HEC Paris is launching its biggest campus redevelopment in more than 50 years as rising interest from US students and changes in global education prompt the business school to rethink how it prepares students for the future.
“We are either constructing or renovating 90 percent of the campus,” Dean Eloïc Peyrache told Times Higher Education. The €230 million project, set to begin this year and finish in 2031, will add and refurbish 40,000 square meters of space at HEC’s Jouy-en-Josas campus. Part of the funding comes from a €300 million fundraising campaign led by the HEC Foundation.
The renovations reflect broader shifts in higher education. Artificial intelligence, geopolitical disruptions, and growing entrepreneurial ambitions are changing what students need to succeed. HEC is also seeing increased interest from US students, though Peyrache emphasized the school is “not obsessed with the US.”
Applications from American students to HEC’s MBA program rose 10–15 percent this year, while the new bachelor’s program saw 38 US applicants out of 480 in the first two rounds. Overall, US undergraduate applications are up 75 percent year-on-year, driven in part by high costs and academic freedom concerns in the US.
Campus life remains central to HEC’s approach. Unlike most European business schools, students live on-site, fostering collaboration and problem-solving. “It gives students a chance to come together, take a problem, think about it and find solutions,” Peyrache said. The renovations aim to strengthen this environment while equipping students to navigate a fast-changing global business landscape.
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