FRANÇOISE MARCUS
Director of Corporate Partnership & Sponsorship
CORPORATE PARTNERSHIP & SPONSORSHIP DEPARTMENT
Through funding of impactful chairs, the Gaïa school or also the SIRIUS programme by the Audencia Foundation, in 2022, the Corporate Partnership & Sponsorship Department continued its actions to promote social openness.
900
Since its launch, the Audencia Foundation has granted a total of 900 scholarships, representing a total of 785 students who have been assisted.
How would you assess 2022?
At the heart of the activities carried out by the Corporate Partnership & Sponsorship Department,
the Foundation is a key lever in the school’s contribution to the common good. It has made possible to finance major projects: impact chairs for the transformation of companies and society, as well as schemes and grants to promote diversity and inclusion.
Once again this year, by awarding solidarity grants to students in difficulty, the Foundation has opened horizons to young people with potential. Companies, graduates, students, employees, friends of the school, your role has been crucial for the Foundation to carry out these actions! I would therefore like once again to thank all these important actors for their commitment.
What is your vision for 2023?
In order to meet the major challenges of social and cultural openness as well as equal opportunities which we wish to address, in spring 2023, the foundation will be launching a campaign on the theme of diversity and inclusion.
In relation to the objectives of the ECOS 2025 strategic plan, it aims to strengthen the school’s plans to open up to all talents and will help to remove self-censorship and financial barriers to higher education at a business school. Naturally, we will continue to support all the school’s structural projects through partnerships, both historically established but also newly developed with businesses. We are fortunate to benefit from significant support both in the Nantes region and nationally.
Our objective is to continue to nurture these links through new projects linked to teaching and research which aim to serve the school’s internal and external stakeholders, but also more broadly society. Our division’s quantified targets are ambitious, in line with the school’s ambitions.
What are your goals for the completion of the strategic plan, within the scope of the ECOS plan?
By 2025 and the end of the strategic plan, several major objectives will guide our actions. Firstly, we want to help strengthen existing chairs while developing new chairs on impactful themes, in relation to the vectors of the ECOS 2025 plan, such as: how to develop an inspirational management style based on one’s values and personal commitments, or the development of well-being through sport.
The other structural objective of our division is to support the social openness and diversity of the school’s student recruitment, particularly through the number of students receiving scholarships at Audencia (an objective of 25% by 2025). Finally, our ambition is to contribute to the development of Gaïa by supporting the development of programmes open to all.
What are your CSR commitments?
By definition, all the projects backed by the Audencia Foundation contribute to the common good. It is therefore logical that all the projects we support have a CSR vocation. More broadly, Audencia and its foundation have always been guided by this spirit of responsibility, so these commitments no longer need to be proven. There are many examples of this: the ever-increasing number of scholarships and the ever-increasing number of responsible partnerships, which aim to serve responsible projects that have a meaning and purpose for society.
On this last point, we have lost count of the number of actions and projects that have made it possible to develop thinking on many important issues. Among the major subjects, ecological and social transition and multi-capital accounting have enabled Audencia to be cited as one of the precursor schools in these fields, boosting its influence.
PAULINE CHEVALLIER
Dirversity & Inclusion Partnerships Manager
Supporting the Sirius scheme thanks to sponsors’ commitment
“Last September, the very first Sirius scheme class began the academic year at Audencia’s City Campus. Made up of 12 promising young people from the Pays de la Loire region who have obtained a vocational high school leaver’s qualification, this one-year scheme is intended to help them regain confidence in themselves and optimise their chances of success in higher education, particularly through joining one of the bachelor courses taught at Audencia. The programme for this free year-long course is based on 4 dimensions: strengthening academic achievements, personal development activities, international and cultural awareness and discovery of the professional world. Business sponsors and Audencia alumni contribute greatly to the success of this scheme. Thanks to their financial support, the year-long Sirius class is entirely free and living expense grants have been provided to young people, especially those studying far from their family home. When they join the bachelor course, grant-holding students will also benefit from a 90% reduction in tuition fees. Beyond this financial commitment, the businesses are very involved with young people throughout their career: participation in admission juries, welcoming classes to their premises, visits to sites and testimonials about their professions, proposals for internships, HR coaching, etc. Our mission at the DPEM is therefore to continue to support these initiatives for inclusiveness at Audencia.”
