Programme Grande Ecole – Culture & Innovation Major

Introduction to Contemporary Cultures in France

Launched in Bordeaux in 2020 — this major offers a comprehensive exploration of contemporary creative industries and the various forms of social innovation they encompass. It covers the following areas:

• Contemporary cultural production: avant-gardes and creation.
• From institutional culture to alternative cultures: heritage and social innovation.
• Glocal cultures: digital innovation in creative industries
• Digital culture: digital innovation in the cultural industry.
• Arts project makers.

This major welcomes students who are highly attuned to the world and society around them. It requires a strong general knowledge base and a dedicated commitment from students. The programme combines specialised academic instruction, insightful testimonials from professionals, and hands-on experimental projects, to cover all the themes related to "Culture and Innovation."

To ensure effective learning, KEDGE Arts School employs an immersive pedagogical approach and leverages its network of professionals in the cultural sector. 

Key skills

• Understand the different forms of cultural production and their contexts.
• Build and develop innovative strategies.
• Cultivate creative, intrapreneurial, and entrepreneurial skills.
• Grasp the specificities of managing creative industries.

Creation, creativity and innovative careers

This Major, consisting of 5 courses of 24 hours each, is offered in the first year of the PGE Master's programme in Bordeaux and aims to raise awareness of contemporary cultures. It provides pathways to several specialisations within the PGE or MSc programmes at KEDGE Business School:

• Arts and Creative Industries Management specialisation
• Marketing specialisation: digital marketing, brand marketing, communication, etc
• Entrepreneurship and Innovation specialisation

Upon selection, completion of the Major grants access to the MSc Arts & Creative Industries Management in Paris in the second year of the Master's programme.

The Major can also serve as a "general culture" module, beneficial for any manager wishing to cultivate critical thinking, a sense of innovation, and a commitment to upholding high standards of integrity, ethics, and social responsibility.

KEDGE Arts School within PGE: Humanities and Inclusivity

Over the past few years, KEDGE Arts School has partnered with the Grande Ecole Programme to integrate education focused on humanities and inclusivity, in line with the PGE's current development and its innovative "Grow by Doing" teaching methodology.

Year 2020/2021: Humanities in partnership with Mollat bookstore 

As part of the Station K project, the Creative Industries and Culture expertise centre and the Humanities group of KEDGE Business School have organised a series of 3 conferences on social inclusion, in collaboration with the Ausone Station of Mollat bookstore. These conferences are an integral part of the Culture and Innovation Major's programme and address the themes of racism, sexism, and LGBTIQ+ phobias. You can find the complete series of conferences on the KEDGE Arts School YouTube channel.

Year 2021/2022: Inclusivity showcased through several guest artists

KEDGE Arts School granted carte blanche to Imhotep IAM, the renowned beatmaker from the legendary French rap group IAM. After being welcomed at Harvard in 2013, it marked the first time a member of the group spoke at a higher education institution in France. The world's most listened-to music, carrying the soul and blues heritage of Afro-American music, has revolutionised music production with sampling. Students from Bordeaux and Marseille seized the opportunity of this unique and experimental pedagogical gathering to engage in discussions about music, diversity, Africa, America, and society as a whole.  

KEDGE Arts School, in collaboration with the PGE management, has created the Thinking out Loud programme, a series of humanities lectures aimed at all students of the Grande Ecole Programme. The objective is to foster critical thinking through conversations with experts on significant societal themes: inclusion and diversity, sustainable development, digitalisation, geopolitics, and more. Three conferences were organised in 2022:

• « Osez Joséphine : Black Cultures Matter » featuring Jean-Jacques Quesada, jazzman and Caroline Le Mao,  Bordeaux Montaigne University.
• « Globalisation of Culture and Aesthetic Cosmopolitanism: From Colday to BTS » with  Vincenzo Cicchelli, University of Paris, and Sylvie Octobre, Ministry of Culture (DEPS).
• "The Digital Inferno" featuring Guillaume Pitron, journalist and writer.