| École Supérieure des Affaires المعهد العالي للأعمال |
|
|---|---|
| Established | 5 April 1996 |
| Type | Private business school |
| President | Stéphane ATTALI |
| Provost | Maxence DUAULT |
| Academic staff | approx. 250 (visiting) |
| Location | Beirut, Lebanon |
| Campus | Urban 22,000 square metres (5.4 acres) |
| Affiliations | École supérieure de commerce de Paris–École européenne des affaires |
| Website | www.esa.edu.lb |
The École Supérieure des Affaires (ESA; Arabic: المعهد العالي للأعمال) is a Beirut-based higher education establishment. It is the only Grande Ecole for business in the Middle East region. The ESA was founded in 1996 by the French and Lebanese governments, as a joint cooperation between the Paris Chamber of Commerce (Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie de Paris) and the Bank of Lebanon. ESA is managed by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and is an associated center of the École supérieure de commerce de Paris–École européenne des affaires (ESCP-EAP), a top ranking international business school; it offers a variety of specialized business and management degrees. The medium of teaching is French.
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The concept of creating a Lebanon-based Grande Ecole for business that follows the French model was proposed, promoted, and lobbied at the Paris Chamber of Commerce by the Lebanese scholar Fayek Abillama who was also the president of the HEC alumni in Lebanon.[1][2] A partnership was established between the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Bank of Lebanon and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris to provide Lebanon with a higher education establishment for international business.[3] The ESA was formally established 5 April 1996, in the presence of presidents Jacques Chirac and Rafik Hariri, as part of a government agreement signed between Lebanon and France and an agreement between the Bank of Lebanon and the CCIP.[3]
ESA was officially recognized by the Lebanese Ministry of Higher Education decree N8 9033 dated 27 August 1996[4][5]
The ESA Clemenceau campus served as the headquarters of the diplomatic chancellery of the French embassy in Lebanon;[6] it sits at an elevated hillside overlooking the Mediterranean at the heart of Beirut, the campus is just over 22,000 square metres (5.4 acres) in area, it includes seven buildings, a parking lot and green terraced areas. Campus green areas includes groves of ancient Ficus, Robinia and pine trees, fountains, a small open-air amphitheater, and terraces which serve as permanent exhibition space for modern plastic art. The campus is only accessible to students and visitors through the main gate which opens onto Clemenceau street as the other gates are kept closed.[2] In 2008, the ESA supervisory board endorsed a campus expansion plan which focuses initial development on the rehabilitation of the Villa Rose, a historic landmark lying south of the current campus. [7] and undertook a fund raising campaign aiming $ 5 million.[8]
The "Villa Rose" (pink villa), is a historical 19th century mansion. Built by industrialists Antoine-Fortuné and Nicolas Portalis (sons of French statesman Jean-Étienne Portalis) who founded a sericulture and silk production facility in the Shouf region in 1836.[9] The Portalis heirs sold the mansion in the early 20th century to the French mandate authorities. The "Villa Rose" is still owned by the French government, it had accommodated since the 1930s the counselor of the embassy of France in Lebanon.[10][11] The "Villa Rose" and its gardens have been abandoned and ravaged during the Lebanese civil war. The ESA recently acquired the "Villa Rose" from the French government according to a long term lease.[12] The ESA is currently restoring the "Villa Rose" in preparation of future expansion and integration into the campus, meanwhile the Portalis mansion is used by ESA to house regular cultural events and painting expositions.[10]
The Ecole Supérieure des Affaires hosts approximately 250 visiting international leading academics and professors most of which come from the two centres of Business Higher Education of the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry: ESCP Europe and HEC group.[13] The ESA is headed by Stéphane Attali who previously was the deputy director general of ESCP Europe; Attali replaced Roger Ourset and assumed office in January 2009.[8]
The ESA Executive MBA is an 18 months part time program created in 1998 in partnership with the ESCP-EAP Executive MBA program. The program provides a double executive MBA degree from ESA and ESCP-EAPEuropean School of Management.
The specialized Master in Marketing is an 18 months program part time program. The program provides a double degree: Specialized Master in Marketing (Mastère de Spécialisation en Marketing) from the ESA, and "Mastère Spécialisé Marketing et Communication" from the ESCP-EAP European School of Management.
ESA master in healthcare management is an 18 months part time program which is organized in partnership with the Paris Diderot University, the Haute Autorité de Santé and the Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris. The program provides a double degree: Specialized Master in Hospital and Health Management (Master en Management de l’Hôpital et de la Santé) from ESA and "Master en Management des Unités de Production de Soins" (MUPS) from Paris 7 – Denis Diderot. The program is provided by professors from the Paris Diderot University, Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Haute Autorité de la Santé (HAS)- France, Fédération Hospitalière de France, Fédération Hospitalière Privée, Qulturum- Sweden, University of Montréal- Canada, University of Toronto- Canada, Dartmouth Medical School and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Rotterdam School of Mangement
The ESA developed the Islamic Finance Qualification (IFQ) as a result of a joint initiative between the Securities & Investment Institute and the Bank of Lebanon, the program covers Islamic finance from both a technical and Sharia’a perspective. The IFQ provides the first international benchmark in the area of Islamic finance.[2][3][13][17][18]
The selection criteria rest mainly on competitive written and oral exams