Supporting academic excellence
ESSEC Business School’s mission is to create and disseminate cutting-edge knowledge with the aim of training pioneering thinkers and influential leaders. But it also strives to clarify the way forward for companies and organizations, and be a driving force for progress in society.
The ESSEC Foundation helps ESSEC’s teaching faculty achieve these goals by:
- Presenting annual awards for outstanding research and innovative teaching methods
- Supporting research development to promote the creation and sharing of knowledge
- Facilitating the reception of visiting professors from prestigious academic institutions around the world

The ESSEC Foundation Awards for the school’s teaching faculty are the result of intensive collaboration between the Dean’s Office, the Foundation and ESSEC’s management team.

The ESSEC Foundation Awards
The Foundation’s awards for ESSEC’s teaching faculty are the result of intensive collaboration between the Dean’s office, the Foundation and ESSEC’s management team.Created in 2014, the ESSEC Foundation awards have met their objective of increasing the visibility of ESSEC’s teaching achievements. They also reflect alumni ambitions to support the school’s policy - initiated 20 years ago - to internationalize and renew its teaching staff, and align teaching resources with the challenges faced by the school.
The Teaching Excellence Award
Categories: ”Permanent Teaching Faculty” and “External Course Lecturers” These awards reflect the choices of students and executive education program participants, and are approved by a committee composed of a director, the dean and vice-dean of faculty, the deans of academic programs and executive education, two representatives of the Foundation and two student representatives.
The “Daniel Tixier” Learning Experience Award
An annual award that honors a professor or lecturer who imparts an original learning experience. ESSEC’s educational objective is reflected in its mission, to train pioneering thinkers and influential leaders to clarify the way forward for companies and organizations, and be a driving force for progress in society.
Learning objectives are aligned with ESSEC’s mission and emphasize the learning of concepts and methods, and the relation of theory to practice, but also highlight the management of complexity and uncertainty, and the integration of social, environmental and ethical issues.
ESSEC’s “3i” strategy is founded on three pillars: innovation, involvement and internationalization. Innovative educational methods are therefore fundamental in fulfilling the school’s mission - and implementing its strategy.
The ESSEC Foundation PhD Award
Presented every two years, the award jointly recognizes a PhD student and their thesis supervisor for a thesis defended the previous year.
All ESSEC PhD holders who meet the following criteria are eligible:
- The thesis was successfully defended the year preceding the award
- The thesis supervisor is a member of ESSEC’s permanent teaching faculty
- The PhD holder has chosen an academic career following the thesis process.
All eligible applications are examined by ESSEC’s PhD committee, which presents a shortlist of 5 nominees to the jury. The PhD committee is guided by ESSEC’s 3i strategy, assessing doctoral research on the basis of excellence and innovation, impact and internationalization.
The ESSEC Foundation Research Award
This award recognizes recent publication of an article (no more than two years preceding the award) that stands out for its academic rigor and strong impact on management practice in the widest sense. Priority is given to articles published in leading academic journals (classed in categories 0+, 0 and 1 in the ESSEC Research Center’s ranking).
The award emphasizes practical impact, in contrast to other research incentives where the practical aspect can be secondary. Implications for the business world relate to the improvement of management, forecasting or process management methods, and improved organization of companies and other entities, or of society as a whole. Improvements should translate into benefits that are tangible or intangible, measurable, or at the very least perceptible.
White Papers
The Foundation funds two white papers for a total of €10,000 each over two years. Research or teaching projects, they should be in line with ESSEC’s “3i” strategy, develop research and teaching excellence and enhance the school’s international reputation. Projects can be on an individual or group basis. In the latter case, the project leader must be a permanent member of ESSEC faculty.

“ESSEC’s teaching faculty is at the heart of an outstanding intellectual production in the area of organizational management. Their output is thorough, innovative and relevant for decision makers in both the public and private sectors, shedding light on fundamental managerial and economic issues.”

“ESSEC’s Philanthropy Chair is a means of building dialog between academic research and philanthropic activity, which until now have stood in isolation from one another. It also brings to the table a European perspective, previously lacking in understanding a sector that’s fast-growing, but still needs structure - especially in France.”

“Thanks to their cutting-edge research our PhD students – who are future ambassadors set to teach at leading international institutions - contribute directly to the improvement of management practices, as well as to ESSEC’s reputation.”

“We’ve chosen to support ESSEC’s academic staff, who for us are instrumental to the school’s development - both in France and internationally.”

Aurore Lebon-Desroche (E97) and Philippe Desroche (E95), donors
fondation@essec.edu