Learning the Boss Attitude
18 May 2009
Read by 1866 persons
Face a model that inspires vocations, business schools are multiplying entrepreneurship courses. Ready for the job?
A few successes, such as that of Pierre Kosciusko-Morizet, a former HEC graduate, founder - at age 28 - of the Priceminister.com website, have propelled student entrepreneurship to the forefront. Yet in 2006, according to the APCE (the Agency for Business Creation), less than 5% of business school students created their own company immediately after their studies. "With the salary conditions offered to them, our young graduates have golden handcuffs," observes Alain Bloch, director of HEC Entrepreneurs. A finding shared by Michel Coster, director of the EM Lyon Entrepreneurship Center. According to him, MBA students, who have often gone into debt to pay for their training, are reluctant to embark on the adventure of creation...
Beyond that, creating a business also means taking risks. However, a risk-taking culture is not a French specificity. Business school graduates don't always want to start a business before having gained at least five years of experience. They consider creation too risky. We must help them to de-dramatize it," analyzes Frédéric Adida, a consultant to entrepreneurs and president of the Assaté Institute.
However, business schools were the first to introduce entrepreneurship courses: HEC in 1976, followed by EM Lyon in 1984. Initially, these were continuing education programs for engineers and managers in outplacement. This still works today, particularly for experienced managers with capital who are candidates for taking over a business. But while experience remains an important factor in entrepreneurship, it is no longer considered indispensable. At Essec, 80% of creators are in initial training.
Instilling Entrepreneurial Values
Business schools are increasingly offering introductory courses on business creation from the first year, with the possibility of specializing throughout the curriculum. Teaching involves both the transfer of experience and the acquisition of knowledge.
"Meeting with business leaders always sparks students' interest and influences how they view their professional future," notes Michel Coster, whose objective is not to make every student a future business leader, but to instill entrepreneurial values that they can also use in salaried employment. This is the principle behind the Young Entrepreneur MBA at ESC Toulouse, which started in May 2008. "Designed in partnership with companies in the region, focused on the management themes of SMEs, the MBA is reserved for students of the school who wish to remain in Midi-Pyrénées," explains Laurent Adnet, head of Fundraising at ESC Toulouse.
To encourage business creation, business schools are also interested in women - less than 30% create their own businesses in France. Advancia has offered them a new training program since January 2008, and Essec will launch a "Women Entrepreneurship" program this year in partnership with women's networks. A way to prepare for the succession of Laurence Parisot, the "boss of bosses"...
Sarah Chevalley
Posted online August 26, 2008
newzy.fr
A few successes, such as that of Pierre Kosciusko-Morizet, a former HEC graduate, founder - at age 28 - of the Priceminister.com website, have propelled student entrepreneurship to the forefront. Yet in 2006, according to the APCE (the Agency for Business Creation), less than 5% of business school students created their own company immediately after their studies. "With the salary conditions offered to them, our young graduates have golden handcuffs," observes Alain Bloch, director of HEC Entrepreneurs. A finding shared by Michel Coster, director of the EM Lyon Entrepreneurship Center. According to him, MBA students, who have often gone into debt to pay for their training, are reluctant to embark on the adventure of creation...
Beyond that, creating a business also means taking risks. However, a risk-taking culture is not a French specificity. Business school graduates don't always want to start a business before having gained at least five years of experience. They consider creation too risky. We must help them to de-dramatize it," analyzes Frédéric Adida, a consultant to entrepreneurs and president of the Assaté Institute.
However, business schools were the first to introduce entrepreneurship courses: HEC in 1976, followed by EM Lyon in 1984. Initially, these were continuing education programs for engineers and managers in outplacement. This still works today, particularly for experienced managers with capital who are candidates for taking over a business. But while experience remains an important factor in entrepreneurship, it is no longer considered indispensable. At Essec, 80% of creators are in initial training.
Instilling Entrepreneurial Values
Business schools are increasingly offering introductory courses on business creation from the first year, with the possibility of specializing throughout the curriculum. Teaching involves both the transfer of experience and the acquisition of knowledge.
"Meeting with business leaders always sparks students' interest and influences how they view their professional future," notes Michel Coster, whose objective is not to make every student a future business leader, but to instill entrepreneurial values that they can also use in salaried employment. This is the principle behind the Young Entrepreneur MBA at ESC Toulouse, which started in May 2008. "Designed in partnership with companies in the region, focused on the management themes of SMEs, the MBA is reserved for students of the school who wish to remain in Midi-Pyrénées," explains Laurent Adnet, head of Fundraising at ESC Toulouse.
To encourage business creation, business schools are also interested in women - less than 30% create their own businesses in France. Advancia has offered them a new training program since January 2008, and Essec will launch a "Women Entrepreneurship" program this year in partnership with women's networks. A way to prepare for the succession of Laurence Parisot, the "boss of bosses"...
Sarah Chevalley
Posted online August 26, 2008
newzy.fr
