Article published in Le Figaro Etudiant pro on September 11, 2024

ESSCA is mentioned 2 times.

Being both a student and an entrepreneur?

Yes, it's possible. Grandes Ecoles encourage entrepreneurship among their students, and even universities allow their students to start their own businesses. In this article, we'll look at how higher education establishments offer their students the chance to start their own business.

In 2022, just one year after the Covid confinements, more than one million businesses were created in France, according to BPI France statistics.

Students are playing a full part in this craze, with the "students and recent graduates" profile among entrepreneurs rising from 3% in 2010 to 8% in 2018, almost tripling.

As for the number of students who have set up a business under the microentrepreneur scheme, this has increased fivefold in eight years, from 2,600 to 13,200. Better still: by 2022, 5,360 students with "student-entrepreneur" status had benefited from the PÉPITE (Pôle étudiant pour l'innovation, le transfert et l'entrepreneuriat) scheme, which enables them (among other things) to be supported by coaches in their entrepreneurial project, and to benefit from coworking spaces and university facilities.

Schools do everything they can to facilitate this transition. In general, the "entrepreneurial spirit" is disseminated through courses or modules. "The Entrepreneurship & Innovation major is one of the tools Essca uses to train future entrepreneurs," says Guy Champagne, Director of Entrepreneurship at Groupe Essca. "NEOMA Business School promotes innovation and entrepreneurship, notably through monthly workshops that provide essential skills in finance, marketing and product development," says Denis Gallot, Director of the Startup Lab at Neoma.

Another tool favored by the schools: competitions and challenges. "We instill a taste for entrepreneurship right from the 1ʳᵉ post-bac year on four of our campuses, with the "EM Startupper Project", says Ingrid Boutroy, Head of Tech and Entrepreneurship at EM Normandie. 900 students, divided into 210 teams, work for three months on their own business creation project, with the help of coaches. A grand inter-campus final, which can be likened to a pitch competition, impresses us more and more each year with the maturity and quality of the projects". It's the same story at Inseec: "Two major challenges in Master 1 and Master 2 give students the opportunity to work on concrete projects," says Catherine Desprez, head of entrepreneurship at Inseec Grande École. Engineering schools are not to be outdone: "Every year, around ten 1ʳᵉ year engineering students take part in the CELSE "Campus Création" competition, says Catherine Psilakis, head of the Enseignements d'ouverture et projets department at ENTPE. For example, this year, two of our students won the public prize with a water-saving device."

Incubators are the key to supporting future entrepreneurs, and virtually all grandes écoles offer one or more to their students: "Essca has an Incub'Essca incubator in Paris, and two Business Nurseries in Bordeaux and Angers," explains Guy Champagne, Essca's Director of Entrepreneurship.

"Our school encourages entrepreneurship with coworking spaces at the Innostart incubator," says Valentin Henry, head of entrepreneurship at Rennes School of Business. All students and alumni can benefit from these resources." Incubators also form a bridge between studies and entrepreneurship:" The most motivated of our students can pursue their activity within the La FabriK incubator," emphasizes Catherine Desprez, head of entrepreneurship at Inseec Grande École. .../...