Nada BIAZ, General Director of Groupe ISCAE, has participated in NEOMA Business School International Advisory Board (IAB) meeting, held on April 1st, 2019 in Paris, under the Chairmanship of Jean Marc Gallot, President of Veuve Clicquot, A Graduate from NEOMA, Cohort 1988.
After a brief reminder of NEOMA’s strategic priorities and their alignment with the delivered programs and feedbacks, board members have attended, in an interactive approach, the presentation of the two topics on the agenda and discussed the development opportunities on these specific axes.
The first topic, highlighted in this IAB meeting, was the Faculty Management, currently consisting of 162 permanent professors, under the status of teacher-researchers. In this regard, NEOMA is keen to maintain a balance between the three activities of Teaching (40%), Research (40%) and Student Affairs and Curricula (20%); the hourly charge integrating the contribution to the academic programs and the diploma executive training (excluding tailor-made training).
The diversity of the Faculty is also an important subject, with 43% of women professors and 33 different nationalities.
The recruitment policy of NEOMA is also very ambitious, with a target staff of 200 permanent professors in 2022, to consolidate the academic reputation through publications, position itself on some transverse and interdepartmental centers of expertise (Audit, Consulting, Fintech, Entrepreneurship, Europe-Asia, etc.) and enhance the curricula development.
The integration of new faculty is performed by various channels, in this case through a “Welcome package” (administrative and logistical support for international Faculty, their families, host seminar and HR assistance), the mentoring by a professor from the same department, the participation in research seminars, the integration into the teaching team through departments and social events.
The research policy is based on the time management for professors who regularly publish in high-standards specialized reviews, allocated budgets, resources (bibliographic, logistical, support staff including to raise funds) and collaboration (workshops and research conferences, mobility for joint projects, research leave).
The second topic is that of digital transformation, knowing that it is at the heart of the strategy of NEOMA, a leader in “Virtual Reality Learning”. This focus on digital transformation is a must, to prevent students, and the school itself, from the KODAK effect. Indeed, the current context is that competitors are not just other Business Schools, but IT blue-chips with all current and potential applications for education, training and research.
Despite all the NEOMA advances and leadership in this area of the digital transformation – it’s never taken for granted- and remains a challenge and a mentality matter, particularly in terms of the right to make mistakes.
A dedicated Digital Transformation Department, attached to the General Management works in close collaboration with stakeholders to bring educational teams and IT teams together. In fact, the Digital is so transversal and moving that it is a common concern, regardless their status, from the smart campus to artificial intelligence or learning in virtual reality (Augmented Learning Rooms).
In fact, there digital relies on a large hidden part of the Iceberg, namely the necessary rise in skills and the implementation of the Digital culture.
The meeting of April 1st, in Paris, on the event of the participation of Groupe ISCAE General Director as a member of NEOMA International Advisory Board, was an opportunity for the two General Directors to congratulate the partnership between both institutions; which has been reflected in unprecedented momentum in terms of exchanges and double degrees.