Letter from Maria Koutsovoulou, Associate Dean, and Zahia
Bouaziz, European Director of Studies of the MBA in International
Management
The
2019-2020 academic year started full of enthusiasm. Indeed, the 3rd intake
of the MBA programme, with students representing 26 nationalities, was enjoying
discovering Paris and looking forward to immersing themselves in the ESCP
Business School universe. Big changes in both their professional and personal
lives lay ahead.
At the beginning of this journey we shared our raison dêtre with our new
students: to educate future active leaders, responsible adults who are
concerned by societal evolutions, who are generous in their commitments and who
are reflective professionals aware of their roles and of the consequences of
their actions. Also, to provide society with leaders able to overcome
difficulties, to effectively manage complexity, to create sustainable networks
worldwide and to achieve their professional self-fulfillment.
Then came the Covid-19 crisis. Never could we have imagined that these few
words spoken as a contract of sorts would a few months later lead to a
large-scale experiment.
When millions of people around the world watch their lives being turned upside
down, who would dare to rejoice in experiencing the word VUCA for themselves?
When on a daily basis countries are facing the downsides of the interdependence
that binds them together in an increasingly globalised world, who would dare to
rejoice in having the perfect illustration of the evils of short-term
strategies?
The contraction of time, everything goes so fast, the wealth of
information available, everything is so frightening, the retraction
of traditionally solid partnerships, the retreat of companies that must
nevertheless invent new models to face up to and recover from this crisis,
plunge you into doubt and apprehension of what is to come: what will my
place be in this new model? How can I be sure that I will be able to carry out
my career plans in this turbulent context? What will be the needs of
organisations after this crisis? Will I be sufficiently armed to meet them?
In order to answer these questions, the two meanings of the word crisis should
not escape you: the most recent of these refers to the peak and the brutal
deterioration of a state of play whereas the oldest definition refers to
judgement, decision making or the change from one state to another.
Evaluate, decide, change; its now or never.
Organisations need to reinvent themselves and to do so they will need MBA in
International Management graduates and their skills more than ever before.
This is because they have experienced cultural diversity, proven
their adaptability thanks to their international mobility,
acquired maturity through their professional experience and 10
months of active learning in different countries, developed agility tested
every time they went out of their comfort zone as well as the resilience required
to always be a driving force in the most difficult times.
These existing or emerging skills, which are essential to cope with the
complexity and uncertainty of the future, are developed and enriched every day
throughout this crisis You must be ready to serve organisations with these skills
and understand their needs to be able to provide them with the best possible
response.
We have made a commitment to guide you through this process and we will
continue to do so. The journey continues and we will grow from it!
#MBA #Management #StayHome
Contact
Do not hesitate to get in touch with our Admissions
team for questions concerning your application. We remain available to help you
during these challenging times
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