Investing in high-level teaching and research

ESSEC is driven by talented professor-researchers whose work advances knowledge in key areas of management, economics, finance, innovation, sustainable development, and beyond.

The knowledge developed through research play a vital role in  nourishing public and democratic debate and addressing major challenges essential for societal progress.

The Foundation Prizes: Recognition of Excellence

Each year, the ESSEC Foundation awards the Foundation Prizes during an annual ceremony to honor professors whose academic contributions stand out for their quality, innovation, and impact. These prizes are a true lever for recognition and encouragement for the faculty.

The 7 Prizes Awarded by the Foundation:

• Academic Excellence Prize: to recognize the quality of a professor's teaching and its remarkable contribution to the student experience. This prize reflects the preferences expressed by nearly 2000 students and participants of the ESSEC group.

• Special Jury Prize: to reward a professor's teaching across a variety of programs and its commitment to the institution.

• Daniel Tixier Pedagogical Experience Prize: to distinguish innovative and original pedagogical approaches that serve more engaged and relevant learning.
  
  This prize was created in honor to Daniel Tixier, a marketing professor at ESSEC who passed away in 2013. A pioneer in applied pedagogy, he marked the institution by founding ESSEC's first chair in 1985, the Grande Consommation Chair. He is also behind numerous significant pedagogical innovations: immersive simulations (serious games), courses taught by practitioners under the responsibility of professors.
  
  Through his legacy, Daniel Tixier has inspired generations of students and remains instrumental in shaping the evolution of teaching practices at ESSEC.
   
• Research Prize: for the publication by a faculty member of a research article in high-level academic journals, recognized for its academic rigor and significant implications for management practice in a broad sense.
   
• White Project Prize: for projects focused on research or teaching in line with ESSEC's strategy.

• Science and Society Prize: to encourage initiatives by researchers aimed at bringing the knowledge produced in the academic sphere closer to citizens and society.

• PhD Prize: to reward a thesis director-doctoral student pair whose exemplary collaboration has resulted in the defense of a high-quality thesis, the publication of joint and solo articles during and after the doctorate, and the doctoral student's engagement in an academic career. This prize is awarded every two years.

I Support Academic Excellence and Research

Testimonials from the faculty

"I thank the ESSEC Foundation for awarding me this prize, which honors me. I would also like to thank the students for voting in my favor, even though I know how demanding I am. I like to describe teaching accounting as a combat sport. The battle we must wage is to avoid confining our teachings to mere technicalities or purely calculative complexities. The accounting professor is a professor who mobilizes transdisciplinary knowledge in the service of technical expertise, allowing numbers to be part of economic, social, and political reasoning. Proficiency in  the language of numbers is a crucial skill for every student and, more broadly, for every citizen."

Chrystelle Richard, winner of the Pedagogical Excellence Prize and Accounting Professor at ESSEC

"Through the ESSEC Foundation Prizes, donors express their recognition and send a strong message of encouragement to those who create value for our school. During the Foundation Ceremony, we celebrate the profound impact of our faculty on education and society evident through both their exceptional teaching and influential publications.
I extend my heartfelt gratitude to  all the donors of the Foundation for their generous support."

Roméo Tédongap, Dean of Professors at ESSEC

Discover in this article the 2025 prize-winning professors of the Foundation awarded during the Ceremony in April 2025, which was held at the Institut Catholique de Paris.