Alumni Campus Day 2023: our graduates returned in force to the lecture halls of EDHEC to celebrate their class reunion

On Saturday 14 October, some 300 graduates came together on the EDHEC campus in Lille to meet up with their classmates and see how their School had changed over the years. An emotional day out!

Nine classes, from 1968 to 2013, met up for their reunions 10, 15, 20 ... and 55 years after leaving EDHEC. Many thanks to the ambassadors who brought so many people together!

A look back at highlights from the event

Upon their arrival on the Lille campus (Rue Verte in Croix), our alumni were welcomed to the enormous marquee now used for conferring ceremonies in the on-campus gardens. Martin Barbier, EDHEC Master 1988 and Director of EDHEC Alumni, alongside Axel Ramponi, EDHEC Master 2018 and Senior Engagement Manager at Tractable, welcomed them as their hosts for the day.

Olga Kokshagina, professor of innovation and entrepreneurship at EDHEC, provided an overview of the classes being taught at the school today: a participatory demonstration to identify the factors that can limit innovation, the combinations of skills that can be used to rethink problems in much more original ways, and the role that artificial intelligence can play in creative processes. Her conclusion is worth repeating: Don’t ban artificial intelligence in schools, learn how you can better teach with it.

Delegates also attended an inter-association competition in which 7 EDHEC student associations presented their projects, with a €500 cheque provided by EDHEC Alumni. After some thrilling suspense, it was Schola Africa which won over the audience. First set up in 2000, this EDHEC association contributes to the construction of classrooms in Burkina Faso and Senegal, enabling more than 1300 pupils to attend school. It is also involved in other iconic projects, such as the distribution of more than 1500 solar-powered lamps and the construction of 48 latrines and a sewing school to boost job market integration for young women in West Africa.

After a meal shared by delegates from all classes and the participating student associations, the graduates met up in a lecture hall to share their fondest memories, accompanied by the staff team from the Social Bar, an accelerator of all things social, to ensure a warm atmosphere.
The day ended with the much-awaited ceremony, at which Emmanuel Métais, Dean of EDHEC, laid out the challenges facing the school as it seeks to maintain its level of excellence and have a positive impact on society. Anne Guillon, EDHEC Master 1990 and Director of the Foundation, highlighted the role that graduates can play in the development of their school through donations and in particular the scholarship scheme which finances up to 75% of tuition fees for students from modest backgrounds. She was accompanied by Zakaria Jmouhi, EDHEC 2024, a student beneficiary of an impact scholarship, and Damien Gros, EDHEC 1993, a Sapphire Circle donor and Director of the foundation's support committee. Both presented their testimonials, at times funny and emotional, of the importance of developing a culture of positive giving at EDHEC.

The association Music’hall, on hand to provide the musical intervals during this ceremony, was met with thunderous applause for its performances. Finally, the EDHEC Alumni team, accompanied by Anne Geisert, EDHEC 1991 and President of EDHEC Alumni, had the pleasure of inviting each class up onto the stage, donning togas and mortar boards, for the traditional hat throw, bringing the memorable get-together to a close.

A special mention for the presence, as discreet as possible, of an EDHEC graduate known to all: Jean-Jacques Goldman, from the class of ’73, made the journey from London to celebrate his class reunion and reconnect with the EDHEC of today.

To all those graduates who celebrated their class reunion this year, we look forward to seeing you in 5 years for the next edition! In the meantime, be sure to take part in the Class challenge and support our student scholarship scheme. You have until 31 October to make your class the one with the most generosity or solidarity in 2023.

Take part in the 2023 Class challenge

And we're asking the Master's, BBA and Executive classes in years 4 and 9 to start preparing for their Campus Day in October 2024!

Participants gave the event a record score of 9.3/10, and this testimonial from a participant should inspire you:

"What I liked : The warm welcome, the quality of the organisation and the presentations, the pace and the good balance between the time spent getting to know my year and the open forum, the exchanges with students and other alumni... In short? An immersive, joyful and luminous experience... Well done!"