On June 15, 2021, GEM launched its platform dedicated to Integrative Company Projects. Companies seeking specific support from GEM students to address strategic or developmental issues will thus be better able to choose the most appropriate contacts. How do we do this?
For more than 15 years, Grenoble Ecole de Management has been supporting 150 business projects each year, based on strategic or developmental issues, within a pedagogical framework that brings together students from around fifteen different courses.
The Integrative Company Project (ICP) is a project-based teaching method that is at the heart of the GEM Learning Model at Grenoble École de Management. These research projects are proposed by companies of all sizes and in all sectors, based on concrete cases, and are entrusted to students with mixed profiles and varied backgrounds (initial general studies, or specialized and continuing education) The students, in groups of four or five, explore the proposed issue for three to eight months, depending on the program, interacting with a company representative and submitting a report with recommendations at the end of the assignment.
Key themes in 2020
"In 2020, remote interactions with companies were high, notes Renaud Cornu-Emieux, Project Leader for the launch of the platform and in charge of the implementation of Integrative Company Projects at GEM. What were the main themes that caught the attention of companies? First and foremost, CSR and sustainable transformation. Many of the teaching programs at GEM integrate sustainable development, and the school therefore has a greater capacity to receive these study proposals from companies. In addition to this, the digital themes have won the support of many companies," says Renaud Cornu-Emieux.
Similarly, it should be noted that a quarter of the Integrative Company Projects were carried out in English, i.e. 35 to 40 ICPs in 2020, out of a total number of 150 ICPs carried out each year at GEM. "Giant, in Grenoble, as well as Schneider Electric, HP and many start-ups are major partners of GEM, whose international focus on English-speaking companies is also strongly anchored in Grenoble, allowing local companies to benefit from this international expertise," says Renaud Cornu-Emieux.
What's new: The Bachelor's Degree in International Business
"This year, 80 international students in their second year of study (Bachelor's Degree in International Business), supervised by a school tutor, are planning to carry out a project, which will be evaluated as part of their course. In groups of four or five, from September to December, they will have the opportunity to deliver to companies their creativity and different perspectives on the challenges of sustainable change, benchmarking, CSR, feasibility studies, internationalization, customer experience and digital marketing, etc. The work will be done in English (option for a small number of groups to use French).
Are you interested? Identify the person within the company who will be responsible for overseeing this group of students (four meetings over three months), and contact me so that we can discuss this further," concludes Renaud Cornu-Emieux.
How do you submit your Integrative Company Project on the platform?
- Describe your project in 10 lines.
- Identify the appropriate contact person within the company who will interact with the students.
- Submit your request on the platform.
- GEM's expertise will allow us to assign the project to the program that best suits the company's needs, language and expectations.
- The person in charge of the selected program at GEM will contact you
What are the constraints of engaging in an Integrative Company Project?
The constraints are (very) low, given the intended benefits for both parties!
The ICP requires the company to participate in the presentation to the students before the project. The company will need to identify an internal point of contact who can interact with the group of students throughout the project (half a day per month in charge seems reasonable). Then, depending on the program chosen - from the 2nd year of a Master's Degree, to MS, MSC and now the Bachelor's Degree in International Business – the Integrative Company Project lasts three to eight months. Finally, the company participates in the final exam board during the defense.
