— 2018

First DBA graduates in Chengdu

“The first five students on the DBA programme in Chengdu in China successfully defended their theses in November,” André Sobczak, academic director, is delighted to report. The programme is working and developing so well in China, in both Chengdu and at the SABS campus in Shenzhen, that Audencia will be launching a new DBA in CSR & Philanthropy there in 2019. “This demonstrates that, supervised by permanent teaching staff from Audencia and our partner institution in China at the same time, it is possible for executives and managers in responsible positions to produce rigorous, high quality research alongside their professional roles with direct, specific implications for their own organisation and, more widely, companies and society,” he adds. And it really is a virtuous circle, as these same DBA students will form a chapter of Audencia alumni in Chengdu, providing impetus for the creation of other programmes, such as the BBA and the MSc. “With a new awareness of research after spending three years working under the supervision of our faculty teaching staff, they will undoubtedly make a commitment, including a financial one, to creating new chairs,” notes André Sobczak.

And these students are developing a strong appetite for CSR, Audencia’s academic director tells us: “We have a lot of theses on CSR and sustainable development, both because it has a high profile and because it’s a major issue for China, one where Europe and France in particular have a certain legitimacy. One of our graduates worked on CSR in the luxury hotel industry in China. As an employer, he considers well-being at work and involvement in environmental and humanitarian projects to be of strategic interest in terms of attracting and retaining employees. Another worked on CSR issues in accounting firms where, here too, China is asking a lot of questions about tax optimisation and the fight against fraud, etc. Our Chinese students want to be pioneers in these areas, which present genuine challenges in their country.”