hec essay writing competition results 2022

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HEC Inter University Essay Writing Competition 2022

On the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of Pakistan, the Higher Education Commission in collaboration with the Ministry of Planning Development & Special Initiatives is holding Inter-university Essay Writing Competition in Urdu and English languages. The essay writing competition is aimed at sensitizing the Pakistani youth to analyze opportunities and challenges faced by Pakistan and identify their role in the country's development through critical thinking, creativity, and productive engagement.

It is a great opportunity for the youth to demonstrate their extraordinary writing skills and win national awards. The deadline for submission of Essays for the HEC Essay Writing Competition is extended till September 06, 2022. Please note that incomplete and duplicate entries will be disqualified.

Topics for HEC Essay Writing Competition (Urdu and English)

• Development Journey of Pakistan from 1947 to 2022; Lessons Learnt viz-a-viz Other Countries
• Pakistan at 2047: National Youth Aspirations

Prize Money for HEC Essay Writing Competition

• First Prize: PKR: 500,000/-
• 2nd Position:  PKR: 300,000/-
• 3rd Position:  PKR: 200,000/-
• 4th to 10th Position: PKR:  100,000/-

Eligibility Criteria

• Must be a Pakistani/AJK citizen Most be a regular university student Maximum age limit is 25 years
• The essay should be submitted with a duly filled Registration Form available for download at www.hec.gov.pk Students can participate only in one language (English or Urdu).
• Word Count for an essay should be between 2500-3000 words. English Essay must be typed in 'Times New Roman size 12, Line spacing 1.5 & Converted to pdf file. Urdu Essay must be typed and converted to a pdf file.
• Ms. Saher Mirza Assistant Director (Academics), Higher Education Commission Sector H-8, Islamabad. Email: [email protected] 

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ISLAMABAD: Higher Education Commission (HEC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Planning and Development, is holding an inter-university essay writing competition in Urdu and English languages to commemorate the 75th birth anniversary of Pakistan.

The competition is aimed at sensitising the youth to analyse opportunities and challenges faced by the nation and identify their role in the development of Pakistan through critical thinking, creativity and productive engagement.

The topics in both languages are: development journey of Pakistan from 1947-2022; lessons learnt viz-a-viz other countries; and Pakistan at 2047: national youth aspirations.

The first prize winners in each category will receive a cash award of Rs500,000, second position holders Rs300,000 and Rs200,000 for those standing third. Those securing positions from fourth to tenth will receive Rs100,000 a head.

According to the agency, the candidate must be a national of Pakistan or Azad Jammu and Kashmir, a university student with an upper age limit of 25 years.

The submissions are required to be sent along with a registration form. The students can only participate in either language. The Word count should be between 2,500-3,000.

The deadline for submissions is August 26.

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2023-2024 HEC Paris MBA Essay Tips and Example Essays

Jul 5, 2023

• Who is HEC Paris looking for?
• How should I answer the HEC Paris essay questions?
• Make sure you get into the HEC Paris MBA
• HEC Paris Deadlines

UPDATE: This article was originally posted on September 6, 2019. It has been updated with new information and tips below. 

With a diverse community, unique opportunities to pursue a dual degree at partner business schools around the globe, and location in one of the world’s most famous cities, HEC Paris is at the top of the list for an increasing number of applicants who seek to pursue (or continue pursuing) a high-impact, global career. 

However, competition to join HEC Paris’ elite MBA is more difficult than ever. 

That’s why we’ve prepared this guide to help you use your HEC admissions essays to stand out. We’ve rounded up our best tips and links to HEC Paris MBA sample essays to ensure you give your Haas application your best shot. 

1. Who is HEC Paris looking for?

( Photo courtesy of @hec_paris on Instagram)

“Founded in 1881, HEC Paris has continuously strived to give its students the necessary knowledge to become the business leaders of tomorrow. At over 130 years old, it is clear that we can stand the test of time. From its early days, HEC Paris has been a leading institution with an extensive array of options tailored to suit every student’s needs, which is why the MBA program (formerly Institut Supérieur des Affaires) was created in 1969 and has been teaching the business elite ever since.” HEC Paris Admissions

Every year, HEC Paris literally searches the globe for outstanding professionals given the honor of joining each class (HEC has two intakes per year), each of around 350 students. With a strong emphasis on diversity, there is no “typical” HEC student, yet the average admitted student for the Class of 2023 had a 690 average GMAT score and 6 years of work experience.  

Though diversity is a key point at HEC, the admissions committee is looking for candidates who embody the following characteristics:

( Photo courtesy of HEC Paris’ website)

If this sounds like a community in which you’d be right at home, you’ll first have to prove you’ve got what it takes by successfully answering HEC Paris’ admissions essay questions. 

2. How should I answer the HEC Paris essay questions?

Though HEC Paris does require numerous essays, this approach allows you to fully present who you are and why you’re passionate about the school in your application. 

2.1. Essay 1 Tips

Why are you applying to the HEC MBA Program now? What is the professional objective that will guide your career choice after your MBA, and how will the HEC MBA contribute to the achievement of this objective? (500 words maximum)

Though it may seem that you have a lot of space to discuss why you’d be a good fit for HEC in your overall application, you will want to pay special attention to this question!

That’s because this goals essay not only shows your career ambitions (an important part of determining how prepared you are to leverage your MBA after graduation), but also asks you to answer one of the most important questions in the application: why us and not another business school?

First, when discussing your goals, clarity is king, so make sure you include a job title and industry in your description of your post-MBA aspiration (mid-term) and also a connected long-term goal. 

However, goals without context can be a little confusing to decipher or understand (or they can just seem a bit lackluster). For example, a client last year initially started his essay by saying: 

“ I want to become a Business Development Director at a Brazilian company. ”

While interesting, it’s better to give a little bit of context to help these goals come to life. Check out the final version of the same essay’s introduction:

“In the 1970s, the phrase “think global, act local” came into use, suggesting that for the world to change, one must be active locally. With this mindset, I focused my career on Brazilian multinational companies to start creating global change at home. I now seek to take the next step to become a “glocal” leader by becoming Business Development Director at a Brazilian company.”

After clearly stating your goals (and your motivations for having these goals), we suggest you briefly touch on how HEC can help you achieve these goals. This should not be a “laundry list” of 10 classes you found on the HEC site, nor a section in which you repeat clichés about the school. 

Instead, you should thoughtfully consider how you must grow personally and professionally to reach your stated short-term goal and what elements of HEC (classes, faculty, clubs, etc.) will help you reach them. 

Ending your essay with a killer conclusion sentence to leave your reader with a strong image of your profile is the perfect wrap-up. 

2.2. Essay 2 Tips

What do you consider your most significant life achievement? (250 words maximum)

Over your career, you’ve likely had a lot of wins — both big and small.

Though you’re hopefully nodding your head in agreement, when was the last time you really reflected on which of your achievements are your strongest?

Go back and think of all the moments of your career and life that you are proudest of. Since this question does not state you have to use a professional example, you can surely include a personal example here. 

Then, consider what else the admissions committee will learn about you in the rest of your application and choose an example that adds a new angle or perspective that will enhance your appeal as an applicant. 

Finally, we suggest choosing an example that works well with the STAR format since these types of examples will be easier to explain in a 250-word essay. 

To wrap up the essay, don’t just mention the result of what happened in the story, but be sure to tell us why you consider this your life’s most significant moment. Perhaps it created a passion you’ve been following ever since. Perhaps it gave you a new perspective on your life. Whatever it is, make sure we get to learn this information in your essay. 

TOP TIP: We’ve written extensively on how to make your achievements shine in an MBA essay. Check out that article here !

Need more guidance?  Our MBA Resource Center has dozens of HEC Paris MBA essays that worked to get our clients admitted to help you plan out a winning HEC Paris essay. Our library also includes guides for all top global MBA programs, detailed essay brainstorms, interview tips and mocks, CV templates, and recommendation letter guides. Click to join ! 

2.3. Essay 3 Tips

Leadership and ethics are inevitably intertwined in the business world. Describe a situation in which you have dealt with these issues and how they have influenced you. (250 words maximum)

This essay can be slightly tricky. Though you should definitely stick to a straightforward story here, make sure you choose one that doesn’t make you look unethical. 

For example, a few years ago, a client shared that he’d accidentally shared classified information during a due diligence. Though the error was an important learning lesson and his mistake was totally due to inexperience, it still didn’t give a great impression of his ethics. 

As such, we suggest you choose a story where you faced external ethical challenges and used your leadership to overcome this issue. An important note: make sure your choice of example shows you in the driver’s seat ! Leadership essays built around examples where the applicant is not really leaving inevitably fall flat. 

For example, our client Bianca faced an ethical issue when her company’s suppliers asked her to fudge the numbers on import documents so both the supplier and the company could save money on taxes. Bianca then went through how she kindly worked with the client (understanding this suggestion could be due to a difference in cultures) to ensure the correct numbers were included. In the end, Bianca shared what this taught her about ethical leadership. 

When building your essay, follow a similar model. Use the STAR method to explain what happened ( making sure the conflict is clear in this essay to ensure you fully answer the question) and then showing what you learned. 

2.4. Essay 4 Tips

Imagine a life entirely different from the one you now lead, what would it be? (250 words maximum)

In this essay, the admissions committee wants to get to know you better as a person. You do not have to answer something business-related; just make sure what you do choose is not in conflict with the personal brand you’ve established in other elements of the application. 

I’ll never forget Carlos’ essay for this prompt several years ago (which you can read by downloading our sample essays!). An investment banker, he also fostered a voracious interest in history. In this essay, he shared this passion with us, saying he’d choose to be a history professor in this alternate life! It made for a very interesting essay that gave his IB profile a bit of extra spice. 

Remember, there is no “right” answer to this question, so be yourself! 

2.5. Essay 5 Tips

Please choose from one of the following essays: (250 words maximum)

• a) What monument or site would you advise a first-time visitor to your country or city to discover, and why?
• b) Certain books, movies or plays have had an international success that you believe to be undeserved. Choose an example and analyse it.
• c) What figure do you most admire and why? You may choose from any field (arts, literature, politics, business, etc.).

As these options are all equally good, make sure you choose the one you like the best (as long as you have some sort of story or angle you can use to answer this one, of course!)

If you choose to go with option A , think about what you would want to teach someone about your country . If you’d like to share your passion for cooking (and maybe tie in that popular cooking blog you run?) perhaps you could mention taking your guest to a famous market as a way to share your interest and introduce your country’s culinary history. 

Or perhaps you love to get outdoors and would encourage your visitor to head out into the mountains on your favorite hike. 

Whatever you choose, make sure you explain both what you would share and why you would share it , connecting any of your relevant activities or interests. 

Option B is essentially asking you to share your favorite book, movie, or play (though asks it not be a “famous” one). Here, again, there is no right answer, so be genuine. Regardless of the piece you choose, make sure you explain the general storyline and why you love this work so much. 

If option C stands out the most to you, choose wisely! While selecting your person, make a list of the characteristics you admire about each person, thinking about what stories or elements of your profile you can link to your choice. 

For example, a client who wrote this essay for LBS’ EMBA program chose Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi, the first female CEO of PepsiCo. This was the perfect opportunity for the client to discuss her values of resilience and diversity, and also gave her the chance to discuss the women’s empowerment initiatives she leads at her corporation. When discussing what you admire about the leader, however, make sure you discuss why you admire the person as a leader , not as a human being. We also suggest detailing your interpretation of what it means to be a leader. 

After giving background on your choice, we suggest you devote a good portion of the essay to the real star of the show: you . Make sure to focus on why the qualities/accomplishments of the person you have chosen are so inspiring and try to build some connection to your profile or background. 

2.6. Mini Goals Essay Tips

Please describe your immediate career goals following your MBA including location. (200 words max)

Here, you want to make sure to either copy the goals statement you wrote in Essay 1 and add additional information, including location, if not mentioned in the other essay. 

However, if your goals are not explicitly stated in Essay 1, be sure to include that information here. 

Though the question only asks about short-term goals, you may also wish to include information about your long-term career goals to demonstrate the link between your post-MBA plans and your ultimate career goals. 

Not sure exactly how to define your goals for your MBA application? Check out our post on that topic here . 

2.7. Optional Essay Tips

Is there any additional information you would like to share with us? (900 words max)

Though with such a short application you may be tempted to use this response to add additional stories and information you couldn’t quite squeeze in elsewhere, restraint is necessary here. Make sure you focus on explaining gaps in your application only , though you can use these explanations to highlight related achievements. 

For example, our client Fernando needed to explain his 6-month gap in work experience. As luck would have it, he spent these 6 months volunteering in Asia, so we not only addressed a “weakness” but were also able to include a new achievement in his application. 

We have written extensively on the issue of optional essays, giving tips and tricks for how to address issues like low GMAT scores or poor academic performance here . 

2.8. Reapplicant Essay Tips

At the beginning of the application, you will be asked if you have applied to HEC before. If the answer is yes, you’ll be asked to answer the following question:

If yes, please explain the reason that you are re-applying below

There is no stated word limit, but we suggest you keep your answer between 300-500 words. You should use this space to recap what you have improved since your previous application, any additional contact you have made with the schools, and any clarifications you feel will strengthen your application. 

We have written extensively on the topic of reapplicant essays. Check out our best tips and sample essays here !

3. Make sure you get into the HEC Paris MBA

Landing a spot at HEC Paris is no easy task. You’ve spent years building a track record of professional success, dedicated yourself to getting a good GMAT score, and carefully developed your application strategy . 

Now is the time to make sure your accomplishments truly shine, and the only way to do so is to write a clear, compelling admissions essay. 

Ellin Lolis Consulting began with one mission: provide the best possible service to our clients and get them the best possible results . 

Serving our customers is at the core of our company, and we know that applying for an MBA can be a difficult, long process, but our goal is to take away as much of the stress as possible by acting as your ally in the process. 

So if you need much more than just a few comments on your essay but instead want focused help shaping how you present your life’s greatest hits to one of the world’s toughest critics, you can count on us. 

In the words of our client Henrique , 

“Ellin helped me in the application process since the beginning on how to organize myself for the whole year. I truly believe that my interactions with her not only provided a foundation for the application creation, but also, and more importantly, structured my life at business school. I even got a scholarship. I really recommend her since she is really committed, hard-working and made me feel comfortable and confident during the entire process. Thanks for the phenomenal service, Ellin.”

Get in touch and let our award-winning team of writers and storytellers help you make an unforgettable first impression. 

4. HEC Paris Deadlines

HEC admits students on a rolling basis . You should receive a final answer 5 weeks after applying. 

Real MBA Essays That Got People In

School-specific sample essays that got our clients accepted

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With our expertise and 98.9% success rate in placing our consulting clients in at least one of their target schools, we can add more value to your application than you ever thought possible.

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HEC Essay Writing Competition 2022

HEC Essay Writing Competition 2022 , Every year, there is a writing competition organized in Pakistan called the National Essay Competition. This competition is held to encourage university students to think about the nation and to give them an opportunity to share their views about the country and its progress. The NACTA is the organizing body that is responsible for holding this writing competition. NACTA was founded in 1985 and it has been organizing this competition ever since. This competition encourages the students to submit their essays to write about what they feel about the country and its progress. It’s a great way to learn about your country and also learn about yourself.

If you are a Pakistani student, you should submit an essay to write about your views about the country.

HEC INTER UNIVERSITY ESSAY WRITING COMPETITION 2022

Writing is one of the most creative and satisfying aspects of education. The purpose of writing is to share your knowledge and creativity with other people. You may be inspired to write about what you know. Or, you may want to express your ideas about a particular subject. Whatever the case, you will need to know how to write well if you want to publish your work. You can learn how to write by reading books about writing and by listening to others who know how to write. Writing can be fun and can also be frustrating and difficult. The more you write, the better you’ll become at it.

In today’s society, students must be able to communicate effectively in a variety of forms. Good writing is essential.

WWW.HEC.GOV.PK INTER UNIVERSITY ESSAY WRITING COMPETITION 2022

A number of Pakistani universities conduct essay writing competitions. These competitions are held in order to encourage students to come up with original ideas. Students are given time to write a short essay. Each essay is judged separately. The best essays win prizes. The winning essays are published on the website of the university. These essays are very interesting to read. They are filled with fresh ideas. If you would like to participate in the essay writing competition, you should follow the instructions carefully. Read the requirements of the competition carefully. Then, follow the steps provided on the website carefully. Read the rules of the competition thoroughly. These rules are very important. Follow them properly so that you don’t lose out on your chance to win.

HEC NATIONAL ESSAY COMPETITION 2022 ELIGIBILITY PRIZE

A competition is held for the students who have participated in the HEC National essay competition. The competition aims at giving the students the opportunity to write essays on various topics. The winners are given prizes. The essay competition is conducted in different parts of the country. The winner receives cash prize of Rs. 15,000. Students can participate in the essay contest if they have passed Class X board exams and the grade obtained in the exam is above 50%. The contest lasts for about two months. The date for the submission of the essays is mentioned at the end of the contest. The essay writers need to submit the essays within two weeks of the deadline date. The rules of the essay writing competition are outlined below.

HEC NATIONAL ESSAY COMPETITION 2022 ELIGIBILITY PRIZE AMOUNT

The National Essay Competition is being held by the HEC for the first time ever and this is something very unique. Every year, the HEC awards students of Pakistan, and the winner will receive a cash prize of 100 thousand rupees (100,000 rupees). This year, the competition is to be held on 17th December. The essay competition is being organized in three different categories: Urdu language, English language and Education. Students can submit their papers online through the official website of the commission. For those who want to participate in the competition, they must write their essays in English or Urdu. The competition will begin from 3rd September and end on 31st October.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

HEC Essay Writing Competition is a writing competition that was started in Pakistan. Its aim is to improve the capabilities of students and help them write better essays. The main aim of the competition is to improve the level of English skills of the students. It also aims at improving their knowledge about the English language. The competition is open to students of all educational levels.

It is a contest that is aimed at improving the writing skills of students. The contest consists of two parts. The first part involves writing an essay and the second part involves writing an essay in the style of the contest. Students will be graded according to their level of skill. The contest is open to both men and women.

INTER-UNIVERSITY ESSAY WRITING COMPETITION TO CELEBRATE  2022

This year’s HEC essay writing competition will begin in the town and progress to the provincial level. The competition will last for a period of two weeks. Each participating school would have two options – write on the topic of the essay and submit a written paper on it. Students can take part in the contest if their school has an active account on the HEC website. They should follow the rules of the contest, which are described on the website, as they are different from those of the annual HEC essay writing competition. They should also know the details about the theme, which is, “The country needs more civil servants.”

NACTA 2ND NATIONAL ESSAY WRITING COMPETITION 2022

HEC Essay Writing Competition (HECEWC) is a yearly essay competition held by Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC). The competition was first started in 2014 and it will continue for two more years. The essay writing competition is a national level competition. The essays of students studying at public sector universities, private universities and colleges will be considered for this competition. Essays will be screened for plagiarism. Essays that contain higher than 19% of plagiarism will be rejected. The top performers of each class will compete to advance to the next stage which is a provincial-level competition. Those who are successful in completing will be rewarded with various prizes as per the following calendar of awards.

HEC PARIS MBA ESSAYS 2022

We’re happy to announce the upcoming essay and speech writing competitions for the Higher Education Commission (HEC). These are two of the biggest events for students and teachers. Students and teachers who are willing to participate in the writing contests are asked to submit their entries to the competition committee via email. If you want to know more about the essay and speech writing competitions, you can view the contest rules on our website. To be eligible, you need to be a student of higher education or a teacher in the sector. HEC Essay Writing Competition: In this essay contest, you have to write a 300-400 word essay on an academic subject.

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HEC Introduces Inter-University Essay Writing Competition

•   | 
• August 11, 2022

The Higher Education Commission, in collaboration with the Ministry of Planning Development & Special Initiatives, is holding an Inter-university Essay Writing Competition in Urdu and English to commemorate Pakistan's 75th Anniversary. 

Using critical thinking, creativity, and productive engagement, the essay writing competition aims to sensitize Pakistani youth to analyze opportunities and challenges faced by the country.

This is an excellent opportunity for young writers to showcase their abilities and win national awards. 

August 26th, 2022 is the deadline for submissions for the HEC Essay Writing Competition. Duplicate and incomplete entries will be disqualified.

HEC Essay Writing Competition Topics (Urdu & English)

• Development Journey of Pakistan from 1947 to 2022; Lessons Learnt viz-a-viz Other Countries
• Pakistan at 2047: National Youth Aspirations

Prize Money for the HEC Essay Writing Competition

• First Prize: PKR: 500,000/-
• 2nd Position:  PKR: 300,000/-
• 3rd Position:  PKR: 200,000/-
• 4th to 10th Position: PKR:  100,000/-

Criteria for eligibility

• The applicant must be a Pakistani/AJK citizen, a regular university student, and a maximum age of 25
• Students can only submit an English or Urdu essay along with a completed Registration Form available on www.hec.gov.pk .
• A good essay should have a word count of 2500-3000 words. It must be typed in Times New Roman size 12, line spacing 1.5, and converted to pdf. Typed Urdu essays must be converted to pdf files.
• All entries are subject to rejection by the HEC without explanation. E-mail the essay along with the Registration Form and send hard copies via postal mail to the following address:

Ms. Saher Mirza Assistant Director (Academics), Higher Education Commission Sector H-8, Islamabad. Email: [email protected]  

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The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has extended the deadline for the inter-university essay writing competition to 6 September 2022.

The development comes after heavy rains and flash floods wreaked havoc across the country resulting in the closure of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).

HEC announced this competition on Pakistan’s 75th Independence Day in collaboration with the Ministry of Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives.

The competition is aimed to help the youth analyze the opportunities and problems that Pakistan faces. It will also enable them to critically identify the role that youngsters can play in the growth of the country through creativity, critical thinking, and productive involvement.

Here are the details about the inter-university essay writing competition:

Topics (English and Urdu)

• Development Journey of Pakistan from 1947 to 2022; Lessons Learnt vis-à-vis Other Countries.
• Pakistan at 2047: National Youth Aspirations.

Eligibility Criteria

Candidates must be:

• Pakistani/Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) nationals.
• Regular university students.
• Aged 25 years or less.

Essay Writing Criteria

• Entry in one language only.
• The word count must be 2,500-3,000.
• The English essay must be typed in Times New Roman in font size 12 and 1.5 line spacing.
• The Urdu essay must be typed, not handwritten.
• All entries must be submitted in PDF format.

The new deadline for submissions is 6 September 2022.

How to Participate

• Candidates are to submit their essays with a filled registration  form  downloaded from HEC’s  website .
• The essay and the registration form have to be emailed to [email protected], and hard copies must be sent through courier to ‘Saher Mirza, Assistant Director (Academics), Higher Education Commission, Sector H-8, Islamabad’.

Cash Prizes (for English and Urdu)

The winners of the competition will be awarded cash prizes as follows:

• First position — Rs. 500,000.
• Second position  — Rs. 300,000.
• Third position — Rs. 200,000.
• Fourth to tenth positions — Rs. 100,000 each.

Note: Incomplete and duplicate entries will be rejected and the HEC reserves the right to reject any or all entries without reason. All other terms and conditions of the Inter-University Essay Competition remain unchanged.

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Case writing competitions

Case competitions can play a role in highlighting the many skills involved in case writing, teaching and learning. They can benefit faculty, researchers and students and offer the opportunity to showcase expertise at business schools and universities.

This page provides details of current case writing competitions. We're always interested to hear about new case writing competitions, so if yours isn't listed please get in touch.

We also have a page that lists information about case competitions for students .

Promote your competition

If you would like your case writing competition promoted on this page please contact Paddy.

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In partnership with the Association of African Business Schools (AABS), Emerald invite authors from African higher education institutions to submit business teaching cases focused on emerging markets in Africa.

Be in with a chance to win up to $2,250 and have your case published globally.

Further information

Visit competition website

List of winners 

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AIMA-India Case Research Centre (ICRC) is pleased to announce the fourth edition of its Case Writing Competition & Conference. The competition aims to encourage and promote the development of high-quality India-focused teaching case material that brings Indian ethos in managing the business.   The business world has changed significantly in the past few years, particularly during the pandemic. The Case Writing Competition aims to capture the changing industry trends, technological changes, digital economy, sustainability, survival and several other market requirements in the form of teaching cases.

List of winners

Page, in alliance with the Institute for Public Relations, conducts an annual competition for the writing of original case studies by students enrolled in a school of business, communication or journalism and who are pursuing a degree that is focused on corporate communications and the practice of public relations. The objectives of the competition are to introduce the practical applications of the core principles that define public relations as a critical function of management to scholars, teachers, and students, and encourage research that contributes to the profession's body of knowledge and provides practical suggestions on how to improve the corporate public relations function.

Student authors of winning entries and their faculty advisors are awarded cash prizes and recognized by the nation's leading corporate communications executives.

In partnership with El-Khazindar Business Research and Case Center (KCC) at the American University Cairo (AUC) School of Business, this case writing competition is open to authors from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, Pakistan and Turkey. 

The aim of the competition is to develop high quality teaching case material focusing on business and management issues in dynamic and emerging economies and at the same time to nurture case writing capabilities in these regions. 

The total award fund is $2,250 with prizes awarded to the top three cases ($1,000, $750 and $500). We will also consider all submissions for publication in the international, Scopus-ranked case collection Emerging Market Case Studies (EMCS).

Visit the competition website  

The aim of this competition is to encourage and promote the development of high-quality teaching case material that positively represents real women in leadership positions in the workplace.

Having 10 years of research on award-winning case papers, Lesley Symons of The Case for Women showed that women protagonists are present in only 11% of award-winning case papers. She developed the Symons Test which is used to assess the presence of women in case papers:

• Does it have a woman in it?
• Is she the protagonist?
• Does she speak to another woman about the business?

Only 4% of the case papers researched met all three of the rules. 

  Entries closed for 2024

The aim of the CEEMAN & Emerald Case Writing Competition is to encourage and promote the development of high-quality teaching case material relevant for the realities of dynamic and emerging economies, and at the same time to promote the development of case-writing capabilities in those countries.

China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), Shanghai MBA Case Development and Sharing Platform and The Global Platform of China Cases first co-organised the Global Contest for the Best China-Focused Cases in 2015. The aim was to promote research on unique management issues in the Chinese environment from a global perspective.

List of winners in: 2023 ,  2022 ,  2021 , 2020 ,  2019 ,  2018 ,  2017 ,  2016 ,  2015 .

You are invited to enter WDI's competition and support and strengthen diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) skills and knowledge for today’s students, who will become tomorrow’s global business leaders. WDI Publishing and the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business are proud to present the third annual DEI Global Case Writing Competition.

Entrants are encouraged to submit an academic case study about a DEI-related business dilemma within one or across multiple business disciplines. 

The winning individual or team will be awarded $10,000.

Visit competition website 

  Entries not yet open for 2024

With the support of The Case Centre and our category sponsors, the case writing competition encourages innovative and impactful case writing and teaching. Take part in this yearly case writing competition, organised since 1988. Through 13 categories representing critical managerial areas, you can contribute to management development and some of its future challenges. All winning cases receive €2000, wide visibility across the EFMD network and publication opportunity by The Case Centre.

Petra Grestenbergerova, e [email protected]  

List of winners in: 2022 ,  2021 ,  2020 , 2019 , 2018 , 2017 , 2016 , 2015 , 2014 , 2013 , 2012 , 2011 , 2010 , 2009 , 2008 , 2007 , 2006 , 2005 , 2004 , 2003

The Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration (PARCC) at the Syracuse University Maxwell School is sponsoring its 17 th annual E-PARCC competition to further stimulate the creation of effective and innovative teaching cases and simulations. 

The E-PARCC competition consists of two tracks: (1) Collaborative problem solving, collaborative governance, and network governance and analysis, and (2) Collaborative methods in international development.

Submission deadline: 7 June 2024

This year, the Fox School’s case writing competition will feature two distinct streams. Cases related to: (1) Ethics in Business, and (2) Accounting and Finance, are invited.

The study of ethical business practices touches every discipline in a business school curriculum, challenging students to think about what is right and what is fair from the perspective of numerous stakeholders. Authors are encouraged to submit cases covering Corporate Social Responsibility, Ethical Leadership, Business Integrity, Ethical Dilemmas in Marketing, and Ethical Workplace Culture.

Accounting and finance play integral roles in company operations by furnishing essential data for managerial decision-making and aligning managerial efforts with organisational objectives. Authors are encouraged to submit cases covering the impacts of new technologies, crisis management such as adapting to COVID-19 and legislative acts, business process automation, evaluation of companies amidst new financial instruments, and adjustments to climate regulations, including SEC disclosure requirements, on enterprises.

Prizes of $2,000 for 1 st  place and $1,500 for 2 nd  place will be awarded in each of the two streams.

This case writing competition is open to any authors (including those external to HEC Montreal as well as non-academic authors) whose cases fit the criteria outlined here .

The winning case in this writing competition will be used in the 15th edition of the AEMBA Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Challenge to be held in March 2024. During this case study competition, MBA students from all over the world are invited to reflect on and discuss complex issues related to corporate social and environmental responsibility.

$4,000CAD will be awarded for the winning case. The prize will be awarded at the closing ceremony of the CSR Challenge. If used in the March 2024 HEC CSR Challenge, the runner-up case will also receive $2,000CAD.

Entries closed for 2023

As part of ICFAI Business School’s 4th International Case Study Conference, there is a case writing competition for participants to enter.

Cases can be submitted in two tracks: 1. Embracing Sustainability: An Emerging Markets Perspective, and 2. Management Lessons from Indian Knowledge Systems. The best three cases will be awarded cash prizes.

Entry deadline: 3 October 2024

We run four global case writing competitions each year:

• Outstanding Case Writer
• Outstanding Case Writer: Hot Topic
• Outstanding Compact Case
• Outstanding New Case Writer .

Prizes and recognition

The winner of each competition receives a prize of £1,150 ($1,400; €1,300) and a special trophy. We also announce the result to leading business press worldwide and invite the winner to feature on our website and in our newsletter, which is sent to the global case community.

The chosen topic for our 2024/25 Outstanding Case Writer: Hot Topic competition is 'Generative AI, business and society'.

Find out more about all our awards and competitions 

List of winners:  Outstanding Case Writer ,  Outstanding Case Writer: Hot Topic ,  Outstanding Compact Case ,  Outstanding New Case Writer .

The Case Hub at the Suliman S. Olayan School of Business, American University of Beirut, is launching its first annual case writing competition. The competition aims to promote case studies with impact, and honour the best case writers in the Arab MENA.

Monetary prizes of $1,500 for the best case study and $750 for the runner-up in each stream are awarded.

Visit company website 

Intensive, practical and hands-on, our case training is ideal for teachers, writers and students.

Enjoy a safe, enjoyable learning experience, plus the chance to network with colleagues.

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HEC Announced Inter-University Essay Writing Competition 2022

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) announced the inter-University Essay Writing Competition 2022. HEC will hold the Essay Competition with the collaboration of the Ministry of Planning Development and Special initiatives.   Howvere, the regular students of the university can participate in the essay writing competition and win prizes. Students can choose any language from English or Urdu to write essays on the given topics. It’s a great chance for the students to show their writing skills and win a national award. The eligible students must submit the essays fulfilling all requirements by 26 August 2022.

Topics for HEC Essay writing Competitions 2022

The students will choose any of the following topics in English or Urdu.

English Essay Topics

• Development Journey of Pakistan from 1947 to 2022; Lessons Learnt viz-a-viz Other Countries
• Pakistan at 2047: National Youth Aspirations

Urdu Essay Topics

(۱) پاکستان کی ترقی کا سفر (۱۹۴۷ تا ۲۰۲۲): ترقی پذیر ممالک سے تقابلی جائزہ

(۲)  کا پاکستان : نسل نو کی امنگی۲۰۴۷

Eligibility Criteria for the HEC Essay Writing Competition 2022

• Applicants must be regular students.
• Candidates should have AJK or Pakistani candidates
• Age limit: 25 Years

Prizes for HEC Essay Writing Competition 2022 (English/Urdu)

• 1st Position Rs. 500,000
• 2nd Position Rs. 300,000
• 3rd Position Rs. 200,000
• 4th -10th Position Rs. 100,000 (each)

Essays format and Details

• Applicants must write an essay of 2500-3000 words on the chosen topics in English/Urdu.
• English Essay: Typed in ‘Times New Roman,’ Font size 12, Line spacing 1.5, and Convert it to the PDF file.
• Urdu Essay: Typed and converted to pdf file

How to Apply for HEC Essay Competition 2022

• Email the written essay on the topic in the PDF file with the registration form to the email address: [email protected]
• Download the registration form through the HEC website.
• Send the hard copies of all documents to the given address.
• Address: Ms. Saher Mirza, Assistant Director (Academics), Higher Education Commission, H-8, Islamabad
• Last date: 26 August 2022

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March 5, 2024

HEC Paris MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2022 – 2023] & Podcast Episode 565 with  Sara Vanos

Don’t miss our  Admissions Straight Talk  podcast interview with Sara Vanos, the Executive Director of Marketing and Admissions for HEC Paris MBA Programs . Sara highlights the unique aspects of the full-time MBA program, such as the 16-month duration, on-campus housing, and flexibility in specialization and electives. She also mentions the New Horizons program, which focuses on anticipating trends and thinking creatively. Listen below or click the image to read the full transcript.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn

The HEC Paris MBA application essays – and there are many compared to most MBA applications these days –give the adcom a well-rounded view of you. They go beyond what you’ve done to capture how you think and respond, even how you imagine. Moreover, they require you to communicate complex thoughts and experiences succinctly. For the four shorter essays especially, don’t waste words on conventional introductory and concluding paragraphs. Jump right into your point or story and use straightforward sentences that avoid wordy constructions (e.g. “had the opportunity to”); don’t hesitate to use direct, declarative sentences. This writing approach has an added benefit: it conveys confidence.

Since there are several essays, I suggest first sketching out ideas for them all, then stepping back to assess how all these facets add up as a whole, and adjusting topics if/as necessary to avoid redundancy and ensure a well-rounded presentation that will make the adcom feel that they  must  invite you for an interview.

HEC Paris MBA application essays

Hec mba essay #1.

Why are you applying to the HEC MBA Program now? What is the professional objective that will guide your career choice after your MBA, and how will the HEC MBA contribute to the achievement of this objective? (500 words maximum)

This is a traditional goals question with a couple of twists.

• First, the “why now” part should be explicitly addressed, even if it seems obvious. Briefly is fine – the essay overall should make this case ultimately.
• Second, the “professional objective” is essentially your long-term career vision. The question implies that this vision or goal will drive your preceding steps, so present your shorter-term goal(s) in that context: show how they pave the way for you to pursue and achieve your ultimate professional objective.
• Be brief but specific when discussing the HEC MBA – tie its program directly to achievement of your goals, and detail the 2-3 points about the program that are most meaningful to you.

Finally, connect the dots. This essay, well done, will convey how your goals grow organically from your experience and are achievable given your previous experience and an MBA from HEC.

HEC MBA essay #2

What do you consider your most significant life achievement? (250 words maximum)

Most significant life achievement – Wow. It probably didn’t happen yesterday. And for many people it didn’t happen at work… Few work accomplishments rise to the level of MOST SIGNIFICANT LIFE ACHIEVEMENT. Imagine if, for example, you state that boosting your organization’s bottom-line (by whatever amount) is your greatest life achievement – the adcom might wonder about your values or whether you really have a life. Although, if you can say that at work you saved jobs or lessened negative environmental impacts or were instrumental in developing a new medical advancement, that would be more substantial and could possibly fit the bill.

For many people, this story will be personal – I think of clients who have persevered through, managed, and overcome major family crises. For others, it will involve impact with community, religious, and/or social organizations or groups; for yet others it could involve a major milestone such as a national sports ranking or photo exhibit or music performance.

Whatever topic you select, with only 250 words, simply narrate the story and include the results or impact. It would be fine to have a sentence or two of reflection on why it’s so meaningful to you, but don’t make a long explanation. The reason should be clear from the content.

HEC MBA essay #3

Leadership and ethics are inevitably intertwined in the business world. Describe a situation in which you have dealt with these issues and how they have influenced you.  (250 words maximum)

Again, keep the structure simple: tell the story, and end with a brief discussion of how the experience has influenced you. Don’t feel the need to present a very dramatic story – many such situations are gray, not black and white. It may seem like a challenge to identify an experience that encompasses both leadership and ethics. However, addressing an ethics challenge will almost inherently require leadership (even if informal), whether on your part or someone else’s. When you explain how it influenced you , don’t just state generalities; give a specific example.

HEC MBA essay #4

Imagine a life entirely different from the one you now lead, what would it be? (250 words maximum)

This essay is an opportunity to show a different side of yourself. Describe an imagined life that reflects something meaningful to you . Make it vivid, show your passion . Note that the question does NOT ask what you would do if not in your current life/role; it asks you to imagine a life. Use that openness to express your creativity. In doing so, however, avoid being abstract. Weave in and employ your actual knowledge and experience, e.g., if you love ballet and are an avid ballet-goer, you could build your imagined life in a way that portrays your knowledge of and passion for dance. The reader would learn something interesting about you – and your prospective contribution to the social milieu of the program.

HEC MBA essay #5

Please choose from one of the following essays:  (250 words maximum) a) What monument or site would you advise a first-time visitor to your country or city to discover, and why? b) Certain books, movies or plays have had an international success that you believe to be undeserved. Choose an example and analyze it. c) What figure do you most admire and why? You may choose from any field (arts, literature, politics, business, etc.).

All these options are equally good – choose the one that resonates most with you; the one that you want to answer. It’s another opportunity to showcase your interests and passions. The “why” part is key: avoid platitudes, be specific and present focused, fresh insights.

HEC MBA essay #6

Is there any additional information you would like to share with us? (900 words max)

This question invites you to explain anything that needs explaining (e.g., gap in employment, choice of recommender, a bad grade, etc.) as well as to present new material that will enhance your application. If you choose to do the latter, make sure it’s a point that contributes to a clear and full picture of your candidacy. They give you a lot of words to work with; don’t think that you must use all 900!

HEC Paris at a glance

HEC MBA average GMAT score: 690

Class size (Class of 2021): 281

HEC MBA acceptance rate: 18.9%

You’ve worked so hard to get to this point in your journey. Now that you’re ready for your next achievement, make sure you know how to present yourself to maximum advantage in your SCHOOL NAME application. In a hotly competitive season, you’ll want a member of Team Accepted in your corner, guiding you with expertise tailored specifically for you. Check out our flexible consulting packages today!

HEC Paris remaining MBA application deadlines for Jan 2023 intake

*Application deadlines may be subject to change 

** For non EU nationals, we encourage you to apply sooner due to housing and student visas

Source: HEC Paris website

***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with individual programs to verify the essay questions, instructions and deadlines.***

For expert guidance with your HEC Paris MBA application, check out Accepted’s  MBA Application Packages , which include comprehensive guidance from an experienced admissions consultant. We’ve helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to top MBA programs and look forward to helping you too!

How to Get into HEC Paris MBA? [Episode 565]

Show Summary

Are you interested in an MBA program located in Europe, with a strong global and entrepreneurial flavor, a program that prides itself on flexibility and personalization? And would you love to complete your full-time MBA in just 16 months? Then HEC Paris may be just the ticket for you. 

In this episode of Admissions Straight Talk , Linda Abraham interviews Sara Vanos, the Executive Director of Marketing and Admissions for HEC Paris MBA Programs. They discuss the MBA programs offered at HEC Paris. Sara highlights the unique aspects of the full-time MBA program, such as the 16-month duration, on-campus housing, and flexibility in specialization and electives. She also mentions the New Horizons program, which focuses on anticipating trends and thinking creatively. Sara emphasizes the importance of work experience, extracurricular activities, and language proficiency in the admissions process. She also addresses the use of AI tools like ChatGPT in essay writing and the relevance of an MBA degree in today’s world. 

Welcome to the 565th episode of Admissions Straight Talk . Thanks for tuning in. Are you ready to apply to your dream MBA programs? Are you competitive in those programs? Accepted’s MBA admissions quiz can give you a quick reality check. Just go to accepted.com/mbaquiz , complete the quiz, and you’ll not only get an assessment, but tips on how to improve your qualifications. Plus, it’s all free. 

It gives me great pleasure to have, for the first time on Admissions Straight Talk , Sara Vanos, Executive Director of Marketing Admissions HEC Paris, MBA Programs. Sara started her career in higher education at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, and in 2014 she moved to HEC Paris, starting out in their careers office. Since 2016, she has worked in marketing and recruitment. Sara became the Executive Director of Marketing and Admissions for HEC’s three MBA programs in April 2023, and she also earned her MBA at HEC in the executive MBA program. 

Sara, welcome to Admissions Straight Talk . [1:54]

Thank you so much, Linda. It’s a pleasure to be here today.

Can you start by just giving us a very high-level overview of HEC’s three MBA programs? [2:01]

Sure, I’d be happy to. So we have our full-time MBA program, which is a 16-month program that can be residential. We have on-campus housing, or you can live off-campus. So that’s in our Jouy-en-Josas campus, which is quite close to Paris. You can do specialization, you can do electives, plus your core plus all kinds of other sorts of surprises and leadership activities. So that would be our full-time MBA.

Then we have our executive MBA. That can take anywhere from 15 to 21 months because it’s part-time. It’s either modular block, so you come on campus every two months, or you can do every other weekend in Paris. It’s typically for more senior professionals. So the average age is 40, usually with some management experience. And then we have anything from directors to CEOs to CFOs in that program. So very senior crowd. And then we have TRIUM, which is one of our flagship partnership programs. So it’s in partnership with LSE and also NYU. Even slightly more senior profiles that join that program. And it’s really exciting because it takes place in modules all over the world.

How long is that program? [3:17]

That one is almost 20 months.

Let’s zoom in on the full-time MBA program’s more notable and distinctive elements. Can you describe them? You’ve hinted at them a little bit. By the way, I once visited HEC Paris and it’s absolutely beautiful. [3:26]

I commute from Paris every day to go on campus, so it’s actually really easy to reach. And like you said, it’s beautiful. So it’s a wooded, private, acres of a forest, tennis courts, a chateau of its own, and of course, our other programs. But the one that we’ll zoom in on now is the MBA. So a beautiful campus with the possibility to live on campus, which is kind of interesting and different because a lot of MBA programs, you’re spread out everywhere. So we feel that having this on-campus housing really builds the community from day one because you’re with about 80% of the students living in our residential housing, you can easily attend club activities, and different community events, so you really foster that connection from day one.

If we start with the curriculum or notable things there, I think the 16 months is really unique. So typically, you’re looking at an MBA, “Where do I do it, how long, my ROI.” Et cetera. So we’ve kind of found the sweet spot. So you can either do 12 or 16 months, depending on your intake. So it can be a little shorter than the longer programs, but you get all the benefits of the longer programs. So electives, specialization, participation in our MBA Olympics, New Horizons, which is broadening your horizons and figuring out how to anticipate trends. So that’s unique.

We have a pretty smaller than I would say, some of the larger class sizes. So usually, an average of about 300 students come in two intakes. And you can start in September or January. So that’s also unique. I think if we say maybe one takeaway from these things I’ve kind of thrown out, there would be flexibility and customization. So I know that’s what a lot of people look for in their program. So whether it’s program length, how to sort of specialize what you take, so we have the specializations, which electives, where you live, if you live on campus, all of that really offers the flexibility to have a great experience.

You mentioned the New Horizons program. Could you tell us what that is? [5:38]

So it’s a type of capstone, but it’s really tailored specifically to HEC Paris. So it’s relatively new in our curriculum. We always had a type of MBA project or capstone, but we’ve really refined this one. So when students come in, they’re challenged to come up with a strategic question, but then they have followings or courses or workshops through their MBA. There’s always a surprise visit. And the goal of New Horizons is  to prepare you professionally, possibly have your question address something that will have your career sort of at heart, but it teaches you to anticipate trends and think about the what-ifs.

So it does that in different ways. For example, we have different improvisation workshops, so really hands-on how to react. We have workshops taught by consulting firms, so how to think like a consultant. And then we also have this kind of surprise visit. So every year the visit is changing. This year the students were surprised at 3:00 AM to visit a place called Rungis, which is where all of the fresh food produce comes in just outside Paris. So operationally, there are so many things to look at, especially because we’re receiving from countries all over the world and just how to scale, how to anticipate, how to think about it could be AI trends, it could be many different trends. So just addressing those in a real life place and then speaking about them in the following workshops. And it culminates with a project or a paper where you have to take your strategic ideas, challenge it, take all these workshops, put them into place, and then your final project, which can be used towards your professional career or starting your own company.

The interesting thing about the fruit and vegetable market is that it’s also so old. [7:17]

It started in Paris a long time ago, and now it’s scaled quite a bit and moved out, but it’s just the most interesting place at such a scale to think about that and managing that and anticipating trends, and what if there’s a pandemic? How do you receive what happens next?

HEC’s program is a 16-month program with two possible intakes. What about the internship? Most MBA programs feel that the internship is very important, especially for career changers. What does HEC say about that? [7:45]

So HEC and myself are very, very happy behind the internship. It can be very important step in someone’s career. Not necessarily, but we do offer that choice. So if someone joins in September, they do the MBA internship in the traditional timing, so it would be a summer internship. So there are different ways through the curriculum to prepare. That would be sort of similar to a two-year program where you have that gap in the summer, then you come back for your specialization and graduate early.

For January, it’s kind of interesting and cool because they can do a smaller summer internship, so a two-month internship in the summer, and then for their fourth term, they can choose to do a longer internship. In Paris, sometimes internships can be up to six months. So this allows them to do that kind of traditional French internship and/or they could go straight into full-time. So it’s quite flexible there as well. Shorter, longer internship and/or short internship. So many combinations. I think the hardest part is deciding and wrapping your head around which one is best for your career. Some of our students will choose to do other things in the summer instead of internships. Some will choose to learn French intensively. Some will choose to travel, some will choose to work on a startup or MBA project. But I would say about 80% of students will follow some kind of internship before they graduate.

What are the language requirements for entrance to HEC and for graduation? [9:20]

To enter, you just have to be able to pass your TOEFL,or be a native English speaker, and have done a degree prior to that in English. So the entry requirements are quite easy. I think graduating becomes a little bit trickier because we expect you to learn at least one new language before you leave the program and at a level designed for your goals. So we have in-person French classes, which our students can take. They can, however, choose the level based on how far they want to go. So let’s say they know they want to work in France, they’ll choose something a bit more intensive. So they’ll evaluate their level before, and their classes will be very intense and directed at giving a certification at a level where they can work with a proficiency, versus other students might say, “Okay, I want to have a level of French to communicate, to get around Paris to enjoy, but I don’t necessarily need it to work.” So they could choose that level.

On top of that, we sometimes have students who will choose to follow an additional language. There are up to 14 available, some in person, and some through our language center. But for example, when I worked in careers, I had quite a few students who would learn German instead of French because they were targeting to work in Germany afterward. So you have a lot of choices there, and it’s all included in the tuition, and it’s kind of at the desire of the student based on where they want to go. And then, we complement that with what we think can help to their professional goals or personal goals.

Do you ever have students who, let’s say, are very good at a particular language and say they want that to be their second language so they really don’t have to learn a second language or third language would be the case? [10:48]

Yes. Those ones have to learn a third language.

The basic requirement is that everyone needs to come out with a minimal, I think it’s a B1 level in an additional language. So we do have some students who come in speaking two languages. Most of our students, I think we looked and I think almost 90% of our students already come in with two. So they need a third. There are students with three already who need to learn a fourth. So we just want at least one new language at proficiency as part of the overall experience.

A very high percentage of students at HEC do not come from France. How does career placement work if they want to go back to their home country or they want to a country other than France? [11:27]

I just looked at this stat this morning, and I think 74% of our students work outside of their home country, but in over 50 different countries. So we do have students coming who want to work in France or Europe or UK. So that’s happening. I think generally, about 50% of our class has placement in Europe or the UK. We do have a lot of students though, however, who want to experience a new geography or who want to return to their company. So we have sponsored students who return to their home company or we sometimes have students who want to go back to their home country. We also have double-degree students who do one year here and one year at a university in another country, so they have those double networks.

What I think is important is that we have alumni and even alumni chapters, but also sometimes alumni offices across different countries in the world. Our careers team works with companies that are global. Often they’ll work with a global office that will look at regional placements. So we do have connections, I would say, worldwide. There are places where we place more students. So I would say in Asia we have more. Also, the US. Last year we had a lot of placement across Latin America, specifically Mexico in consulting. So our careers team works globally, but sometimes they’ll chase opportunities based on the makeup or desire of the class because that seems to be ever-changing.

Years ago, everyone wanted to work in France. The last two years I think our students have been a bit more open based on opportunity. We’ve had a lot of placement for consulting firms in the Middle East as well. So sometimes MBB students are more geographically open. So again, we have the connections and we kind of have our plan, but then every year we make some tweaks to it with the careers team based on what our students are looking for.

What don’t people know about HEC Paris that you would like them to know? Are there any misconceptions you’d like to dispel, myths you’d like to bust, or just things that you think are unknown? [13:25]

So I think one of the myths, perhaps is that you need French, that the classes are in French or that you need French to survive and thrive. We have lots of students every year who say, “It’s not important to me.” And they have a fantastic time, and you can get by and especially where our campus is and the surroundings and in Paris, it’s nice to have French, but it’s not important. So I think first off, to live in France, to even work in France, is a nice to have. It depends on what you want to do and where you want to go, but you don’t need it. And our courses outside of language classes are all in English. So I would say that’s a common myth.

What would I like people to know? 

Maybe that you have kind of all of the things that you’d expect from an MBA, but then there are some very special things about HEC that are memorable and stand out that I would say, yeah, don’t exist everywhere. So first the specializations, that’s a four-month intensive themed kind of journey where you decide a specialization. So we can take entrepreneurship or we could take consulting or we could take finance. So you really do a deep dive there outside of the electives. So that’s really great. We have our MBA Olympics, which I think is a standout feature as well. So we host MBAs from around the world on our campus. I think it’s just a really special place, and you almost don’t know it until you talk to somebody who’s working there or studied there. It’s something that’s not very easy to communicate in words, but I think through fit, vibe, and community, you’ll feel at the moment, hopefully, that you talk to somebody who’s linked to HEC.

HEC requires a GMAT or the GRE. Any plans to accept the executive assessment or other tests? Are you considering introducing test waivers? [15:10]

I love that you asked this. It’s a really timely question because I think in the last month or two months we’ve decided to accept the executive assessment. So we could take the GRE, the GMAT, or the executive assessment. I would say, as always, it’s a great idea to talk to our marketing and recruitment managers before you decide which test because they might be able to help you find the one that is the best fit for you. We have had a very low percentage recently as well of GMAT or GRE test waivers. That would be someone with a CFA level three, for example, someone with a really strong finance background paired with a strong English test or English university, et cetera. So it’s possible, but again, it’s a conversation where we look at holistically all of the elements that we would normally find in those tests. So it can happen. We have quite a bit of flexibility there. But I think it’s good to speak to a marketing and recruitment manager because it’s really specific to the person.

Sometimes it’s about the time and preparation you put into the test that helps you to prepare for this big step, be ready in courses, but also sort of mentally prepare, mentally prepare for studying again. I think there are a lot of benefits to the tests outside of just the score to get into a program.

The website says that HEC students have an average of six years of full-time work experience. Qualitatively, what makes for impressive work experience in your eyes? [16:47]

Six years is the average. That’s just taking everyone. It’s really much wider because sometimes we have someone with, I would say usually two years would be the minimum. However, we have had once or twice someone with a little less than that. So we like to look at everyone individually. We examine, I’m in every jury, I hear about every single applicant from what they wrote in their essays to all of the things that we look at. So we do look at everything. Strong work experience is typically someone who has done something impressive or has shown a promotion or has a good motivation that matches what’s happening in their careers.

So we’ll look at the CV, we’ll look at the roles that the person has had. We’ll also look at their motivations alongside that, then we’ll look at their essays to understand a little bit more deeply, possibly their projects. A clear CV is always nice because sometimes, when there are many points and there’s a mumble jumble or a really crazy format, it’s harder for us to really assess the CV. But I would say usually career progression, interesting projects, and promotions. Sometimes brands can be interesting as well, but they’re not necessary. A really cool startup project can jump out. We’re looking for a diversity of professional backgrounds as well.

So sometimes we might have a pile of amazing investment banking CVs, but then we’ll have a designer or an architect, and that will really stand out to us. So we’re looking at everything. So not just what you think would be a perfect CV, we’re looking to add that professional diversity to the classroom and things that will really be interesting or that are interesting to employers. So if we talk about designers, it’s so interesting because in the last couple intakes, we’ve had some really cool or atypical profiles, and they’re the profiles that the companies that were recruiting we’re really looking at. So I would just say people don’t count themselves out because you have sometimes no idea what will jump out in the MBA world or what will be a success.

You mentioned a minute ago the MBA Tournament, which is one of HEC’s better known programs. It’s a three-day multi-sport competition. There have been 1,500 participants from 15 leading international business schools participating. I’m sure it’s an organizational challenge for the students. But that and HEC’s essay questions lead me to ask about the importance of non-professional, avocational interests or activities in your admissions process. Is that something that you are looking for? [18:56]

We definitely assess extracurriculars. There’s a section where you can put any additional information. It’s important to us that people learn both in kind of traditional ways and non-traditional ways. So when you’re taking an MBA, we’re looking for you to learn in the classroom, but outside the classroom, that can be through clubs, social activities, and conversations. Sometimes we even look also at it can be travel or things that show that you’ve opened your mind. Not everyone would’ve had the chance to study or work abroad, but it could be something as simple as an extracurricular that’s global, or it could be working with business colleagues across countries. So we do look at that. We have a section where you’re able to share.

Again, you can be creative in some ways there. We don’t need you just to have volunteered at a food bank. That can be fantastic. But if you’ve volunteered in other ways, if you’ve made a committee at your work, if you have, again, started a company, if you have some kind of social purpose, or you’re involved in something within your community, I think any of those are good to share. Probably the more the merrier because some people, I think undervalue what they do, and then we see the line on their CV that says they’re like, I don’t know, a martial arts champion, but they didn’t add that into their actual application or a dance champion or somebody who’s a guitarist on YouTube. I don’t know. We see all kinds of interesting things, and sometimes we find that in the line in the CV, not in the application.

What do you look for besides stats? [21:13]

We’ll start by looking at their CV. So that’s one of the criteria. We’ll look at the GMAT, GRE test. These are things that kind of all follow and complement each other. We look at previous academic backgrounds. So which school did you go to? What did you study? And again, we try to tie all of this back to motivation. So there’s a motivational paragraph where you get to explain what’s next, why an MBA. So we’re kind of trying to look holistically. As discussed, we look at extracurriculars. We also look at languages. So we think it can be interesting, even if you’ve just started to learn a language, if your goal is to work in France, it can be helpful if you’ve already started learning. It’s not necessary, but we do look at that in terms of, again, motivation, career desires and outcomes.

We look at the essays, so we read all of the essays, and then discuss them. So sometimes, things can jump out. Some of them are kind of creative. So I would say in there, depending on the essay topic, we’re looking for different things. The additional essay is something that maybe only 10 to 20% of students use, but it’s extremely interesting because it’s where you can add anything that we might not have known about you. And it’s often where we learn something extremely interesting. So I would say that’s something to look at.

Where we also evaluate, but it’s at a later stage, would be the interviews. So how did it go with your alumni interviewer? How did the alumni interviewer rate your presentation? Because you have to make a presentation. Communication skills and motivation, et cetera. I think those are all of the main buckets if I’m thinking through them. There’s none that’s weighted super heavily. They’re all kind of pairing together and matching together. And even if someone doesn’t have the perfect application, because we discuss each and every profile in a jury of several members, there are other things that can come into play. So for example, our marketing and recruitment managers try to have a call or meet everyone that comes in the program. So it can be very interesting because often they’ll add complementary information that can boost almost if somebody forgot something and the marketing recruitment manager knows, they can also talk about their conversation, talk about things like that. So I think that’s also somewhere that can add value.

Is there a conversation in addition to the interview, or are they one and the same? [23:30]

The process is basically we evaluate the whole application. The marketing recruitment manager presents the file, we speak, and we all go there. Then we decide who moves to interviews. So from there, that stage, then they have two alumni interviews, and that’s where we leave the decision to our alumni. So that’s a bit almost scary because in my teams, we could say, “This is the perfect CV, this is the perfect profile.” Unfortunately, if they don’t make it with the two favorable comments from the interviewers, they can’t be admitted. So if both say no, we are like, “Oh no.” That has happened. It’s always unfortunate because if we move someone to interviews, we really believe in them, but we believe more in our graduates’ opinions of who will fit best at HEC and who will make HEC shine the most. So we send them off and let them have that final decision.

What if the interviewers don’t agree? [24:27]

So if there’s two that don’t agree, which it’s more rare than you would think, if they don’t agree however, then it comes back. So we have a final, final jury, which involves people from our academic and delivery team, the dean, the careers team, and myself. It’s quite a large team. So that’s where we vet them all. If they all had a great application, they made it to interviews, it’s good, so we still check in case there are any flags that the larger community would like to discuss. That’s where we debate as a group. We read the comments, we look at the assessments of both interviewers, and we try to understand what the interviewer said, what that means, and how that ties back. So it’s kind of a final check and balance, and then the members of the final jury get to vote.

That’s quite a process. What do you want to learn from these essays? [25:30]

What we’re looking for there depends on the question. So sometimes we’re looking at maybe an ethical dilemma or something that someone’s facing in their work, we’re looking for a genuine example. It’s not necessarily like, “Are you writing a poem? Are you a great writer?” It’s more about the content of the essay and what’s there, and is it genuine. Is there something interesting? Do they assess themselves? Do they have emotional intelligence? It’s hard to read all of this from an essay, but actually, you can get a lot more, I think, in these paragraphs than you would imagine based on the differences of the questions.

I don’t know, sometimes you can see that someone is a little bit creative when they describe where they might take you in their home city. You can see how they kind of struggled with the decision or how they turned it around. So we’re just trying to get to know the person because, until that point, we may or may not have met them. We want to get to know them over paper. So it’s not something that you can just say like, “Yes, no”, it’s a lot deeper than that, I think. So the more someone would share, I think the more we would be able to assess and get to know them and hopefully move them to the next round.

I also found it very interesting that the longest essay question, or the one with the highest word limit is optional. The required questions are around 200-250 words, right? [26:46]

Yeah. They’re quite short. We’re looking for, usually, a couple of paragraphs, sometimes a little longer, depending on the person. Definitely, a word limit can be important because I think our longest CV was 24 pages. It was a researcher citing a lot of research.

For us that was just a little bit too long so we want to make sure that we find that sweet spot. Additional can go a lot longer because sometimes people use that to articulate various things for scholarships. So they might want to put additional information if they’re looking for a scholarship that we couldn’t have measured. Some people are telling us more about their life situation. So for the additional, we let it go. We haven’t had anything too, too long yet. And, like I said, not that many people use it, but it’s always quite valuable when they do.

Some people will use it to explain a GMAT score if it’s maybe lower than they would’ve hoped, other people will use it, for example, we have our Laidlaw scholarship, so that’s 100% funded tuition. So some of our female students will use that as a place to kind of indicate that they’re interested, and there they would have to express financial need and a little bit more information. So we kind of use that for everything for now. We’re changing to a new CRM relatively soon, wherein we’ll be able to break that down a bit more based on yes or no. So it’ll become more sophisticated shortly.

What’s the most common mistake that you see applicants making in the application process? [28:28]

Yeah, it’s a funny one. Usually, we kind of let it go because it’s so common, but a lot of people will cut and paste essays and keep the other schools that they’re applying to. It’s okay because we know that they’re applying to multiple schools, but sometimes people will say, “I’m applying to HEC only.” And then they will cut and paste an essay in a CV where they cite another school. It’s the most common one. I think for the admissions team, we are rather used to it. We know that it can happen. We know, “Okay, it’s an oversight. Maybe the person is not super detail-oriented.”

But where it can have a larger impact is our alumni will have access to the application of the person who’s applied and moved into an interview round. So for I would say our alumni, it’s a more big mistake because they want people who are like diehard HEC, they want them to love HEC, to only be thinking about HEC. So common. Easy though, I think, for applicants to take a quick double-check, put a PDF of your application file, look the whole thing through, and just look for these very small but easy-to-fix things, I would say.

Yeah, this is one of the things that comes up repeatedly from admission directors. My suggestion for applicants is if you are adapting essays from another school, don’t cut and paste, number one. But if you are adapting essays from another school, when you start that process, not at the end, when you start, do a find and replace. That way, you will not miss it. 

You mentioned chatgpt a few minutes ago. are you concerned at all about it [30:17].

What’s quite interesting is recently we had a professor who gave an exam, and he allowed half the class to use ChatGPT, and he allowed half the class not to use it, and it turned out no one knew who did, who didn’t. And the professor, when they were marking the test, they didn’t know who had used it or who didn’t. The grading was much, much higher for those who did not use it. So A, I think that says something for now I think that you may lose creativity, and sometimes we know people did ChatGPT because of the format of the paragraphs or how they use emojis or kind of how they do things, it’s quite easy to know.

In the end, we are not going to ding anyone for it, but I think you might be doing yourself a disservice because A, you miss the thought that you put into the essays, which is just as important as what you write. I think the process of taking the time, finding your achievement, wording it, having that deep impact to how it comes across and how we’ll read it might or might not be more generic. I don’t know yet, and I’m sure chat GPT will get better. But for the moment, I don’t think it helps candidates that much. Maybe to formulate their ideas. But then I would still go back, and if you want the best essay, I think probably for now you’re still better than the robots. But we’re not too worried for the moment. We’ll kind of see what happens in the future. But again, we’re not looking at somebody who writes perfectly. We’re looking to understand the person, their ideas, their flow, et cetera. So if they have someone or a robot that helps them, it’s not the end of the world today.

What about applicants applying for your January 2025 intake or planning ahead for the September 2025 intake? What advice do you have for these two groups? [31:57]

I think they kind of have a pleasure and a joy of planning because we see both the people who plan really early, especially when we go to fairs, for example, in Germany, they’re planning two years out, and then we see last minute applicants who are coming in one month. We like all of them, but I do think that there’s a joy in planning early because it allows you to kind of check the boxes, make a financial plan, figure out the funding, how you’re going to be able to pay for this, make a really good Excel. Because I think funding and understanding that is quite important, and sometimes it can be maybe overlooked or rushed. So I think it’s great because you can actually make, “I want to save X.” And how much your loan is for.

I think the other thing is that you have more time to perhaps visit schools, explore, maybe do that thing where you go on multiple campus visits across schools to assess fit, more time to get in touch with current students or alumni or the schools themselves. What I would probably look at for those candidates, too, schools are changing their curriculums, not rapidly, but I hope that they’re adapting every couple of years. So I guess it will be important to know how do schools adapt their curriculum? How might that impact you? How can you kind of anticipate what might be different in a couple of years? So those are some questions that could be interesting to ask. But otherwise, I would say just enjoy the ride, the joy, and all of the time you have to study, to plan. But don’t under or overestimate the amount of time and kind of ignore little things. Just use that time wisely so that you have, I guess, a pleasant journey where you can plan everything and you’re not rushed at the last moment.

What would you have liked me to ask you? [33:57]

Maybe why or how is an MBA still relevant? Is it still relevant? Why is this the degree to follow maybe in today’s day and age? I think that’s something that people are kind of questioning.

Since the moment that I worked at Rotman, I have, and even before, real admiration for the MBA degree because I think it’s so versatile, and having had the pleasure of working careers, I have seen miraculous career jumps, changes, and not just career, but also personal. So if I look at a student who would come for coaching in year one versus two, the way that they’re challenged, the way that they’re trained to feel comfortable in the uncomfortable, the way that MBA programs teach a core but also teach you to anticipate trends, the way that you can holistically see marketing or finance or all of these buckets and how they work together, I think it’s incredible. For me, it’s still the most transformational, versatile degree. It opens doors that would most likely be closed or take you a lot longer to achieve. So I think that that’s probably the thing that you should know first. Why are you passionate about an MBA? And then for me, I truly believe in this degree before I did it, but since I did it, and with everything I’ve seen from careers to admissions and more.

I got my MBA a long time ago, and I did not pursue a traditional MBA path, and I don’t think I fully realized the benefit of the degree until maybe 15 years after I got it. But it still benefited me when I started Accepted. It has long-term value. [35:35]

Yeah, that’s extremely important. You’re not just investing in something that’s for a couple of years, you’re investing in something for life. And I’m sure that there will be moments at two years, five years, 10 years, 20 beyond where you’ll be like, “Oh yeah, I remember that.” Or, “Oh, I can read that balance sheet.” Even though you haven’t used it.

Where can listeners and potential applicants learn more about HEC Paris’ MBA programs? [36:42]

The first stop is probably the most obvious. So go on the HEC Paris MBA website. From there, there are two of buttons that you can click that might be a good place to start outside of the curriculum, et cetera. 

One would be to connect with us . So I mentioned our marketing recruitment managers, they’re the loveliest people. They want to get to know you, and they’re really genuinely there to help you, get to know you. When I visit their offices, they know where someone they met two years ago is in the class or in which job, so it’s genuine.

Or we have a button that talks about our news stories or blogs , and it inspires me all the time. I also really like Instagram , but I won’t go too crazy because I like to dream about what’s next beyond just kind of the technical things in the brochure, and our stories allow you to dream about, I don’t know, a family that moved here together or at Christmas, there was all the Christmas lights of Paris and what you can enjoy, or a student story about where they did their internships. So I would say start by dreaming and connecting with us and then go deeper into the details.

Relevant Links:

• Are you ready? MBA Admissions Quiz

Relevant shows:

• Applying to Wharton Lauder? Do Your Research!, podcast Episode 465
• Get Accepted to UW’s Foster School of Business , podcast Episode 461
• How to Get Accepted to Oxford Said Business School, podcast Episode 457

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