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Spotlight Audencia's marketing lab IN SITU, which includes an operating shop- ping environment. 'Five Years, Five Continents' Audencia Nantes School of Management Nantes, France Jean-Pierre Helfer took his new position as Audencia's dean at an opportune time. When he arrived last Septem- ber, Audencia had just received its AACSB accreditation. "To arrive at Audencia at just that time was like receiving a gift," Helfer says. By earning its AACSB accredita- tion last year and its EQUIS accredi- tation in 2002, the school has underscored its commitment to its goals, says Helfer. As one of France's Grand Ecoles, Audencia wants to continue to promote best practices in teaching and research, execute the school's focus on corporate social responsibility, and, most important, expand its international presence and partnerships. As part of its renewed emphasis on corporate responsibility, last spring Audencia became one of the first business schools in France to join the United Nations' Global Compact, a voluntary network of organizations interested in encourag- ing widespread corporate citizenship. The lab offers students and faculty a chance to work on real-world studies for companies, from small companies to retail giants such as Wal-Mart. These new initiatives benefit The school also recently launched its Centre for Global Responsibility, which has attracted corporate part- ners such as Ikea, Danone, and IBM. Students at Audencia also have the opportunity to participate in three area-specific research labs. LESMA focuses on marketing in the farm produce industry, TESEE.ortem focuses on employee relationships and time management in organiza- tions, and IN SITU is an experimen- tal research lab that studies market- ing and consumer behavior. IN SITU includes an operating retail environment where consumers can purchase goods while students and faculty monitor their behavior. For example, when the European Union launched its new currency, the euro, IN SITU researchers studied how shoppers behave when moving from one currency to another. Audencia's 1,900 students, most of whom are enrolled in its flagship program, the Graduate Programme Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Nantes (ESCNA). Designed for stu- dents in their early 20s who have fin- ished their secondary and preparato- ry education, ESCNA comprises a semester of core courses followed by three semesters of specialization. In addition, Audencia offers full- time, part-time, and executiveMBA programs, as well as executive educa- tion through the Audencia Executive Education Centre and its Euro*MBA. The Euro*MBA, a two-year distance learning program, is offered in con- junction with management institu- tions in France, Germany, The Netherlands, and Spain. Now that it has achieved its goal of accreditation, Audencia's next major initiative is to create more international collaborations and sig- nificantly expand its global presence. The school recently entered a part- nership with Tongji University in Shanghai, China, and plans more agreements with schools in Africa, Latin America, and the U.S. The rush of globalization in busi- Above: Dean Jean-Pierre Helfer. Left: The Audencia Nantes campus. 64 BizEd MARCH/APRIL 2005 ness demands that Audencia contin- ue to develop its cross-cultural iden- tity, Helfer emphasizes. Helfer wants to improve and increase Audencia's presence on five continents to offer a wider range of exchange, travel, and teaching opportunities for students and faculty. "Five years, five conti- nents," says Helfer. "Over the next five years, if I can sign a new agree- ment with a new school overseas each month, I will be happy." ■ z