“Our students are appreciated by companies for their operational skills.”
Nice Premium: Isabelle Petit, you have just been appointed head of the Nice center of IPAG. Can you introduce us to your new role?
Isabelle Petit: IPAG, the School of Business, has two centers in France: one in Paris and the other in Nice. I am currently the Deputy Director of the Nice center. My role is to manage the center, liaise within the group, and serve as an interface with the local fabric and the main players in the department, such as local institutions, City Halls, the Department, Region, and key companies.
NP: Tell us about your academic and professional background.
IP: I have a somewhat atypical background. My education was in literature, and nothing destined me to pursue such a career. After training in communication, I entered the publishing world. Having become a manager in the book publishing industry, I pursued a management course in the evenings at IAE Paris to enhance my skills in this field. With the rise of the internet, I completed a thesis on the transformations of digital publishing and, after my doctorate, I contacted IPAG to teach. In 1999, I joined the faculty team and took on the directorship last September.
NP: IPAG initiated a reform program last year. Can you explain the reasons for this and present the new features of your school?
IP: IPAG is a post-baccalaureate school that used to offer a 4-year program. To adapt to market evolution and meet the needs of both companies and students, we have abandoned this format to reposition on a 5-year track. By doing so, we become the only post-bac school with a 5-year format locally, thus competing with post-prep schools. The school’s specific feature has long been the international nature of our programs. This is no longer a specialty on its own. International exposure remains important, but our generalist side has given way to more specialization.
NP: What are the recruitment procedures at IPAG?
IP: The school awards a degree recognized by the Ministry of National Education, which requires us to recruit candidates through an entrance exam, available from the 1st to the 5th year. The exam includes two stages for high school graduates (written, then oral after eligibility) in one day for parallel admissions, and consists of written tests (including a Tage test starting from the 3rd year), language tests, and interviews, similar to most other business schools.
NP: What are the main criteria sought in a candidate?
IP: Entrepreneurial spirit, initiative, and a desire to act are determining criteria for us. We don’t focus solely on academic performance. Our teaching is applied, leaning more towards cases, initiative projects, and internships. We aim to develop the entrepreneurial side of students to best meet company needs. Indeed, our students are appreciated by companies for their operational skills.
NP: Why choose to join IPAG? What is the main strength of your school?
IP: We offer very precise support for each student. Our guidance allows for monitoring student progress through their results and experiences in companies or partner universities.
Our extensive international network is one of our major strengths. International experiences are very enriching for students. They can go to multiple countries; few schools allow students to go twice to partner universities. Through this, we impart the ability to take risks while supporting their personal development.
Lastly, it’s important to know that we are the only ones to recruit at bac+5 in the PACA region for high school graduates.
NP: Speaking of international, what relationships do you have with your various partners?
IP: Partnerships mainly occur with universities. Thanks to European exchange programs (Erasmus), we establish exchange flows with students from these universities. We have a very old network based on over 80 foreign universities spread across each continent. Concerning companies, we virtually have exclusive partnerships in France. Internationally, we rely today on a significant base of companies that have hosted students for internships.
NP: What are the job trends for your graduates? What sectors do they enter?
IP: The alumni network now includes about 5600 graduates. It is thanks to this network that 35% of the 2006 class found their first job. It’s worth noting that the average starting salary is €29,300 (ranging between €15,000 and €50,000) for beginners and rises to €36,000 over 3 years. Over 27% of our graduates work internationally. This figure even rises to 60% at the Nice center alone. More than half of the graduates go into commercial careers (57%, including 24% in Marketing/Communication). However, there is an increasing trend for financial careers and in Human Resources (particularly in consulting and recruitment specialist firms).
NP: What are the objectives for this year?
IP: In view of the reforms we have undertaken recently, this year can be described as a “transition.” We aim for better integration into the local economic and institutional fabric in the long term by participating in competitiveness clusters projects.
Innovation is indeed the meeting point between companies, education, and research, which is therefore central to our mission.
We also want to develop the school’s civic character, get closer to the City’s goals, and train students in social responsibility.
NP: How do you see IPAG in 5 years?
IP: With increasingly international exchanges, a development of the tourism aspect, and new specializations in the 5th year that respond to structural trends: entrepreneurship, innovation management, and tourism. We wish to become a real showcase of the region for foreign students.
We plan to attract more of these students, but not just in the form of international exchanges, that is, enrolled in the same way as French students.
NP: Do you have a message to add?
IP: For all those who wish to succeed, know that IPAG gives them the means. Each individual must seize the opportunities offered and make them grow. Success belongs to them alone.
Note that IPAG is organizing a career forum on Saturday, December 1st, from 2 pm to 5 pm at the Nice center, a chance for students to meet alumni who have become managers or business leaders in various sectors and learn about their professions.
For more information,
IPAG Nice – 4 bd Carabacel – 06000 Nice –
Tel: 04 93 13 39 00 – Fax: 04 93 13 39 13
Email: communication@ipag.fr – web: www.ipag.fr
