École supérieure des affaires (Beirut)

Established in 1996 following an intergovernmental agreement between France and Lebanon, the École supérieure des affaires (ESA) is a business school in Beirut, Lebanon, managed by the Paris Île-de-France Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

École Supérieure des Affaires - ESA Business School

المعهد العالي للأعمال
Type	Private business school
Established	5 April 1996
President	Maxence DUAULT
Academic staff	approx. 250 (visiting)
Address	289, Rue Clemenceau , Beirut , Lebanon 33°53′55″N 35°29′21″E
Campus	Urban 35,000 square metres (8.6 acres)
Affiliations	ESCP Europe
Website	www.esa.edu.lb

The faculty is composed of professors from Europe, particularly from ESCP Europe and HEC Paris.

History

The École Supérieure des Affaires was established in 1996. The idea behind creating an important business school in Beirut came from, and was promoted—in particular towards the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry—by Fayek Abillama, who was also the President of the Alumni Association at HEC, Lebanon. At the same time, Jean-Pierre Lafon, former French Ambassador to Lebanon, convinced of the necessity of increasing Franco-Lebanese cooperation in matters of education, adopted the idea of creating a Business School to address the needs of the business community. In May 1995, he approached the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry to set his plan in motion, in close collaboration with The Central Bank of Lebanon and its Governor, Riad Salame. A partnership was thereafter established between the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Central Bank of Lebanon, and the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry. ESA was established on April 5, 1996, in the presence of French President Jacques Chirac and Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, through an intergovernmental agreement signed between France and Lebanon, and an institutional agreement signed between The Central Bank of Lebanon and the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

ESA was recognized by the Lebanese Ministry of Higher Education decree N8 9033 dated 27 August 1996.[1][2]

Campus

Villa Rose – Portalis Mansion

The Portalis mansion, befrore its restoration

The "Villa Rose" (pink villa), is a historical 19th century mansion. Built by industrialists Antoine-Fortuné and Nicolas Portalis (sons of French statesman Jean-Étienne Portalis) who founded a sericulture and silk production facility in the Shouf region in 1836.[3] The Portalis heirs sold the mansion in the early 20th century to the French mandate authorities. The "Villa Rose" is still owned by the French government, it had accommodated since the 1930s the counselor of the embassy of France in Lebanon.[4][5] The "Villa Rose" and its gardens have been abandoned and ravaged during the Lebanese civil war. The ESA recently acquired the "Villa Rose" from the French government according to a long term lease.[6] The ESA is restoring the "Villa Rose" in preparation of future expansion and integration into the campus, meanwhile the Portalis mansion is used by ESA to house regular cultural events and painting expositions.[4]

Academics

Faculty

The Ecole Supérieure des Affaires hosts approximately 250 visiting international leading academics and professors most of which come from the two centres of Business Higher Education of the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry: ESCP Europe and HEC group.[7] The ESA is headed by Stéphane Attali who had been the deputy director general of ESCP Europe; Attali replaced Roger Ourset and assumed office in January 2009. According to the WBS 2010 ranking, after 14 years of existence, the ESA scored first in the MENA region amongst more than 50 other establishments. Highly selective, the Ecole Supérieure des Affaires has today acquired a great prestige, competing French and English best business schools.[8]

Academic cooperation

• ESCP Europe (École supérieure de commerce de Paris–École européenne des affaires)[9]
• Institut d'Administration des Entreprises at Poitiers[10]
• École supérieure de commerce de Rouen[11]
• HEC Lausanne
• Groupe HEC paris[12]
• Paris Diderot University
• Reims Management School
• Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi
• Universita Ca' Foscari Venezia[10]
• Skema Business School
• Rotterdam School of Management

Admissions

The selection criteria rest mainly on competitive written and oral exams.

References

1. Publitec publication staff (2000). Who's who in Lebanon (15th ed.). Bowker-Saur. ISBN 978-3-598-07672-5. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
2. Lebanese Ministry of higher education. "Higher-edu". Lebanese Ministry of higher education. Archived from the original on 2 August 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
3. Khater, Akram Fouad (2001). Inventing Home: Emigration, Gender, and the Middle Class in Lebanon, 1870–1920. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 257. ISBN 9780520227408. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
4. "lesarts.pdf (application/pdf Object)" (PDF). esa. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
5. "La villa rose – De Beyrouth à Bordeaux". Le Monde. France. 26 March 2007. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
6. Emié, Bernard (29 June 2007). "Cérémonie de remise des diplôme à l'Ecole Supérieure des Affaires – La France au Liban". Ambafrance. Archived from the original (diplomacy) on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
7. "L'Ecole Supérieure des Affaires de Beyrouth fête ses 10 ans" (PDF) (Press release). Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie de Paris. 28 June 2006. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
8. Morel Lebbos, Elodie. "Pierre Simon, président de la Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Paris : " L'ESA doit rester un pôle d'excellence " - iloubnan.info". Iloubnan. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
9. "Associate Campuses – ESCP-EAP The School of Management for Europe". Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2009.
10. "Ecole Supérieure des Affaires – ESA". Retrieved 15 January 2009.
11. "Groupe ESC Rouen, mission". Archived from the original on 26 December 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2009.
12. "Groupe HEC". Retrieved 15 January 2009.