Company challenges at the heart of the MSc Business Transformation for Sustainability

The MSc Business Transformation for Sustainability's Company Challenges are designed to provide students with complex and innovative case studies to help a company achieve its sustainability objectives. Through this exercise, students experience what transformation for sustainability entails in terms of challenges, value proposition and stakeholder management. This experience is a valuable route to employability.

What does a Company Challenge for MSc BTS students consist of ?

Each year, our MSc Business Transformation for Sustainability students undertake an ambitious research project to meet a company's needs in terms of sustainable development and transformation. The challenges are customised for each project and can address any of the themes of corporate social responsibility (CSR).

What are the possible challenges?

Participating companies are invited to suggest a project centred on the objectives of sustainable development:

A transformation challenge
An initiative they are trying to implement
A sustainable transformation of an existing process within their organisation

The students contribute to the process of 'framing' the company's vision, which takes the form of a global approach to the problem, an analysis of the stakeholders, an action plan, and the identification and implementation of key performance indicators.
Following this initial work, the students suggest a more precise vision and action plan to the company. During this presentation, the company and the students agree on the approach to be adopted, the results and the indicators. The agreement between the two parties serves as the basis for defining the challenge in project terms, which is the pedagogical backbone of the programme.

What are the benefits for students?

This partnership brings real added value to the students on these courses, who acquire the skills they need to contribute to a more responsible future. The benefits of group work include:

A commitment to experiential learning that is relevant to market issues
A better understanding of the concepts and pedagogy taught through direct application of knowledge
The ability to develop innovative ideas through experience, so as to rise to complex challenges and respond to the problems of transformation with powerful solutions
Exposure to different opinions
Learning to work as part of a team
Developing oral expression skills

Our credo:

"Prepare students to meet tomorrow's challenges with a non-dogmatic approach" - Elisabeth Laville, founder of UTOPIES.

Our mission:

To challenge our students in order to develop their ability to take up real-life challenges linked to the sustainable transformation of businesses. With this in mind, students are asked to undertake a "student/consultant" assignment with a player in the sector.

Our values:

LEARNING BY DOING, learning by doing.

The agenda

This challenge takes place over a defined period, during which our students work in close collaboration with a tutor appointed by KEDGE BS and a sponsor identified by the company.

In September: the various challenges are presented at the first sustainability factory.

Throughout the year, the students enhance their ability to propose innovative solutions thanks to the educational contributions and testimonies from experts.

In December: the students present their progress to the companies at a mid-term focus. The aim of this presentation is to confirm the student's approach. They will then have to identify concrete solutions to meet the company's needs.

Early May: the action plan is presented to the companies.

This challenges illustrates KEDGE's original teaching approach, which places the link with business at the heart of its DNA. It is an integral part of the MSc Business Transformation for Sustainability programme.