emlyon welcomes a new academic year

Students arrive at emlyon with different experiences, perspectives, and aspirations — and each will have their own way of looking at the same world.

If we were to define the spirit of this new academic year in one sentence:

See a bigger world — and be part of it.

In her opening message, Isabelle HUAULT, President and Chairwoman of the Board of emlyon business school, invited students to rethink what we mean by “the environment”, drawing inspiration from UN Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land — protecting, restoring and promoting the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems.

The environment has never been merely a backdrop to the business world.

The resources businesses rely on, their supply chains, land, and the balance of nature are all deeply interconnected with ecosystems. Understanding these connections also means rethinking how we make decisions, innovate, and create value for the future.

In his welcome message, Lionel SITZ, Director of the Grande École Programme, highlighted that every cohort arrives at emlyon with its own expectations, ideas, and personalities. Through projects, encounters, and shared experiences, the campus gradually becomes a place where each cohort creates its own unique memories.

At emlyon, learning has never been confined to the classroom.

You will experiment through projects, get involved through student associations, test ideas through real-world experiences, and gradually discover what you want to explore through conversations with classmates, professors, and industry partners from diverse cultures and backgrounds.

A year from now, what remains may be more than knowledge and skills. It may also be a new way of seeing the world — and a clearer sense of what you want to create within it.

Welcome to emlyon.

May this year bring new questions worth exploring, a bigger world waiting to be discovered, and people worth remembering along the way.