Case Study - Integrating TASK™ at EM Normandie

Founded in 1871, EM Normandie is one of the oldest, French business schools and has since expanded from its original campus in Le Havre to several locations including Caen, Paris, Dublin, Oxford, Dubai, and very recently, Boston. It specializes in delivering Bachelors, Master’s and Grande Ecole programs in Business, Marketing, Management, and recently, Artificial intelligence. Renowned in France, as well as internationally, it boasts the coveted triple accreditation; EQUIS, AACSB et AMBA.

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In the quest to demonstrate the pedagogical impact of the integration of sustainability in their curriculum, EM Normandie signed up late 2022 as one of the pioneering Change Leaders prior to the TASK™ launch, committing to equip not less than 75% of their graduates with the certificate. Post-launch, the business school demonstrated their eagerness to mainstream sustainability institution-wide by deploying TASK™ across several departments almost right away.

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Sébastien Bourdin, professor of economic geography at EM Normandie, who equally handles the coordination and organization of TASK™, was present at the recent UN HLPF Event to share his school's experience.

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Find out what they learned as well as their recommendations and best practices!

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TASK™ use coordination at EM Normandie

The use of TASK™ is currently coordinated by the Chief Strategy Officer of Societal and Environmental Impact. Additionally, on an operational level, it is overseen by Mr. Bourdin, in conjunction with the program management team. His role involves planning and coordinating the application of TASK™, ensuring issues are identified and improvements are implemented.  

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Regarding the implementation of TASK™, here’s what Sébastien had to say:

“It was a collaborative effort with the Program Management team. We reached out to academic directors and study directors to find a slot in the students’ schedules. The organization of the sessions was then arranged based on these time slots, with most being fixed and some spread over a week, to allow students the freedom to take it [TASK™] when they preferred. An email with detailed instructions was equally sent out to each student”.

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The learning curve, a data-driven approach and best practices  

The implementation of TASK™ by Sulitest was described as a rich learning experience by Sebastien Bourdin, who went on to spotlight the increasing recognition of a data-driven approach to learning and improvement as crucial by the educational sector.

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“It helped us identify disparities in results between different cohorts of students and also pinpoint areas of improvement to enhance their level and better prepare them for future challenges,” he added.

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What does the future hold for EM Normandie and TASK™ ?  

In terms of future plans, Sébastien Bourdin underlined the further deployment of the exam, stating that: “providing precise tracking, sensitizing study directors more in advance, preparing engaging speeches that highlight the benefits and interests for the students in taking the test, and working on a list of references to allow students to prepare for the exam” were some of the plans the deployment team had in focus at the moment.  

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Presently, we have a list of references in the form of navigational charts to help professors integrate elements of the TASK™ matrix into their coursework. We also developed the Intro2TASK, designed to introduce students to the subjects covered by TASK™.

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