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Press Pack

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• About SKEMA 3 o History 3

o Governance 3

o Key figures 3

o Ambitions, missions and vision 4

• Programs 5

o ESDHEM 5

o Bachelors 5

o Grande École 6

o Masters of science 6

o Mastères spécialisés 7

o Doctorates, PHD 7

o Continuing Education 7

• International 8

• Campus 9

o Lille 9

o Paris 9

o Sophia Antipolis 10

o Raleigh 10

o Suzhou 10

o Casablanca 10

• Corporate Relations 12

o My way 12

o Internships 12

o Apprenticeships 13

o Graduate employment 13

• Alumni network 14

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About SKEMA

History

CERAM Business School was founded in 1963 by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of

Nice Cote d’Azur. The ESC Lille was founded in 1892 by the Chamber of Commerce of Lille.

The merger of these two schools was announced on 30 June 2009 and resulted in the

creation of new entity, SKEMA Business School, on 16 November of the same year. The

name SKEMA comes from the ancient Greek, skhêma (form, figure, formation) which

became schema in Latin, schéma or schème in French – and schema or scheme in English.

SKEMA is also an acronym denoting « School of Knowledge Economy and MAnagement ».

Governance

SKEMA Business School is an institute of Private Higher Business Education (Haut

Enseignement Commercial privé). Its legal status is that of an association under the French

1901 law for non-profit making associations. The school’s governance is regulated by the

following decision making bodies:

• The Board of Directors and General Assembly

• The Strategic Advisory Board (SAB)

• The International Advisory Board (IAB)

• The Research Advisory Committee (RAC)

Key figures

SKEMA Teaching and Research

166 permanent professors

Over 200 research publications per year

An average of 70 CNRS stars per year

SKEMA University Partnerships

111 international agreements (44 % EQUIS and/or AACSB accredited)

12 joint degree agreements in the Grande École program

SKEMA Students and Network

24,000 graduates worldwide

6,100 students

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SKEMA Budget 2010/ 2011

60 million €

Ambitions, missions and vision

The knowledge economy has brought about a profound transformation of the industrial

economy. The knowledge-based economy refers to a new phase of economic history, which

began in the late 1990’s; it brought the creation and use of knowledge to the very core of

value creation. This change is so important that in the year 2000, Europe declared its wish to

become « the most competitive and dynamic knowledge economy, able to achieve

sustainable growth along with a qualitative and quantitative improvement in employment

and social cohesion ».

SKEMA’s project for teaching and learning is firmly based on the knowledge economy, and as

such, ushers in a new era in the world of business schools.

SKEMA aims to foster the development of managers and leaders able to understand their

environment and generate sustainable performance. These new managers will be ethical

and aware of their responsibilities, their humanist outlook will encourage them to «make a

difference ». Trained to recognize the challenges of corporate social responsibility and

sustainable performance, these decision makers will be in tune with new managerial

practices and experienced in critical thinking. They will master essential future domains of

expertise such as generating and managing innovation, managing knowledge and

information, managing intangibles and being able to lead virtual teams in multicultural

environments.

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Programs

ESDHEM

ESDHEM stands for École Supérieure Des Hautes Etudes en Management (School for Higher

Education in Management studies). It is an innovative concept based on SKEMA’s fruitful

collaboration with Ge.Sup & Ge.Spé since 1994. ESDHEM not only offers a degree

qualification recognized by a partner university, but also comprises a two or three year

program which includes an intensive preparation for the competitive entrance examinations

for French Grandes Ecoles in management. These examinations can be taken either after

two years of post baccalaureate study (for entrance into the 1st year of the Grande Ecole) or

three years of post baccalaureate study for entrance into the second year of the GE

program.

The intensive preparation enables students to:

• Maximize their chances of getting into a French Business School (grande école de

commerce)

• Facilitate continuing studies abroad

• Continue university studies at Masters level

• Participate in other French competitive exams, for example Sciences Po or schools of

Journalism

• Enter the competitive exam for employment in public office (category A).

3 tracks:

• Law (Law Degree + competitive exam preparation)

• Management (Management degree + competitive exam preparation)

• Management with apprenticeship (Management degree + competitive exam)

Location:

• SKEMA campus Lille

• SKEMA campus Paris La Villette

• Lycée Stanislas Paris

• Lycée Perrimond Marseille

Bachelors

The Bachelors diploma is recognized worldwide as the first level of qualification in further

education. Depending on the specialization, a Bachelor diploma can lead directly to the job

market, or to a higher level of further education such as a Master of Science or Master 2.

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These typically involve 12 to 18 months further study, and are recognized in France as « bac

+ 5 » qualifications.

SKEMA Bachelors offers a four-year international program with 5 different tracks covering

over 21 specializations.

Each specialization comprises:

• Compulsory General Education courses,

• Compulsory core courses for each specialization,

• Core electives

• Free electives: sports, languages, IT, modules from a different specialization etc.

Students choose their international component from the following options:

• US (SKEMA campus, Raleigh)

• International partner universities (33 partners)

• SKEMA International

• Exchange

Grande École

• A multi campus program

• A wide variety of tracks

• A wide range of specializations

• Optional tracks leading to « combined skills » or additional qualifications

• An international profile: courses in English from 1st year, a completely English track

available from 2nd year, compulsory period abroad.

• One to two years work experience

• Innovative teaching: 6 transversal projects, blended, e and m learning fully integrated

into each program.

• Specifically positioned on management in the knowledge economy

• Aimed at generating sustainable performance

Masters of science

A Master of Science is the ideal program for students wishing to work internationally.

Companies today value employees who have specialized knowledge of a specific area and

particularly seek those who have both specific knowledge and a global understanding of

their domain. The MSc programs have been designed specially for our international students

in specific areas of competence:

• Finance and budget control

• Marketing

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• Management

• Economics

14 specializations are offered in all. These programs are delivered entirely in English and are

aimed at international students with at least a 3 or 4 year Bachelors degree. Each year, over

40 different nationalities join the MSc programs on SKEMA campuses.

Mastères spécialisés (Specialized Masters)

This training aims to give students specific knowledge and know-how in precise, sought-

after sectors or functions. The courses give students specialist knowledge in domains where

they have already acquired a good grounding through initial training or professional

experience. The Masters program also enables students to acquire combined skills by

complementing previous training or experience. SKEMA offers 10 Mastères Spécialisés either

as initial training or continuing education. The domains of specialization are Finance,

Marketing, Management and Law.

Doctorate, PHD

SKEMA Business School offers several PhD programs. Academic PhD:

• PhD in Corporate Finance (Lille Campus)

• Knowledge Technology & Organization (KTO) PhD in Management (Sophia Antipolis Campus)

Executive PHD:

• Executive PhD in Project and Programme Management (Lille Campus) Doctoral programmes in partnership with universities:

• Doctoral programme with University of Lille 2

• Doctoral programme with IAE of Aix en Provence and university of Nice Sophia Antipolis

Continuing Education

SKEMA Executive offers tailor-made programs to suit a variety of objectives and needs.

• develop in-company talents in line with specific corporate strategy: SKEMA can help

design and implement tailor-made programs.

• obtain a certificate for a special expertise: SKEMA has 5 to 20 day modular programs

leading to certification

• perfect technical skills or concentrate on personal development: our short programs

provide tools that make people operational immediately

• develop management skills and obtain a recognized diploma: SKEMA offers

continuous education leading to qualifications for those who are working.

• perfect language skills: SKEMA has the answer for all needs and levels

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International

Reputed by three sources

• Students: Students are our « raison d’être ». SKEMA has set up a rigorous selection

system to evaluate student’s expectations and increase their satisfaction on a

continuous basis.

• Companies: Companies are essential partners for SKEMA. They participate in all our

activities and guarantee that our programs correspond to their needs. Many

companies contribute to our school’s success on all levels (from defining strategy to

research and of course, teaching).

• Accreditation agencies: the Grande Ecole diploma program of both SKEMA’s

founders, CERAM Business School and the ESC Lille Group has Ministerial recognition

for the grade of Master. The Conférence des Grandes Écoles (CGE) has accredited

SKEMA and the Specialized Masters (MS) as well as some of the Masters of Science

(MSc). Both founder members have also been accredited by EQUIS (European Quality

Improvement System) and the EFMD (European Foundation for Management

Development). This accreditation recognizes the quality of SKEMA’s faculty and

research as well as its international dimension and the high quality of its corporate

relations. The accreditation is also proof of the overall quality of the Grande Ecole

program. SKEMA is also accredited by the Global Accreditation Center for Project

Management of the Project Management Institute (PMI GAC PM - USA) and by the

Association for Project Management (APM – UK) for all its project management

training programs. SKEMA was the first Business School outside the United States to

receive the international accreditation GAC PM in 2005 and is the only school to have

been accredited by both these institutions. The school is certified ISO 9001, a norm

which defines standards of management according to leading principles such as

continuous improvement, client oriented, management by process etc. In July SKEMA

was also granted ISO 14001 certification for management of the environment.

• An international experience is an essential part of our graduates’ education. Even if a

student has daily contact with other students and professors with different

nationalities, this experience is even richer when undertaken abroad, either as an

exchange in a partner university, or a year abroad in a company. The international

aspect of our school is shown through

• 111 international agreements with high-ranking foreign universities.

• A wide range of graduate and undergraduate programs, some of which are entirely

taught in English

• 12 joint diploma agreements in the Grande Ecole program.

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• SKEMA Business School is present in 4 countries: France, China, United States, and

Morocco. In the near future, we will be opening campuses in India and Brazil.

SKEMA Campuses

Lille

The campus is located in the heart of the city in the main

business district, Euralille, a few minutes walk from the old city

and the Grand Place (main square). The campus is situated

conveniently between two TGV train stations (Lille Flandres et

Lille Europe), so Paris is only an hour away, Brussels just over

half an hour and London can be reached in 1hour 20 minutes.

The campus is designed to be practical and modern. It covers 13 000 square meters and

includes 2 lecture halls, 3 small lecture halls, 30 classrooms, 6 computer rooms, a

mediatheque, a department of careers and corporate relations, an incubator for innovative

companies, a cafeteria and offices for student associations. The building has Wi-Fi

throughout with Internet in all classrooms enabling both faculty and students to work more

effectively. There are also 150 computers available for self-service. The Lille campus is open

24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Paris la Défense

The campus is located in the ultramodern premises of the

Leonardo da Vinci Centre in the heart of La Defense. This area is

close to the center of Paris (10 minutes by metro to the Champs

Elysées, 20 minutes to the Eiffel Tower). About 150 000

employees work in La Defense, home to 1 500 companies, 15 of

which are in the top 50 worldwide. Many of these companies are banks and insurance

companies which have preferred to set up in La Defense, leaving behind their former

offices in other areas. The area also has a resident population of around 20 000

inhabitants.

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Sophia Antipolis

The campus is in the heart of the largest Science Park in Europe

whose success is directly linked to its natural environment (the

site is surrounded by 1 500 hectares of Mediterranean forest), as

well as the diversity of its cultural and social environment.

Knowledge workers find this a place where they can prosper – in

other words, it is an environment where working, studying and simply living go hand in

hand! Several Engineering schools, universities and research laboratories have set up in

Sophia, an area of intellectual vitality with which is home to at least 5 000 students.

Raleigh

In the heart of Centennial campus, SKEMA Business School has

almost 2500m² for its students who thus rub shoulders with

American and foreign students from all over the world. The area

is also home to many innovative companies and research

laboratories.

At the same time, the school has an option of a further 4 000 m² in a new Centennial campus

building. This will be ready in 3 years time. It will be a model for the latest technological

teaching and learning systems, in line with SKEMA’s multi campus strategy.

Suzhou

The Campus in China is the result of a partnership with the

Suzhou Science and Technology Centre (SSTT) in Suzhou, near,

Shanghai. Suzhou is also known as the Venice of the Orient

because of its many canals and the beauty of the traditional

gardens in the environment. Despite this link with the past,

Suzhou is also one of the most up to the minute technological

centers in the world. With over 2 million inhabitants Suzhou

continues to grow, with a new district and two huge technological parks comprising 118 of

the worlds 500 biggest companies.

Casablanca

The school is on a 3 320-m2 campus created in 1996. Several

private schools of higher education have their home on this

campus, each specialized in a particular domain (Financial

Engineering, Management, Company Law, Human resources

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Languages, IT, Electronics and Automatics) with 1300 students overall.

SKEMA campuses are located in Science parks or business centers. This environment that is

also home to world famous companies, offers students exceptional opportunities for their

future career.

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Corporate Relations

One step ahead towards the job market: « My way »

To give our students a head start on the job market and help them manage their career,

SKEMA has designed a special program for personal and professional development. It has

been operating in the Grande Ecole for the past three years.

The method, « My way » is run on the principal of empowering students to make apt career

choices, gradually making them aware of their own responsibility in this and encouraging

them to formulate their career plan independently. « My Way » enables students to make a

coherent career choice, taking into account their individual personality and educational

background. Beyond their first job, we hope that students will find the method efficient as

an ongoing process to plan their career in the future.

« My Way » is run by a team of experts which includes recruiters, professors and

employment psychologists.

« My Way » reaches far beyond the traditional tools of career guidance. Throughout the

years in the Grande Ecole, the method identifies key steps where students are led to ask the

right questions, follow certain courses and attend specific workshops and/or e-learning

modules. They also have individual interviews and are coached by professionals and former

SKEMA graduates throughout their years of study.

This program was originally designed for Grande Ecole students, but we intend to introduce

it into all our programs.

Internships

Internships are an integral part of SKEMA courses and programs. They are an essential

element of training, where students can apply the theories and methods learned in class and

acquire new knowledge and skills.

Internship missions are included in all programs and take different forms: they may be short

or long, including a full year in a company

The aim of an internship depends on the program, but the following types are common:

• observation/action: this internship aims to enable students to discover the world of

work and understand how a company functions on an everyday basis. Students also

begin to apply what they have learned in class.

• orientation/professionalization: here students aim to understand what makes a

particular sector or function different from others. This specific understanding will

enable students to confirm (or otherwise) their choices for future specialization.

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• Action/responsibility: here students are expected to go beyond simply carrying out

orders: they take responsibilities for a mission or project within a company

• Final internship/first job: this aims to round off students’ knowledge of specific areas

and specializations. In this final phase, students are expected to apply what they have

learned and show managerial aptitudes, be capable of taking initiative and working

independently. A final internship makes it easier to find a first job: it often leads to

employment within the company concerned (pre-employment internship).

Apprenticeship

The original founding schools behind SKEMA Business School launched the process of

apprenticeships in the mid 90’s. This program has been constantly updated and adapted by

virtue of its interest for students in terms of acquiring skills, funding their studies and

obtaining a first job. Apprenticeships are also of value to companies in terms of recruitment

quality. In the Grande Ecole Program and ESDHEM, there are over 400 apprentices on the

Lille and Sophia campuses. SKEMA apprenticeships have different formats on different

campuses. This variety results from the distinct history and background of each of the

founding schools and their regional links to three distinct authorities.

During an apprenticeship, students are truly part-time employees in their companies and are

paid a salary. Apprentices are exempt from tuition fees throughout their apprenticeship

contract. SKEMA has chosen to encourage students to seek apprenticeships in local

companies, but in certain cases it is also possible to make contracts for missions at distant

locations or on several sites. In the Grande Ecole and ESDHEM, the manager of corporate

relations contributes the expertise essential to managing the supply and regulation of

apprenticeships.

First employment

To make sure that our students get a good start in their career, we follow up graduates’

progress each year for the Grande Ecole, Bachelor, MS and MSc programs:

• Employed 4 months after graduation: 83% (2011)

• First job abroad: 23% (2011)

• 50 % sign their work contract before obtaining their diploma (2010)

• Average first salary, (all sectors and functions): 35 K€ (2011)

• Average salary three years after graduation (al sectors and functions): 46 K€ (2010)

The Career Center offers Human Resources directors and recruitment agencies free access to

recent CV’s (on line for under 5 months) fro graduates seeking employment opportunities.

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Alumni Network

With over 23 000 alumni throughout the world, SKEMA alumni is one of the largest alumni

networks in France.

SKEMA Alumni aims to:

• Develop the group identity and pride in belonging to the alumni

network of SKEMA Business School,

• Encourage members to support each other and ensure support to the

less fortunate throughout their careers.

• Remain aware of the value of the SKEMA diploma and the educational

value of the school.

• Promote the school to economic actors and partner companies locally,

nationally and internationally.

• Participate closely in the school’s future development and play an active

role in its governance bodies.

• Contribute to the school through initiatives with students, student

associations, faculty and school services.