Working closely with the business community to integrate its needs and expectations in the school's courses, EM LYON offers an innovative educational approach: an MBA that prepares the most promising managers to innovate, take risks and manage situations, beyond the framework of standard analyses.
The aim is to develop flexible learning modes, a sense of courage, leadership, a taste for risk and the ability to identify and utilise key resources.
Following discussions with the Advisory Board (composed of HR managers of international corporations such as Alcatel, Arcelor and IBM), companies and the teaching staff of EM LYON, an entirely new pedagogical approach was defined.
 The first component is the selection of applicants. Beyond the GMAT scores and technical criteria, EM LYON gives weight to an applicant's potential for progression. From the very start, the profile of each participant is analysed, based on 24 key indicators, in order to identify the skills requiring particular development.
The second component is the structure of the programme, which of course includes classes on management, finance, marketing and strategy, but which also provides opportunities for experimentation and practical application. For example, in the ELP (Entrepreneurial Leadership Project), participants conduct a group consulting assignment for a full year on behalf of a company. Theory is thus immediately and systematically applied to experimentation in real working situations.
An entrepreneurial European trip, organised by EM LYON, is now a mandatory feature of the programme, to develop the participants' intercultural perspective.
And, thanks to its extensive experience and recognised expertise in customised training programmes for companies, EM LYON has integrated an exceptionally flexible format: 50% of elective subjects are specifically designed to match the profile of the incoming class. As for career development, one of the most appreciated aspects of the EM LYON IMBA in recent years, the participant is the central focus of the “Career Power” feature which encourages the participants to play an active role in their advancement. Guided by a career “coach,” they take charge of defining their own career path, while leveraging the networks made available to them.
This pioneering approach in a truly unique MBA programme, based on the school's top fields of expertise (entrepreneurship, managerial development, innovation and change management), represents a breakthrough in the world of MBAs, thanks to its focus on concepts and its ambition to meet the needs of businesses. Because, after the participants, it is companies who are the final judge of the success of EM Lyon's innovations, and whether we live up to our promise of “Educating Entrepreneurs for the world.”
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