HEC Paris launches Wintegreat program to revive refugees’ professional projects

Ten students from HEC Paris have come together with administrative teams and teachers, as well as graduates of the school, to accommodate twenty refugees over a semester. This initiave is the result of a partnership with Wintegreat, a solution for the professional integration of refugees.

The business school will host the first back to school ceremony on Wednesday, January 31st, 2018 at the Jouy-en-Josas campus.

Eloïc Peyrache, Associate Dean for HEC’s MSc in Management Program, says: "Businesses have an important role to play in reducing inequalities and improving social development in a country. By allowing, through training and support, a better employability of these refugee populations, HEC Paris is also at the heart of French social development. I am particularly pleased and proud of the dynamism of our students, teachers and staff who are behind this great initiative".

The program will address the following three challenges:

. Overcoming the language barrier and finding cultural points of reference, with 20 hours of weekly classes.
. Increasing the credibility of participants in the eyes of employers and universities, by integrating them into the rich environment of the Grandes Ecoles and Universities.
. Creating sustainable social relationships, by connecting each participant with a team of volunteers, consisting of a mentor, a coach and a sponsor, who will accompany them in the definition and realization of their professional project.

At the end of the semester, program participants will receive a certificate signed jointly by Wintegreat and HEC Paris, attesting to their attendance and progress made during the program.

Wintegreat implements intensive and free programs in major schools and universities, allowing refugees to resume their professional career in order to fight against the relegation of refugees in their host society.

Today, the Wintegreat community is made up of more than 600 volunteers (professionals and students) who commit themselves daily, using their skills to develop those of refugees, to help them build their professional projects and gain credibility with universities and companies. Thus, thanks to their unique knowledge of the participants' profiles, Wintegreat is able to redirect the refugee participants reliably to partner companies seeking to diversify their recruitment and find new talent.

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About HEC Paris:

Specializing in management education and research, HEC Paris offers a complete and unique range of educational programs for the leaders of tomorrow: Masters programs, Summer School, MBA, PhD, Executive MBA, TRIUM Global Executive MBA, open-enrolment and custom executive education programs. Founded in 1881 by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, HEC Paris is a founding member of the Université Paris-Saclay. It boasts a faculty of 108 research professors, more than 4,500 students and over 8,000 managers and executives in training each year. HEC Paris was ranked second best business school in Europe by the Financial Times’ overall business school ranking in December 2017.

Press contacts:

Julie Dobiecki
International Press Officer
+33 6 37 39 62 99
dobiecki@hec.fr

Pauline Prunier
Development Officer|Wintegreat
+33 6 40 06 62 00
pauline.prunier@wintegreat.org