Students getting together on Zoom to wish classmates a Happy Birthday

Student Voice: Emric Navarre speaks about Campus & COVID

HEC Paris MBA student Emric Navarre

Emric Navarre joined the MBA in September 2019

Excerpt from an email from Emric Navarre to administrators

“HEC Paris surpassed every expectation in terms of quality and excellence in the face of the COVID-19 crisis and the resulting uncertainty.

Academically, the HEC Paris MBA hired extra professors to offer two different time slots for every summer-semester class (known as Term 3 by MBA students) to maximize live interactions. One session was held in the morning for students who had moved back to Asia, and a second one was during the afternoon for students residing in Europe and the Americas. This means we had lots of participation and interaction even though the classes were online. I watched students that generally were very quiet in the classroom start to become more open to participating when they were behind their laptops. Group work was sometimes challenging, but we managed. While HEC adapted the curriculum to the health needs of the moment, the grading and rigor of testing policies were maintained.

“It was comforting to see that HEC refused to sacrifice the quality of its educational program for the sake of the crisis” -Emric Navarre

While sometimes stressful, it was comforting to see that HEC refused to sacrifice the quality of its educational program for the sake of the crisis. We wanted to attend one of the best educational institutions, and HEC ensured that standards were maintained. Concurrently, the HEC MBA program also allowed students to defer classes if they did not want to take them online. This gave students a choice during a time when the crisis had generally forced things upon people without many options.

Coffee-and-Talk Zoom with an HEC Paris MBA professor (Prof. Denis Gromb), which took place after finals. Limited to 3 students per session, Professor Gromb had 8 hours blocked off for several days to talk about any topic with any student that signed up.

Coffee-and-Talk Zoom with an HEC professor (Prof. Denis Gromb), which took place after finals. Limited to 3 students per session, Professor Gromb had 8 hours blocked off for several days to talk about any topic with any student that signed up.

Concerning student life, HEC embodied what it means to put service before self: providing free food, inviting sports coaches to campus to offer free CrossFit classes for students to follow from their balconies, and keeping campus open to residents, as well as many other things. It’s difficult to emphasize enough the reputation HEC Paris has in France, and all of these school services and influence helped students, both local and international, ensure they could safely focus on their studies without being concerned over visas or other administrative matters. On every issue, HEC has worked with students to try and fix the problem. The one-to-one service is exceptional.

I acknowledge that there will always be issues – some will view them more severely than others. But in a crisis that has no rule book and no clear path to navigate, HEC took on a leadership role befitting of its reputation.”