GAIA, the School of Ecological and Social Transitions

As part of its strategic plan, Audencia has given itself a new raison d'être: that of supporting the virtuous transition of organizations. 

However, the seriousness of problems such as global warming, the collapse of biodiversity and growing inequalities places us in a situation of urgency. This compels us to accelerate change and adopt a form of radicalism to deal with it.

Gaïa will welcome all those who have the desire to change, to evolve, to transform themselves, as well as those who wish to transform their organization and perhaps even the French economy and society as a whole. We can only succeed in this endeavor with the most willing participants. Those who want to create a new future today.

Given the challenges we face, Gaïa's goal is to train the professionals and leaders of the transition: individuals who make the choice to influence our collective future by reinventing the way we produce, work, consume and live together.

Join the Gaïa adventure if you believe that we must develop new business models, products and services that are necessarily sustainable and inclusive!

Gaïa is committed to creating new kinds of educational experiences where everyone learns to think systematically, develop collaborative strategies, and measure the impact they or their organization is having through their actions.

Two examples of pedagogical innovations offered at Gaïa:

• Permanagement: students have the opportunity to take a management course on a permaculture site 20 km from Nantes. Aim: to be inspired by the interdependence and symbiosis of the living world to learn a management style that puts harmony before performance
• Climate intelligence: course in partnership with climatologists and the EY consulting group (currently being finalized): 12h intensive to understand what the IPCC scenarios correspond to (+1,°C, +2°C and more) and 12h with a consulting firm to think about business models for companies. Real life case studies.

Students at the Audencia "Grande École" have the option of joining the M1 Gaïa master's program. It lasts one semester and is exclusively dedicated to the management of the environmental and social transition. This course will enable students to develop and apply this culture of impact by combining knowledge from management, environmental sciences (biodiversity, climate...), human sciences (inclusion, diversity...) and technological sciences (energy, biomimicry...).

Students in our future MSc programs also have the opportunity to learn about Gaïa, by focusing on transition issues specific to the business sectors in which they choose to specialize in. Courses dedicated to the electrification of the automotive fleet, sustainable tourism or inclusive event management follow this logic. 

Eventually, all of Audencia's courses will include an itinerary within Gaïa.