The Master's degree program stands out for its commitment to combining academic excellence with practical application. From the outset, the program's objective was clear. "We sought to strike a balance between academic rigor and the practical application of knowledge. Our lecturers come from both academia and the field, ensuring a multidimensional approach to the issues addressed," explains Jean-Yves Gnabo.
This commitment is reflected in particular by:
- Hybrid teaching.
- Flipped classrooms (practicing in class and studying at home) and real-life scenarios, encouraging active student involvement.
- A final thesis with original themes.
The thesis is the result of a symbiosis between the field and the academic world. Students can choose from different tracks. Professor Auguste Debroise, who supervises theses, explains: "Students have three options: a field thesis, a research thesis, or an entrepreneurial thesis. The first option involves companies, organizations, or public authorities identifying issues encountered in the field. Once the requests have been made, we submit them to the students, who choose one based on their interests. We believe that this is a great way to offer them direct field experience and access to real data, while addressing issues with more theoretical concepts and an analytical mindset. The second track is more scientific, with a traditional research focus. We therefore offer students who are more inclined towards a scientific approach the opportunity to write their thesis based on works on the subject. Finally, the third option is to give students with an entrepreneurial spirit the opportunity to develop their project or put it into practice if it is already well developed. In this way, they will compare their real-world project with academic tools to see what real needs it meets and to try to take a step back from their entrepreneurial project and thus develop critical and reflective thinking," explains Auguste Debroise.
Similarly, the "Ecological Transition" seminar is a concrete example of the program's approach. "This seminar is based on sharing experiences with high-level speakers. For example, we welcomed Catharina Sikow-Magny, former Director of Ecological Transition at the European Commission," shares Jean-Yves Gnabo. In addition, other enriching initiatives are held as part of the program. This is particularly the case with the "Cross Perspectives" seminar, which reflects a certain transdisciplinarity by exploring economic and environmental issues through the eyes of a sociologist, a philosopher, and a political scientist. Important courses such as "Fundamentals of Environmental Policy" and "Evaluation of Environmental Resources and Policies" are taught by Professor Ludovic Bequet, PhD in Economics.
Finally, the master's program is enriched by a collaboration with the Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale in Boulogne-sur-Mer, which has more than 20 years of experience in teaching economic and ecological transitions. "This partnership allows us to benefit from the expertise of this university, while offering our students a broader view of the issues at stake. We have set up a course-sharing system, where our students have access to targeted teaching provided by its experts, and vice versa," explains Jean-Yves Gnabo.
