85% of the companies started at EMLYON Business School’s Incubator have lasted for five years or more
Innovation has become gold dust in business around the globe.For Alexander Bell, professor of entrepreneurship and management innovation and the director of the Incubator, the traditional innovation teams employed by larger companies just don’t satisfy the current need in the workplace—entrepreneurial skills are needed across every corporate function.
When a startup can become an overnight success and disruption can eat valuable market share, entrepreneurship needs to be much more ingrained into the fiber of an organization. It’s key then that MBA grads entering the workforce have entrepreneurial skills under their belt.
“You need a staff profile of people able to create new businesses, have ideas and integrate technology and digital aspects,” Alexander explains. “You need this in every firm, whatever the type or size.
“You need entrepreneurs and you need ambidextrous leaders—people who can work on core business models while exploring others. This is an entrepreneurial profile.”
‘s startup incubator is a testament to its strong focus on entrepreneurship. The first incubator in France, it has now run for 33 years and has an impressive track record: a total of 1,400 companies have been created, approximately 13,000 jobs made, and 85% of the companies started at the incubator have had a five year or longer survival rate.
As the director of the incubator, Alexander has plans to further expand its influence. “The incubator should bring knowledge to every student and be able to help anyone that has an entrepreneurial idea no matter what stage of their study they are at,” he says.
“The main idea is that they always have someone to talk to. All our support at the incubator is based on mentorship. We find mentors that are able to follow the startups over one or two years. These are either successful entrepreneurs or experts in one specific area. We’ve built a community for over 30 years and are able to offer tailored support to any student.”
In recent years, the French government’s promotion of entrepreneurship in France has only helped EMLYON’s cause. As Alexander explains, “they used to be focused on the large firms that used to drive the economy, the top 40, but since the 2008 crisis everyone said, ‘ok, we need to change our mindset.’
“Before this, entrepreneurs were not mainstream. If businesses failed, this had a stigma in France and you were cast as a ‘loser’. It wasn’t like the US where you can fail all the time. Now, our mentality is starting to change.
“There are more actors and stakeholders in the entrepreneurship world, which is starting to become more professional. France is a good place to start a startup today because of all the energy.”
positions itself around the idea of ‘’—people who take their destiny into their own hands. The scheme teaches students to test things, learn quickly from failure, and be agile. It’s an education on the entrepreneurial mindset—every program at the school is taught with this ‘Early Makers’ approach in mind.
For Alexander, the message is clear: flexibility is key to the future of work and being innovative plays a big part in that. “At EMLYON,” he says, “the idea is that by exposing all our MBA students to our startups, they learn how to deal with many situations to come in future work.”
Student Reviews
Intense courses, helpful professors
I am an international student in my 3rd year and I love going to this school and do not regret chosing it for my BBA.
The classes are helpful, professors are always there to help as well and we have a very understanding administration.
Leadership in an amazing city
I decided to do my exchange in Emlyon because I wanted to get out of my comfort zone, and I found a space with very capable People.. participatory, empathetic and full of leadership. I will never forget Lyon, apart from giving me an unforgettable experience, he gave me great friends
A lot of opportunities professionally and socially. A unique program in France.
You can choose your courses and do your internship, exchange whenever you want. It's flexible and adapted to the needs of each student. A great program and a great city! Professionally, it opens a lot of doors for you to find internships or jobs in France or abroad thanks to the network and career events.
MSc in Digital Marketing
Combining both worlds into one, this course gave me all the on-demand technical skills in data science while maintaining a business-oriented approach. Thanks to the strong academic profile of this university I was able to secure an internship and full-time job at Amazon.
Top Business School fostering innovative entrepreneurs
EMLyon is one of the best business schools. The campuses, associations and courses offered provide the students with the best options to build the future they have chosen. The various opportunities to study and work abroad also offer a deeper understanding of the world, not only economy-wise but social, which helps the student become as well a better individual and not only a pre-formated business school student.
Emlyon campus in Paris
It has a great international community and you have access to many international tools, courses and professors. I had many networking events and workshops for students. Campus and some details of the program could have been improved or need to be bigger in order to have a better student life.
Entrepreneurship
Overall good content and good activities.
Lack of administration but still ok.
Good flexibility and liberty offered to the students. Finally, the amount of internship is also a good way to improve qualifications.
Good Reputation and International Business School
The course was not well adapted but it was up to the mark.
The professors are very well experienced and their experience comes in handy while working on assignments.
The facilities on the campus are top class. Truly professional. I really like spending time in the learning hub and using all the available resources.
Lyon is an amazing city. You will never get bored.
MSc International Hospitality Management
The best educational experience of my life so far!
It’s been full of exposure and great connections. From Lyon to London, Paris, Los Angeles and Las Vegas! Truly an exceptional way to discover the world of hospitality.
Real networking opportunities
- meeting new people, specially professionals during seminars or evening meeting at school.
- going abroad to study luxury
- being involved as an ambassador to promote the school and the program I was into (MSc LMM)
- having such a great professional core
white baccalaureate in the world of work
I really appreciated the MS SDAI as a whole. The teaching staff, the different subjects, the university exchange, TEM... I started my internship in a consulting firm having acquired a solid foundation. Downside for CentraleSupélec, which I found far too academic for a program such as this.
Great
Pretty great !
Emlyon business school is a top educational institution known for its outstanding academic programs, nurturing environment, and state-of-the-art facilities. It fosters creativity, critical thinking, and leadership in students.
