EM Lyon Business School

EM Lyon Business School
Name	EM Lyon Business School
Native name	École de Management de Lyon
Established	1872
Type	Grande école
City	Lyon
Country	France
Campuses	Lyon, Saint-Étienne, Paris, Shanghai

EM Lyon Business School is a French grande école founded in 1872 in Lyon, France. The institution operates multiple campuses in Lyon, Saint-Étienne, Paris and Shanghai and is known for its entrepreneurship focus, international programs, and corporate partnerships. EM Lyon has developed programs that attract students, faculty, and partners from across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

History

EM Lyon traces its origins to 1872 in Lyon during the Third Republic period alongside institutions such as École Polytechnique and contemporaneous industrial schools. The school's development intersected with industrialists from the Rhône-Alpes region, links to merchant networks in Lyon and exchanges with trading partners in Marseille and Le Havre. During the early 20th century EM Lyon navigated changes brought by the Franco-Prussian War aftermath and later adapted through the interwar years while other French grandes écoles like HEC Paris and ESSEC Business School evolved. Post-World War II reconstruction and the economic modernization led to curricular reforms similar to shifts seen at INSEAD and Sciences Po. From the 1980s onward, EM Lyon expanded international alliances with institutions such as London Business School, University of Pennsylvania and National University of Singapore, and extended its footprint to China in the 21st century similar to transnational moves by ESCP Business School.

Campus and Facilities

The main campus in Lyon houses modern lecture halls, incubators, and research centers inspired by models in Silicon Valley and collaborations with technology parks like La Part-Dieu. The Saint-Étienne site shares resources with regional cultural institutions including links to Musée d’Orsay exchanges for design-driven programs. The Paris campus provides proximity to financial hubs such as La Défense and corporate headquarters including BNP Paribas and Société Générale for guest lectures. The Shanghai campus facilitates partnerships with Chinese universities including Fudan University and access to metropolitan resources in Pudong. Facilities include entrepreneurship incubators modeled on Station F, executive education suites comparable to Harvard Business School facilities, and student clubs that liaise with organizations like Rotary International and Junior Chamber International.

Academic Programs

EM Lyon offers undergraduate, postgraduate, MBA, and executive education pathways similar to offerings at IE Business School and ESADE. Programs emphasize entrepreneurship and innovation, incorporating coursework in strategy with case methods used at Harvard Business School, finance modules referencing practices from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, and international management components aligned with curricula at Wharton School and Columbia Business School. The Global MBA and MSc tracks include exchange agreements with University of St. Gallen, Bocconi University, and McGill University. Executive education programs collaborate with corporations like Deloitte, Accenture, and Capgemini to provide customized training for managerial cadres.

Research and Rankings

Research centers at EM Lyon publish in journals frequented by scholars from London School of Economics, MIT Sloan School of Management, and Stanford Graduate School of Business. Domains include entrepreneurship studies analogous to work at Babson College, organizational behavior research related to INSEAD outputs, and finance investigations comparable to University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Rankings by international bodies and magazines that also evaluate Financial Times and The Economist place EM Lyon among competitive European management schools; peer comparisons often reference positions of HEC Paris, ESSEC Business School, and EMLYON Business School-adjacent institutions. Research partnerships include collaborations with public actors such as European Investment Bank and corporate partners like Microsoft and Schneider Electric.

Admissions and Student Body

Admissions follow selective processes similar to other grandes écoles, with candidates coming from preparatory classes and international undergraduate backgrounds akin to applicants to HEC Paris and ESCP Business School. The student body is international, drawing participants from China, India, Brazil, United States, and Russia, and engages in student exchanges with universities including NUS, Tsinghua University, and University of California, Berkeley. Scholarships and financial support schemes mirror offerings from foundations such as Fondation la France Libre and corporate sponsorships from firms like TotalEnergies.

Corporate Partnerships and Career Services

Career services operate with corporate relationships spanning consulting firms like McKinsey & Company and Boston Consulting Group, luxury brands such as LVMH and Kering, and technology firms including Google and Amazon. Internship pipelines align with multinational employers in Paris, London, and Shanghai and leverage alumni networks active in organizations like EY and PwC. Partnerships support incubators, startup acceleration programs modeled after Y Combinator, and research contracts with industrial groups like Alstom and Thales.

Notable Alumni and Faculty

Alumni and faculty include executives and entrepreneurs who have led corporations and startups, participated in public institutions like OECD, and engaged with cultural bodies such as Musée des Confluences. Graduates have pursued leadership roles at L’Oréal, Renault, Orange S.A., and founded ventures that participated in accelerators like Techstars. Faculty collaborations and visiting professorships have included scholars affiliated with Columbia University, INSEAD, and Sorbonne University.

Category:Business schools in France