A little bit of history

Founded in 1900 in Nantes, Audencia - formerly ESC Nantes, whose name derives from the Latin "audientia" meaning "to listen" and "audacia" meaning "audacity" - has established itself as one of Europe's leading management schools with its first EQUIS accreditation in 1998.

2004

Audencia joins the United Nations initiative

Audencia joins the United Nations initiative that brings together companies, labor and civil society around ten universal principles related to human rights, labor standards and the environment.

The school becomes the 1st management school in France to join the Global Compact.

Since then, Audencia has continued to develop and apply its CSR expertise, integrating it into its research, teaching and internal management.

2010

The School collaborates with SciencesCom

In 2010, the school partnered with SciencesCom (a communications and media school founded in 1984) and L'École Atlantique de Commerce (undergraduate degree training created in 1981), accredited programs ranked among the best in their field.

As a result, Audencia Business School now offers management and communication programs ranging from bachelor's to doctoral degrees.Active both in France and internationally, the school has developed an Executive Education offering that designs training solutions to meet the strategic challenges and operational objectives of companies.

Since 2013

École Centrale de Nantes, Audencia and École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Nantes

L'École Centrale de Nantes, Audencia and l'école nationale supérieure d'architecture de Nantes (ENSA Nantes) form a strategic alliance that builds on their complementary strengths.

This alliance combines engineering, management, architecture, and design to enrich the teaching, research, corporate relations, and international reach of the three schools.

2016

Development plan

In 2016, Audencia co-constructs, publishes and implements its 2020 development plan to serve the following ambitions:

Delivering education that meets the expectations of students and the challenges of change in business and society
Promotion of the quality of its teaching and research internationally, especially in the fields of innovation, CSR and finance.
Accelerate its transformation based on the alliance

In 2017, Audencia changed its status from that of an association to that of an EESC (consular higher education institution. Thanks to this change, Audencia, supported by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Nantes-St Nazaire, strengthens its management and decision-making autonomy in order to better meet the challenges of its development.

2020

For its 120th anniversary

Audencia celebrates its anniversary with a unique digital experience! From January to December, 20 significant events of the year are illustrated by Nantes-based artist Dr Paper. 120 drawings embodying the richness and diversity of the activities carried out by the Audencia ecosystem. Discover the full feature.

Audencia becomes one of 30 schools worldwide to be included in the Positive Impact Rating. Launch of a new initiative called "Daring Together", in which students, alumni, professors-researchers, staff and partners participated in a collective reflection process that enabled the co-creation of the ECOS 2025 plan.

2020 also marks the EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA re-accreditation for the school for a maximum period of 5 years.

2021

Audencia launches its strategic plan "ECOS 2025"

As a result of the "Daring Together" initiative, more than 200 people representing the Audencia ecosystem were led:

To question the school's certainties,
To search for new and innovative opportunities,
To reinvent itself and place the school's horizon at the intersection of the humanities and responsibility.

With this strategic plan, Audencia remains true to its roots, DNA and history while working for the common good of society. It does not aim to be the best school in the world, but to be a better school for the world, and to be recognized as such in the national and international scene.

In 2022 - 2023

The ECOS 2025 strategic plan

The ECOS 2025 strategic plan is taking on its full force through the accomplishment of numerous flagship projects:

The inauguration of Gaïa's first graduating class
The opening of the Sirius program, for ever greater inclusiveness
The Lighthouse Certification Program - a faculty development program supported by Harvard Business Publishing Education and accredited by Advance HE.
Publication of an environmental report in partnership with The Shift Project
Launching new programs in China, including a hybrid programs
Opening of the São Paulo Campus
The implementation of a strategic CSR approach in 4 priority areas
Opening of a new campus in the Paris region (Saint-Ouen)

All these projects, and many more, allow Audencia to consolidate its status as a major player in the French, European and even global business school landscape.