Rennes School of Business, partner of the Summit of Minds
The School participated in this month’s Summit of Minds, powered by Monthly Barometer, an event which combines high-level, cutting-edge content and inspiring contributors during monthly gatherings around the world.
Rennes School of Business is an official research partner of the Summit of Minds, powered by Monthly Barometer. This monthly event unites inspiring and expert contributors from different sectors to exchange and speak about current affairs in an informal and conversational atmosphere. This edition of the event took place in Chamonix, France from 17 – 19 September 2021.
One of the defining qualities of the Summit of Minds is its focus on the appeal, relevance and significance of nature. The events are held in locations of outstanding natural beauty and routinely welcome a number of experts, investors, activists and policymakers who have made nature the focus of their attention.
Dr Thomas Flichy de la Neuville, holder of the Chair of Geopolitics at Rennes SB, and Dr Céline Azemar, the School’s new Academic Dean, both spoke during this month’s event.
Céline Azemar tells us a bit more about her talk during the event:
« The Summit of Minds was an insightful event with some alarming presentations about the rise of poverty, food insecurity, inequality, CO2 emissions and uncertainty (due to the pandemic, climate change, political friction, the reorganisation of the supply chain and conspiracies).
As a speaker at the closure session, I indicated that if the industry, academia, and policymakers move toward sustainable models, we can be more ambitious in several aspects. For instance, companies could align their business to high societal impact, whereas in academia there is a need to provide an education that develops critical thinking skills (especially regarding the use and understanding of data) and soft skills (via project-based learning for instance where students need to interact with people who have different perspectives and cultures). Furthermore, a greater amount of academic research should be aimed at generating a tangible impact on society. Finally, in the policy arena, there is a need for a combination of both small and radical changes at a local and an international level.
In order to support those changes, including the mass vaccination against Covid-19 in developing countries, increasing tax revenues should be a priority. The reform of our tax system, with 132 countries adopting the two pillars developed by the OECD, is a historical agreement that is headed in this direction. A more ambitious tax reform could consider a higher global minimum tax rate (currently agreed at 15%) and during the pandemic, an exceptional and retroactive tax on excess profit, in line with the one used during World Wars I and II by 13 countries (including the US, the UK, France and Canada). »
Sponsor of the MSc in Geopolitics
The Summit of Minds sponsors the new MSc in Geopolitics & Business at Rennes School of Business. As a programme that focuses on the rebirth of national identities, the digitalisation of society and the return to nature as a source of inspiration and regeneration, the Summit of Minds corresponds closely to the content of the course, building a relevant and coherent partnership for the School.
