End of the first edition of the EDHEC Talents annual programme

The first edition of the EDHEC Talents annual programme, devoted to equal opportunities, is set to end in July. During the 2023-2024 academic year, a variety of events (visits, workshops, classes) organised by EDHEC Business School’s Student Engagement and Diversity Department ensured 28 high school bursary students from the Lille metropolitan area received support with their study and career choices.  

EDHEC Talents: a comprehensive programme

Set up by EDHEC Business School in 2023, the EDHEC Talents programme is designed for high school bursary students from the Lille metropolitan area. The initiative aims to broaden their cultural horizons and familiarise them with higher education and the professional world. The programme gives these youngsters the resources needed to envision their future studies, while ensuring they avoid any “can’t do” mindset and overcome any social, economic and cultural obstacles liable to determine their futures. The programme was made possible by the patronage of Michael Burke, an EDHEC graduate and advisor to Bernard Arnault (previously Chairman and CEO of Louis Vuitton).  

There are two main facets to the EDHEC Talents programme: a Summer Bootcamp and an annual programme. The EDHEC Talents Summer Bootcamp is a week-long “internship” that allows participants to discover different sectors of activity and jobs, and to explore EDHEC and its ecosystem. For its part, the EDHEC Talents annual programme comprises tutoring sessions, run by EDHEC student volunteers, and events both on and off the School’s Lille campus.

The annual programme: actions to broaden the range of possibilities  

This first edition of the EDHEC Talents annual programme was centred on conferences, round tables, classes and workshops, all geared to improving participants’ knowledge and social skills. Some of the highlights of the programme were the speech by the geopolitical expert Pascal Boniface on “the horizons of European power”, the round table with the international football referee Stéphanie Frappart, the leadership class run by Sylvie Deffayet, Professor of Management and Director of the Leadership Development Chair at EDHEC, and the public speaking workshop, co-ordinated by actors. In addition, EDHEC Business School’s Student Engagement and Diversity Department arranged a presentation on the Emergence programme, created by the Aréli not-for-profit. This programme aims to support youngsters from modest backgrounds throughout their studies. Former members of the programme also contributed by presenting their experiences and careers.

The programme also gave the high school students the chance to discover the activities of several of the School’s corporate partners (KPMG, Auchan, Céline) and to hear testimonies from employees of these firms who came to present their jobs. These events gave participants insight into several business sectors (luxury, retail) and the different jobs they offer (marketing, consultancy, supply chain). 

Another of the programme’s highlights was in providing the youngsters with an insight into entrepreneurship. Visits were arranged to EDHEC’s start-up incubators at Station F in Paris and on the Jean Arnault campus in Lille. During these day-long visits, the programme managers tasked with accompanying the start-ups hosted on the incubators explained their jobs to the high school students. Entrepreneurs also came to talk about their projects and what they do. They included Emilie Reynaud, founder of Flushy, a company producing green household products from waste fruit, and representatives from Talent Seed, a recruitment platform for students and young workers.

The next high-point of the EDHEC Talents programme is scheduled to take place between 8 and 12 July 2024, when EDHEC holds the second edition of the EDHEC Talents Summer Bootcamp on the Lille campus.