Research Chairs and Centers of Excellence

By creating these projects, IÉSEG reaffirms its desire to strengthen and sustain its links with the professional world.

Chairs are a place of reciprocal enrichment between academic and economic circles with pedagogical practices strongly linked to business applications.

The creation of a chair responds to a need of the economic world. It uses schools’ and businesses’ human resources and skills. In the Grandes Ecoles, the chair involves teaching teams, research professors, researchers, and students.

Chair activities can take several forms:
> Research and transfer activities
> Innovative approaches (for example via the recruitment of a PhD student to work on company issue or challenge),
> Student training through specialized courses or electives,
> Organization of thematic conferences or specialized seminars,
> Organization of meetings between the companies of the chair for exchanges about good practices,
> Creation of diploma programs (MBA, Master’s degree, Specialized Masters), teaching tools,
> Publication of scientific and professional articles, sharing knowledge, development of cases, awarding of scholarships, etc. This depends on a company’s (or companies’) needs (chairs can be made up of several companies.

Applied Research Chairs

“Sustainability of Business in Society” Research Chair

Launched in 2022, the “Sustainability of Business in Society” Chair is the result of a partnership, created in 2019, between IÉSEG and the Foundation of the Catholic University of Lille (which is financing this project), to contribute to the reorientation of business models towards more sustainable and responsible trajectories that should ensure their long-term survival.

Built around 4 main areas of work, the Chair aims to establish partnerships with companies and organizations at local, regional, national and international levels in order to develop knowledge and tools to support companies and organizations in creating sustainable value and in implementing more responsible organizational processes and business models. B Lab France and Colombus Consulting are the first organizations to join the Chair as partners.

Works and activities developed:
> Sustainability and internal change agents.
> Skills, know-how and learning at different levels of the organization.
> Organizational structures and designs for inclusive governance.
> Processes and mechanisms for assessing and measuring sustainable and shared value.

“CFO and Sustainable Transformation” Research Chair

Born out of the expertise of its teams in corporate finance, their strong commitment to all aspects of CSR, and the awareness of a real need for business transformation, IÉSEG has chosen to launch a Research Chaire entitled “CFO and Sustainable Transformation” in partnership with the National Association of Financial and Management Control Directors (DFCG).

Works and activities developed:
> Supporting financial departments in societal, social and environmental transitions.
> Analyzing the CFO / General Management duo and identifying the complementary dimensions of the two roles for the best possible synergy.
> Supporting financial managers in the digitalization of the Finance function.

“SBS – New business models” Research Chair

In partnership with the Fondation de la Catho de Lille, the “SBS—New business models” research chair aims to develop and redefine business strategies by integrating the social and environmental parameters essential to organizations’ sustainable development, using tools and experiments that are affine with the “field.”

Actions implemented:
> Innovative teaching methods and activities.
> Action research in collaboration with leading entrepreneurial and institutional players.
> Workshop program for companies.
> Conferences and thematic training courses for practitioners from different backgrounds and the general public.
> Organization of research seminars and an international symposium.

Chair in Retail Management and Business Development with Auchan Retail France

Created in May 2018, this Chair includes the Master in professionalization contract in Retail Management and Business Development, as well as various educational activities. IÉSEG also relies on its Center of Excellence ICoN (IÉSEG Center on Negotiation), which aims to create and promote research and expertise in negotiation to students and businesses.

Actions put in place:
> Creation of the Master in Retail Management & Business Development, co-built with Auchan Retail France and Leroy Merlin, which hosts its first students on the Lille campus of IÉSEG from September 2018.
> Contribution of Auchan Retail France to various educational projects of the School: participation of its managers in round tables, participation in courses, creation of a business case to involve students on a subject (such as CSR or digital) and to provide Auchan Retail France with recommendations.
> Participation in the various career fairs organized by IÉSEG to present different internships, apprenticeships, jobs and professions within their groups.

Big Data & Digital Banking Chair: Crédit Agricole Nord de France

Founded in 2016 and renewed in 2020, this chair focuses on the construction of an innovative project based on the contribution of Big Data in customer relationships and the development of Digital Marketing with IÉSEG’s Center for Marketing Analytics (ICMA).

Some of the main actions developed:
> Recruitment of a doctoral student who works to enrich and exploit data in order to explore and improve customer experience, know how to interact with them better initially and interact proactively.
> Accompaniment in the development of the Master in Big Data Analytics for Business.
> Animation of workshops for Crédit Agricole Nord de France employees on connected agencies, connected payment, new services, new digital models, artificial intelligence and virtual assistants.
> Crédit Agricole Nord de France’s involvement at IÉSEG through courses, presentations, lectures and workshops, etc.
> Creation of a hackaton on Big Data issues in the banking industry
> Inauguration of the Crédit Agricole lecture hall.

IÉSEG has supported its partners in various research chair projects in recent years, particularly in e-commerce.

Digital Commerce Chair: Group ADEO and Leroy Merlin

Founded in 2015, this chair is conducted in partnership with the IÉSEG Center for Marketing Analytics (ICMA) on the issues of Digital Commerce and Big Data. Research focuses on the customer’s life cycle, sales predictions and omnichannel processes.

Some of the main actions developed:
> Recruitment of a doctoral student working on Big Data, the omnichannel process of the customer’s life cycle and sales prediction, etc.
> Accompaniment in the development of the Master of Science in Big Data Analytics for Business.
> Participation of Leroy Merlin in several workshops to support students’ professional projects (dedicated recruitment sessions, presentation of the company, mock interviews, etc.)
> ADEO Group’s involvement at IÉSEG through courses, presentations, lectures and workshops, etc.

Marketing, E – Commerce and Distribution Applied Research Chair: La Redoute

Founded in 2012, La Redoute’s Chair aims to develop teaching and research programs on the theme of e-commerce.

Some of the main actions developed:
> Joint development of a Master “Marketing, Distribution and e-Commerce’ in apprenticeship
> Intern and apprentice recruitment
> Setting up of a “Database Marketing” research project
> La Redoute’s involvement at IÉSEG through courses, presentations, lectures, and workshops, etc.
> The lecture hall named “La Redoute” was inaugurated on March 26, 2013 on the IÉSEG Lille campus.

Feel free to contact us for any further information regarding Teaching and Research Chairs developed by IÉSEG. We would be happy to receive any ideas that might lead to the creation of a research Chair.

Centers of excellence

IÉSEG has developed four centers of excellence to eage knowledge creation. It has also created tools useful for research and designed for companies’ practical implementation.

> ICMA (IÉSEG Center for Marketing Analytics)
> ICOR (IÉSEG Center for Organizational Responsability)
> ICON (IÉSEG Center on Negotiation)
> ICIE (IÉSEG Center for Intercultural Engagement)

Find out more about the Centers of Excellence