3.7.2025
Established in September 2020, the ESSEC Metalab Institute for AI, Data and Society embodies ESSEC Business School’s commitment to educating leaders who can understand and drive major technological transformations. As a true ecosystem dedicated to data, emerging technologies, and their societal implications, the Metalab supports the widespread integration of AI across all of the school’s academic programs.
At ESSEC, artificial intelligence is not the domain of isolated experts; it becomes a shared language across all fields of study. Mandatory courses, such as Business AI, along with dedicated electives, academic chairs, and MOOCs, equip all students with a critical understanding of AI’s key challenges.
“Our aim is for every student, regardless of their program, to be able to engage with tomorrow’s experts and grasp the societal, economic, and environmental impacts of AI,” says Guillaume Chevillon.
To ensure a consistent learning experience, Metalab conducts audits with program directors and has established the "Guild," a network of over 70 faculty members from various disciplines who meet regularly to exchange best practices. This unique academic network fosters interdisciplinary collaboration and the continuous evolution of course content.
Beyond this cross-disciplinary vision, ESSEC has forged a strategic alliance with a world-leading scientific institution: CentraleSupélec. Launched in 2009, this partnership is built around a shared ambition—to train a new generation of hybrid leaders who are both experts in engineering sciences and well-versed in management challenges, capable of understanding, designing, and steering major technological shifts. ESSEC’s strength as a business school lies in its ability to cover the entire AI value chain—from development to adoption—while integrating a strong focus on risk management. This comprehensive approach enables the genuine co-design of programs with institutions like CentraleSupélec, not by simply aligning existing curricula, but by building thoughtfully integrated and complementary academic pathways.
Several joint programs have emerged from this collaboration, including the Bachelor of Science in AI, Data & Management Sciences (AIDAMS) and the Master in Data Sciences & Business Analytics (DSBA), developed in partnership with Columbia University. Notably, the DSBA is the first joint French-American degree accredited by the French Ministry of Higher Education, a rare distinction that highlights the program’s academic excellence.
Taught entirely in English and offered full-time on ESSEC’s Cergy campus and CentraleSupélec’s Saclay campus, these programs provide students with a truly international and interdisciplinary experience.
The goal? To deliver rigorous technical training (mathematical modeling, machine learning, data science, generative AI, etc.) while grounding students in a deep understanding of business realities. The result: highly sought-after profiles at the intersection of technology, strategy, and organizational transformation.
True to its commitment to diversity, ESSEC also stands out with near gender parity in these technical programs, with 45% of students being women.
Through this collaboration, ESSEC and CentraleSupélec are building bridges between engineering and management, strengthening their international presence, and offering a bold response to today’s most pressing challenges.
ESSEC continues to broaden the reach of AI education. Beginning this summer, a new AI for Business Summer School will bring together students from around the world to work on real-world AI projects, expanding the school’s global and interdisciplinary footprint even further.
