First-year students in the Master in Management programme at NEOMA arrive on campus on the 1^st and 2^nd of September in Reims and the 2^nd and 3^rd of September in Rouen for the traditional Starting Days. This is a two-day seminar at the start of the year where they will receive coaching from professors and professionals on the concepts of innovation, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. Second-year students will also help them out in discovering their school.

Embracing discovery, inspiration and personal challenges

This year’s seminar for NEOMA first-year MiM students has been titled “Unbox, plug and play” and it will be held in person on the Reims and Rouen campuses. Its main purpose is to welcome 1,100 new students and help them integrate into the NEOMA family.

With the same event schedule planned for both campuses, the two days will be punctuated by coaching sessions led by professionals, inspiring conferences with NEOMA alumni entrepreneurs and an introduction to soft skills, which are indispensible today for future managers and entrepreneurs.

The second goal is to convey the school’s values to the students and inspire them. They will work together on an idea and learn how to structure and sell it.

They will put together a group and begin with collective brainstorming by using the Golden Circle principle: this is the recipe for success used by inspired organisations and leaders, which begins with focusing on the “why” before developing the “how”. The seminar introduces this concept to the students so they can begin to think outside the box and become the inspired leaders of tomorrow!

Integrating into the NEOMA family

Over the two days on the campuses, the new students will be in contact with second-year students from the MiM Association Track. They will be both “pathway facilitators” who will welcome, lead and guide the new students, and “insight advisors”, offering them assistance and support.

In addition, each first-year student will be the “guardian angel” of another student and they will look after each other during the seminar.

And of course, the seminar will also offer new students the chance to learn about student society life with activities that highlight the talent involved in the student committee and the sports committee.

Benefit from professional assistance from the very first day

Handpicked contributors who are experts in public speaking, group work, negotiating and creating influence will provide students guidance during Starting Days, and NEOMA graduates who are passionate and inspired entrepreneurs will propose conferences so they can share their experience.

The seminar will end with the students presenting their group projects before a jury made up of professionals, particularly the partners of Starting Days: Grand Reims, Caisse d’Epargne Grand Est Europe (CEGEE), Crédit Agricole Normandie Seine (CANS) and MATMUT.