What is the connection between Chinese cinema and hairdressing? Consilience, of course! The Consilience track is an integral part of the ThinkForward continuum.
It enables students in the Master in Management (PGE) programme to analyse major societal issues, in writing, through knowledge hybridisation and with their professors on hand to share their expertise. "The Consilience track enables students to understand major societal, environmental and geopolitical issues by linking different areas of knowledge and approaches," said Frederic Munier, professor of geopolitics at SKEMA and holder of the French "agrégation" in history. To date, more than a hundred L3 students (first-year PGE) have chosen this track, some of them coming from literary preparatory courses.
Writing: a pillar of consilience
"Being an author", one of the three cornerstones of Consilience (along with innovative pedagogy and knowledge hybridisation), requires students to practise and produce writing on a regular basis. "It can be writing an article about Steven Pinker's book Enlightenment Now, or about a societal issue for publication on the ThinkForward website, or even an essay about a lecture the students attended at Collège de France," added Frederic Munier.
Since the start of the academic year, the students in the Master in Management (PGE) programme who chose the Consilience track have had access to 10,000 free online lectures from Collège de France.
Mentoring, the central element
Students taking the Consilience track learn to nourish their mind by watching or attending lectures, reading and meeting different people through the support of their professors who are always available, as per the Oxbridge model of education.
Opportunities for law students
L3 students interested in digital sovereignty and planning a career in business law are offered the opportunity to perform a weekly press review for publication on the iDFRights website (Institute for Digital Fundamental Rights – a SKEMA partner since October 2021). In conjunction with Frederic Munier and Isabelle Bufflier, who runs the double degree in Management and Business Law, the students are part of an editorial board that meets each week to decide which relevant subjects should be put forward in the review.