Events organised with professionals, a pillar of the annual EDHEC Talents Lycées programme

On Wednesday 29 October, 48 high school pupils from the Lille metropolitan area were present on EDHEC’s Lille campus to take part in the launch day for the third edition of the annual EDHEC Talents Lycées* programme. Open to bursary pupils in the final two years of high school in the Lille area, this equal opportunities programme enables them to discover the different pathways available in higher education. During the programme, the participants attend numerous events that notably include visits to corporate headquarters and cultural institutions, and invitations to conferences on the EDHEC campus. In addition to these highlights, events that bring them into contact with professionals and the School’s teaching faculty help them to build and clarify their study plans.

Double-hatted professor-researcher  

Youcef Bousalham, Associate Professor at EDHEC, was the first to take the floor during the launch day. Drawing on his background and his approach blending sociology and psychology, he invited the high school pupils to think about how self-knowledge could become a lever of ambition and success. During his speech, he discussed his academic background and the specifics of his profession, one that stands at the crossroads of humanities and management, and involves undertaking research work, publishing articles and teaching the School’s students. Referencing his own background, he asked the high school pupils to think about the factors that shape individual trajectories, by drawing on sociological concepts such as habitus, cultural capital and the index of social position. “By understanding where you come from, you also give yourself the tools to work on what you want to become”, he explained.

After setting out the framework in this way, he moved on to discussing the tension between determinism and agency, or in other words the ability to act on one’s own trajectory. At this point, he asked the pupils to consider their personality, their ambitions and their own plans for achieving success. Inspired by approaches to personality based on humanistic psychology, this exercise was designed to help the pupils establish a connection between who they are, what they want to become and how they can achieve their ambitions, particularly by identifying their underlying motivations, their strengths and the points to watch out for. The exercise helped the pupils improve their self-knowledge and, with reference to its conclusions, fuelled their thinking on their choice of studies and future career.  

Action on the ground and office-based assignments: the role of a territorial sub-director of a fire brigade

Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Gras, territorial sub-director of the Sarthe fire brigade, was the launch day’s second speaker. During his talk, he ran through his background and the main features of his job, e.g. managing thousands of people and the responsibility that this implies, having the ability to make decisions at critical moments, as well as the spirit of solidarity that exists within the fire brigade. He then discussed his vision of managing a team. His view was that leaders need to listen actively to their teams, particularly during high-risk situations. He notably related the actions undertaken by his team during the 2022 forest fires in the Gironde area. Lastly, he fielded questions from the pupils, while underlining the appeal of his profession, i.e. serving the public, while also doing a job that mixes action on the ground, with office-based assignments.  

The next big date for the programme is 22 December, when two classes are scheduled — one from Professor Mohamed-Hédi Charki, on social media strategy, and the other from Professor Geert Demuijnck, on corporate ethics.

*The EDHEC Talents Lycées programme was made possible by the patronage of Michael Burke, EDHEC graduate and Advisor to Bernard Arnault (former Chairman and Chief Executive of Louis Vuitton).