Strategic plan 2030

KAIROS 2030: A New Strategic Direction for ESSCA!

kairos 2025-2030
Jean CHARROIN CEO DEAN ESSCA

This new and ambitious strategic plan announces a clear intention: to make ESSCA one of the very best working, research and learning environments in Europe by 2030. To reach this goal, we are positioning the quality of our programmes, the student experience and the impact of our research at the very heart of our project.

From vision to action: a four-pronged plan

KAIROS 2030 builds upon the success of ESSCA’s preceding strategic plan (ODYSSÉE 20/24), which enabled it to achieve sustainable growth, through innovation, quality and a strong European identity. Despite an uncertain health and geopolitical context, this plan guided ESSCA through a period of transformation. This included the opening of new campuses in Strasbourg, Malaga and Luxembourg, the launch of key programmes (Masters of Science, ESSCA Online Campus, an MBA Business & Technology with the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Métiers), and prominent partnerships with institutions including CentraleSupélec, Berkeley, and the École des Ponts ParisTech.

ESSCA’s non profit model (EESPIG : Etablissement d’Enseignement Supérieur Privé d’Intérêt Général) has been solidified via a unique adaptive tuition fees scheme, unprecedented among European business schools. ESSCA also retained its triple crown accreditation status for the maximum possible period, the authorisation to deliver Bachelor and Masters-level degrees across its 10 campuses, and was also awarded the Sustainable Development & Social Responsibility label for the maximum term. Boosted by a 40% rise in students over five years, ESSCA published 500 research articles (over half of which were in A and B-ranked journals) and entered leading international rankings for the first time such as Shanghai and THE Impact). ODYSSÉE 20/24 laid solid foundations on which KAIROS 2030 will build.

The new strategic direction has been developed following an 18-month process involving over 6,000 hours of discussion with 825 students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and partners.

ESSCA in figures by 2030

8,650

students

10

campuses offering the same high-quality experience

100%

students and staff trained in diversity, equality, inclusion

28,000

Alumni Worldwide

kairos

The School’s main actions up to 2030 are structured around four main priorities:

  1. Innovation: through effectively combining management sciences, the humanities and technologies and the development of impactful research;
  2. Internationalisation: via multi-campus curricula, double degrees and international exposure. The aim is to attract more students from around the world;
  3. Operational effectiveness: by drawing upon an agile non profit model that guarantees academic quality, optimises resources and strengthens societal impact;
  4. Rallying the community around a strong employer branding and strengthened institutional outreach.

Pillar 1 - Innovation will be central to programmes, research and teaching by combining management science, the humanities and technology

KAIROS 2030 represents an ambitious evolution in learning outcomes at ESSCA. There will be a focus on increased hybridization of skills and customised curricula. This will be achieved via dual curricula during the Masters section of the Grande Ecole programme; the launch of new programmes in key sectors and remodelled MScs (MSc Finance & Fintech, MSc International Business Online); BBA programmes on the non-French campuses, as well as a hybrid focussed MBA on Business & Technology.

This strategy is also reflected in differentiated international programmes : Master in Management across three continents, a Bachelor’s programme available in three European countries, and the development of double degrees abroad. These curricula will be enriched by the School’s European campuses on which they are delivered and the network of top-level international academic partners.

ESSCA is also announcing the creation as of 2026 of a doctoral programmes (PhD, DBA) with a first intake scheduled to graduate in 2030. A research media centre, an extension of ESSCA Knowledge, will also improve the sharing of research findings, strengthening the School’s academic impact with organisations and wider society. One of the aims of high impact research will be to foster innovation within the portfolio of initial and continuing education training programmes.

As part of its digital acceleration process, ESSCA is aiming for 20% of courses to be digitalised by 2028, alongside an expansion of its ESSCA Online campus. The School is investing in the development of flexible formats, varied specialisms and a heightened customisation of learning outcomes in response to the wide variety of profiles and ambitions among students. Artificial Intelligence will play a key role, by helping to create personalised study plans for students.

Staying true to its role as a committed societal actor, ESSCA is stepping up its dedication to lifelong learning via innovative formats adapted to each stage in a person’s professional journey, whether it be students, recent graduates, or active professionals going through retraining.

A student experience re-focused on living standards and commitment

Student well-being remains a core pillar of ESSCA’s strategy. Listening carefully to student needs and acting on them is a priority.

A student life blueprint, devised in tandem with ESSCA representatives, will be implemented across all campuses to coordinate all actions relating to the standard of living, inclusion, risk prevention and association life. ESSCA wishes to offer an enriching set-up in which to learn that takes into account all personal, social and professional aspects of student life.

Individual commitments, be they associative, civic or professional in nature, will be promoted via a skills passport and a system of open digital badges. This scheme will enable students to formalise any extracurricular skills obtained that will be of use to their entry into working life.

Training programmes on inclusion will be made available to all students. Diversity and inclusion-focused student projects will be supported with dedicated budgets.

As part of this drive, ESSCA continues to invest in the quality of its campuses to offer students a stimulating and welcoming environment.

Our ambition is to educate new graduates capable of evolving in a world going through major change, by formulating management sciences, humanities and technologies. This process is in line with the era of the fourth industrial revolution that requires preparing responsible, critical and committed people who are capable of making innovation meaningful and contributing to a more sustainable society.

Pillar 2 – Living internationally, at the heart of Europe

With campuses established across ten towns and cities in France, Europe and China, ESSCA is reinforcing its positioning as an internationally oriented European school. KAIROS 2030 reiteratesa focus on making Europe the bedrock of internationalisation, whilst ensuring intercultural exposure for all students.

The School is implementing innovative teaching formats that enable each and every student to enjoy a genuinely international experience.

Each campus plays a specific part in line with local economic needs, which in the case of ESSCA’s non-French campuses is:

  • Budapest: created in 1993 as part of the opening up of Central Europe to European integration, the Budapest campus traditionally offers learning tracks dedicated to international business, underpinned by issues relating to supply chain management.
  • Shanghai: developed in 2006 whilst China was going through a major period of business practice innovation and unprecedented economic development, the campus rapidly became specialised in the field of marketing, specifically within the luxury industry.
  • Luxembourg: opened in 2023 to strengthen ESSCA’s European roots, the Luxembourg campus is closely linked to the fields of finance and compliance.
  • Malaga: also unveiled in 2023 to support the School’s European positioning, the cultural roots of this site enable it to attract students from Central and Latin America to Europe. The programmes on offer reflect emerging technologies that are present in the local ecosystem such as cyber-security, crypto-currencies, and the metaverse.

In parallel to this, the School is re-focussing its academic partnership policy on high value projects, including double degrees, collaborative research, and the co-development of executive or certifying programmes. The aim is to guarantee that each ESSCA academic programme feature a significant amount of international exposure, wherever the training is taking place.

In a world undergoing profound changes, ESSCA has the opportunity to develop ‘regenerative’ leaders capable of acting with triple respect: human, ethical, and commercial. On the one hand, by relentlessly innovating and expanding social inclusion, the school will strengthen its impact. On the other hand, by leveraging AI, it will be able to foster new responsible competitiveness.

Pillar 3 – A non-profit associative structure strengthened by improved operational effectiveness

ESSCA is reiterating its identity as a not for profit higher education institution, independent known for its EESPIG qualification.This model enables the School to dedicate all its resources to missions of public interest: academic excellence, social openness, research outreach and contributing to site policy.

With KAIROS 2030, ESSCA is initiating an ambitious operational effectiveness plan to  optimise the allocation of resources across all its campuses and strengthen its economic viability to meet the expectations of its communities. This plan is focussed on integrated risk management, continual improvement of its carbon footprint and the optimisation of management processes and programmes.

A significant IT investment plan is also being rolled out, including the renewal of the School’s Enterprise Resource Planning information system, and the gradual incorporation of AI into steering processes for a higher performing, more economic energy set-up.

At the same time, ESSCA is setting itself a fundraising target of one million euros by 2030 to help finance high-impact public interest projects: social accessibility, pedagogical transition, and sustainable infrastructures.

Operational efficiency, one of the pillars of our strategic plan, is based on the long term to give ESSCA the means to embrace all its challenges within the framework of its values, particularly agility with the enhancement of our resources, the optimisation of our processes, and the incorporation of innovative technologies.

Pillar 4 – Rallying communities around a unifying brand

One of the key pillars of KAIROS 2030 is to strengthen the feeling of belonging to the ESSCA community and to leverage the brand as a tool to bring people together and extend the School’s reach.

An engagement strategy is being deployed with all internal target audiences and partners: students, faculty, staff, alumni, and companies. The aim is to establish a shared culture, grounded in the School’s values – Humanism, Responsibility, Agility, Reliability – and embodied at all levels.

ESSCA is striving to develop a community of active school ambassadors by 2030. To support this initiative, the institution is initiating the required HR labelling steps (Happy@Work, Speak & Act) in order to recognise the standard of the working environment and encourage collective commitment.

The collaboration between ESSCA and ESSCA Junior Conseil is a strong illustration of coconstruction between the School and its students. We have contributed to structuring projects such as the joint drafting of the student life plan and the overhaul of career days on its campuses. ESSCA stands out for its ability to challenge its strategy by involving its students, thus adapting its development to future challenges and real needs on the ground