We meet up with Dr Denis Lescop, new Dean of the Montpellier Business School Bachelor’s Degree programme
Last December, Dr Denis Lescop took over the leadership of the Montpellier Business School Bachelor of International Business Administration. He gave us his first analysis a few weeks later, along with his vision for the MBS post-baccalaureate programme.
What inspired you to lead the MBS Bachelor’s degree programme ?
Above all, I was interested by the complexity of the strategic challenge faced by the Bachelor’s programme: how do you support student inquiries and help build their path towards professional life. You need to strike a balance between professionalisation and returning to active life after a degree, and studies. All this is against the background of the globalisation of curricula and economic activities, and so an international perspective is also necessary. Bachelor’s degrees must therefore respond to three key questions: academic excellence, professionalisation and internationalisation. A Bachelor’s degree is also locally based, students are mainly recruited to the region. And that’s where we have an advantage: Montpellier, Occitanie, their industrial fabric and sustained development continue to offer an environment that’s unquestionably favourable to developing a top-level academic programme with a strong reputation. The Bachelor’s programme is now a strategic management school course as it forms part of its global appeal and ranking. Which made me want to lead the MBS Bachelor’s degree programme as it’s a school with strong values and a strong academic dynamic.
Who do you think the Bachelor’s programme is for?
As regularly reported in the specialist press, our Bachelor’s degree offers a serious, recognised alternative to preparatory classes or universities. MBS Bachelor’s students generally are at two stages: Baccalaureate level (1st year students) and Baccalaureate + 2 years (particularly HND or technical degree graduates, who enter in the 3rd year). The first make their first steps in higher education while the second group look to continue their studies at a Business Grande Ecole. But there is no standard student profile and Bachelor’s students are not running away from preparatory classes or university. Above all, they are looking for an academic environment providing the professional training of a Business Grande Ecole, to which they feel closer.
What do you see as the strong points of the MBS BIBA programme?
Doing a bachelor’s degree after school means choosing a structure that opens up a range of possibilities. You prepare yourself for academic studies and a career by achieving a sufficient academic level and the best possible level of employability
The MBS Bachelor’s programme is an attractive solution to this equation as it has :
– Recognised international accessibility thanks to numerous partner universities, the possibility of dual degrees and strong international immersion from the first year.
– Third year apprenticeships and professional training offered by our Career Center.
– A professional experience year to strengthen your professional and international experience.
– An ability to confirm several diplomas (BIBA, Bachelor’s Degree from a partner university), a grade (Licenciate in Science and Technology Management from the Montpellier IAE) and a professional certification (RNCP level II, International Sales and Marketing Project Manager).
– A range of courses and disciplines that allow students to develop their knowledge and self-management, and reflect MBS values (Ethics, Openness and Diversity, Responsibility and Performance).
What will be new in September 2018 ?
Next autumn, our programme will evolve to reinforce the major strategic lines of internationalisation and professionalisation through :
– The launch of an entirely English language programme from the first year ;
– A re-balancing of the programme to reflect MBS values more accurately and offer students a sustained, regular pace of learning and apprenticeship ;
– A re-balancing of the programme to reflect MBS values more accurately and offer students a sustained, regular pace of learning and apprenticeship).
Dr Denis Lescop’s Career :
A skilled leader of economic research, and teacher of strategy, entrepreneurship and design thinking, Dr Denis Lescop has had a varied and international career. An active teacher-researcher in higher education for over 20 years, he held expert and management positions in top French government departments following his PhD, first at the Telecoms Regulation Authority (2001-2002) then at the Competition Committee (2004-2006). In parallel, he maintained his academic activity, lecturing at several institutions (ESCP-EAP, Paris Sorbonne, Institut Télécom, ENSAE, the University of Montpellier 1, ENA, Sciences-Po Paris, Polytechnic). He joined the TELECOM Management School in 2006 and became a lecturer, responsible for the Innovation research team (2007-2010), then Director of the Research Center and Research Director at TEM (2010-2013). He then became the Academic Dean of TEM Campus at Virginia Tech (USA) from 2014 to 2017.
