About Audencia

Faithful to its history and to its identity, open onto the world, other societies and other cultures, Audencia Nantes. Ecole de Management has the mission to educate high potential women and men, through theory and fundamental knowledge in management, to become entrepreneurs and managers with advanced human, technical and technological competence. Within their scope of action and decision-making, they bring vision, conviction, and humanism as a means to increase the added value of organisations and international companies.

Could you give us a brief overview of your MBA programs?

The 12-month Audencia MBA is a generalist program in management. Started in 1984 (I. S. M. A.), the program was recently redesigned as an international MBA. The aim of the Audencia MBA program is to prepare business professionals with high potential for careers in international business. 

Dynamic environments create many cross-border business opportunities. In such circumstances being able to create strategic opportunities and manage change at the global level is crucial. 

Based on a modern teaching approach, our MBA allows participants to work with our very skilled faculty, to follow intensive seminars and to prepare projects to an international standard. At the end of their studies, they will be capable of generating and managing change in a professional manner.  

What makes Audencia MBA special?

Before differentiating itself, an MBA must meet international requirements. Audencia MBA is therefore a general management program that offers specialisations linked directly to the merging complexities of international management. The program is supported by high quality international faculty working within a fully accredited institution. 
However, Audencia MBA is also an original concept that give participants a strong added value: 

knowledge integration allows participants to reinforce their knowledge and skills through simulation games. An important benefit for students is that they will experience how the various functional areas of business mesh together and affect each other. 

Life Competencies Plus offers participants a unique support service to manage their competencies “throughout their lives.” Based on a combination of distance-learning and involvement in the AUDENCIA MBA Competition, Life Competencies Plus allows AUDENCIA MBA participants to consider the long-term evolution of their careers. This unique opportunity is supported by two key innovations at AUDENCIA: the Portfolio of Competencies and Campus.Net  

Could you describe the structure of the Audencia MBA ?

Audencia MBA is a full-time program. The curriculum is based on four dimensions: 

Fundamentals: the first five months of the program are devoted to required core courses, covering subjects including Accounting, Finance, Economics, Strategy, Marketing, Human Resources Management etc. 

Expertise: participants will choose one specialisation among four concentrations. Concentrations enable each participant to develop his/her professional objectives by focusing on a particular area of relevance: 
- International Strategic Management 
- Change Management and Consulting 
- Management of Technology 
- Entrepreneurship and Project Management 

Leadership: Leadership Seminars lead participants to analyse factors that shape leadership and to use tools that make it easier. 

Knowledge Integration: The Simulation Challenges are positioned throughout the curriculum to mobilise the skills and knowledge acquired. This is one of the originalities of AUDENCIA MBA. It makes a connection between the concepts learned during the programme and professional experience. 
Simulation Challenges are based on dynamic, interactive and competitive simulation games. They provide student players with simulated “Real World Experience” in managerial decision making and enable them to see the relevance of the principles being taught in the courses. This pedagogy allows professors to evaluate students behaviour in the complex environment of a business competition  

What is the profile of your participants?

Audencia MBA is aimed at people who have some experience in the professional world and are at a relatively early stage in their career (from 3 to 10 years' experience). The program concerns those who want to discover and/or increase their knowledge of business activities and their management skills. It is suitable for participants who want to enhance their careers or to change career path by acquiring another responsibility or activity. Variety creates value and we welcome participants from engineering, mathematics, social sciences (including business and economy), philosophy, arts, languages, etc.

What type of firms employ your graduates?

Graduates from the last 2002 promotion of Audencia MBA — ISMA are employed in a large variety of national and international firms in different sectors of activity: Pharmaceutics (Astra Zeneca), Bank and Finance (Crédit Agricole), Automobile (Citröen), Agribusiness (La Belle Iloise: an SME, leader on its national market). One of our graduates works as economic advisor for a Member of the French Parliament.

What advice would you give to potential candidates?

Technological, organisational and cultural changes demand a permanent review of the state of business. Management research allows these changes to be integrated into academic programmes. Without regular updates, the real value of an MBA risks depreciating rapidly. 
For this reason, do not think only of the short term return on investment when you choose an MBA programme. “Faster, higher, farther,” could be the slogan of MBAs. Faced with the world's growing complexity, we propose to integrate an extra dimension: “longer.” Breaking the mould of MBAs as simple “one-shots,” Audencia MBA offers participants a unique support service to manage their competencies “throughout their lives.” 
Do just think about your future, think about your life.