“The SESAME Missions Consulting program is a partnership with an enterprise which submits, in a letter of mission a current strategic issue, to a group of 25 to 35 students for 2 weeks. The letter of mission specifies the objectives and the expectations of the company which is questioning itself on its potential, its development strategy or its performance.
For students, the module is about taking the role of consultants so as to handle the strategic issue in groups, giving them a chance to use strategic models as well as the knowledge during schooling and eventually lead to a professional analysis as well as operational recommendations for the company.” (Source: Syllabus SESAME 2022-2023)
This module allows students to be exposed to a real company facing a strategic issue, crucial for its development. This gives students the opportunity to discover markets and industries that they know little or
nothing about, and to understand the diversity of companies that can evolve there, whether they are large groups, SMEs or start-ups. They are hence exposed to the reality of a company, to the decisions already taken
and to its management mode. All their skills are being put to work to lead to a professional presentation, but also their ability to work in a large group.
From Monday 24th of January, 2023 to Friday 3rd of February, 2023, a group of 33 students from 6 different M2/MSc programs [6 MSc Aerospace Management, 8 artificial intelligence & business analytics, 7 big data, marketing & management, 6 digital marketing & e-commerce, 2 international business, 4 marketing, management & communication) has been working on a consulting mission provided by AirFranceKLM. Indeed following first discussions between Dr. Christophe Bénaroya and Ms. Lucie Garrido (TBS Alumni), the idea of a SESAME project came up and became ar reality after many exchanges over a few months.
The diverse profiles (13 different nationalities, large variety of educational background and first wrok experiences) enriched a lot this challenging journey.
Supervised by Dr. Christophe Bénaroya and Dr. Seamus Dufurrena, the consulting team had to work on the following mission:
“Your mission is first to provide your support through relevant and accurate analysis leading to actionable recommendations and value proposition for the medium/long haul flights in terms of offer and services with a medium-term perspective (2030)”
“Thanks to your analysis you propose an action plan regarding the loyalty program“
Indeed, owing to the current and future stakes and challenges the aviation industry is facing, AirFranceKLM group undertakes, beyond its ongoing actions, a strategic analysis to refine and/or redefine its offer on medium/long haul flights relying on sustainable development as a driving force.
Thanks to the remarkable support of Dr. Claire Garcia and to Candice Rolland, the project went smooth.
A great opportunity to work on societal and aviation hot topics (sustainability, business models, travel experience, new behaviors and future expectations…). After a first week dedicated to the analysis of all the market trends and dynamics, to a deep dive into the aviation sector, the 33 students (58% women) unleashed their creativity while continuing to work on realistic recommendations for a more sustainable, efficient, value-driven aviation.
A very enjoyable project carried out by motivated students! A special wink to the MSc Aerospace Management involved: Thomas Roux de Bézieux, Yizhe Jiang, En-Chieh Chang, Alexandre Gillio, Veechika Shetty, Rui Xu.
