CERAM Business School and Groupe ESC Lille merge

The new entity becomes the largest French business school in terms of student numbers

CERAM Business School and Groupe ESC Lille have announced their merger. This event will change the hierarchy of business schools in France and Europe. The new entity will have 5600 students and 138 permanent professors. The multi-campus business school will be spread over three sites in France - Lille, Paris and Sophia Antipolis - and will ultimately incorporate several international campuses located throughout the world. Alice Guilhon, Director of CERAM Business School is the head of the new group whose name and identity will be announced before the end of the year. The first intake under the new brand will be in September 2010. Jean-Pierre Raman, director of Groupe ESC Lille, will become Delegate General of the association. He will be in charge of relations with the University as well as the strategic projects of the new group.

A pioneering initiative and model for the future of education in France
International competition in higher education has increased considerably over the past ten years and the time has come - at the impetus of the government - to bring together the French educational and research establishments (universities, Grande Ecoles, research laboratories, etc.).The objective is to create clusters large enough and with sufficient resources to be competitive at an international level. The merger of Groupe ESC Lille and CERAM Business School subscribes to this dynamic through an atypical and innovative development project. Groupe ESC Lille, a not-for-profit association and private school, has 3000 students. CERAM Business School, an organization dependent on the Nice Côte d'Azur Chamber of Commerce, has 2600 students. The merger of these two important institutions is a pioneering initiative that could serve as a model for the future of French higher education. 

• A single Grande Ecole with a range of Bachelors, Masters of Science, Specialized Masters, PhD and MBA programmes
  
• 5600 students
  
• 20,000 alumni
  
• 138 permanent professors
  
• 62 CNRS stars, 268 publications
  
• 46 million euro budget

Worldwide campuses and partnerships
The new group has a significant presence in France with three campuses in Lille, Paris and Sophia Antipolis. It will eventually have campuses and international partnerships on all five continents:  China and India, the United States, Brazil, Australia, Russia and Morocco. The Chinese and Moroccan campuses exist already. A US project is expected in 2010. The group's aim is to offer its students a truly international experience, training students in areas close to businesses in the knowledge economy. It will also provide a 100% international education.

The vision of the new entity: a word from the Directors
The aim of the new group is to be among the top five French business schools, and within the top 15 in Europe. Both parties in the merger share the same pedagogical vision and wish to educate future leaders of the knowledge economy for an ever changing world, preparing them to network, to master information technology, and develop an autonomy of thought, while remaining aware of sustainable development and social responsibility issues.

Alice Guilhon, Director of CERAM Business School: "CERAM and ESC Lille have merged to create one of the first business schools to train the makers of a new multidisciplinary world - that of the knowledge economy. We will teach ethical, open-minded, humane, cultured managers who will make a difference through cutting edge management practices. This merger of two high growth schools is based on the will of the two groups of faculty to accompany students on the journey to tomorrow's world of business."

Jean-Pierre Raman, Director of ESC Lille: "By merging, we give birth to a new school, a new principle. Being present where new economies are is a necessity and having campuses in these locations is an educational imperative for the science of action. Giving our students the opportunity to be open-minded men and women, to guide them in choosing from among the many opportunities the world has to offer... these are the objectives of the new school."

Follow the merger as it happens: www.oneworldoneeducation.com

About CERAM Business School
CERAM Business School offers a wide range of programmes in graduate and executive education, among them the Grande Ecole programme (ESC). CERAM's strategy is reinforced by its location in Europe's leading technological park, Sophia Antipolis, as well as by the competence of its faculty and a network of international academic and professional partners. Their mission is to be a world-class actor on the global stage for higher management education, reputed specifically for its ability to prepare future managers to evolve in the knowledge-based economy. Since 2008, CERAM has opened two campus branches in La Défense near Paris and Suzhou in China. CERAM is Equis accredited and certified ISO 9001 and EFQM. CERAM Business School is an establishment of the French Riviera Chamber of Commerce. www.ceram.edu

About ESC Lille - The Lille School of Management
Lille School of Management (Groupe ESC Lille) is one of France's most well-known business schools.  Founded in 1892 and EQUIS accredited by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), the school offers a wide range of management programmes, taught in English and in French at Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral levels as well as Executive Education. ESC Lille has campuses in both Lille and Paris and comprises 3,000 students including 750 international students, 65 core faculty members, 75 visiting professors, 450 adjunct professors and 500 guest lecturers. It has internationally recognized expertise in direct marketing, distance selling and project management.
www.esc-lille.eu