Years go by and look the same for French business schools. As in the previous year, the latter occupied the first place in the ranking of the best European schools established by the Financial Times. Thus HEC Paris retains the first position in this ranking analyzed by 95 schools. INSEAD and Essex are also among the top eight firms assessed by the FT. Seven other French schools, including Adhc, ESCP and Emilion, rank from ninth to 46th.

The British daily once again salutes the “dominance” of French establishments that offer a “wide range of vocational education courses”. Last year, the FT also underscored the “welfare” of students on French campuses, but also the good value for money of these schools.

British school in good condition

The rest of the ranking is occupied by British schools such as London Business School (2nd), Oxford (9th), or Imperial College Business School (13th). The latter are doing well despite the disruptions associated with Brexit, which, according to the FT, “reflects their global appeal and the country’s continued attraction for future managers, leaders and entrepreneurs.” Also at the top of the rankings are Spain’s Ise, Italy’s SDA Bocconi, Switzerland’s St. Gallen and Germany’s ESMT Berlin.

To arrive at these conclusions, the FT analyzed several criteria such as teacher ‘CV, graduation’ results, their prospects (particularly in terms of salary and career progression), as well as other factors such as quality of teaching. International diversity of students. “The rankings highlight the geographic distribution of Europe’s leading business schools. Of the 95 schools classified by the FT, 22 are located in France, 19 in the United Kingdom and six in Germany, which has the largest economy in Europe,” underlines the daily.

impact of covid-19

Like last year, the latter recalls how the Covid-19 crisis brought the functioning of all these establishments to a halt. They continue to face border closures that restrict student movement. Schools have also been forced to adapt to online or blended learning.

There is also increasing pressure on them to reduce their registration fees during this pandemic period. Especially since many companies have reduced training budgets for their executives. “It is time to shuffle the cards. We live in exciting and sometimes frightening times, ”admits Frank Bournois, dean of ESCP Paris, in a column for the British daily.