaching.”
As regards the international exchanges for the start of the 2020 academic year, which should involve almost 1,000 students, the School is relying on its network of 330 international partners to maximise the chances of departure in September, while leaving each student free to decide whether or not to maintain his or her exchange. The School is thus able to offer more than 500 guaranteed places. “The historical relationships we have with our partners around the world allow us to compensate for the closure of certain universities by offering places at other institutions.” Students who do not wish to leave at the beginning of the academic year will be able to postpone their exchange to the following year.
As far as the reception of international students is concerned, NEOMA is anticipating a late opening of non-EU borders, making their arrival from September onwards more difficult. “We are developing a system based on three methods in order to respond to all situations“. The postponed start of the academic year in October has been decided for programmes with a majority of international students. “For example, we have postponed the start of the MSc programmes to mid-October” to give students time to arrive. In addition, the possibility of starting the year remotely will allow international students who cannot be present at the beginning of the school year to start their course from their country of origin. Finally, a second intake in January will be offered for certain courses.
In addition to the courses, a full range of 100% online services will be deployed to welcome them with a distance integration offer, career services, wellbeing facilities, e-incubators and the Library. “These services are an integral part of the NEOMA offer and experience. Our students, even 10,000 km from our campuses, must be able to benefit fully from them.”