The Actions of the emlyon Foundation
Every journey deserves support
emlyon business school and the emlyon Foundation are driven by a shared conviction: success should not be limited by social background, disability, life challenges, or financial constraints.
An ambitious social policy
emlyon business school has chosen a proactive and ambitious social policy that goes far beyond regulatory requirements. The emlyon Foundation is a key pillar of this commitment, transforming solidarity into concrete and lasting actions that directly benefit students.
The Foundation acts where needs are most urgent—and sometimes invisible—by exclusively funding projects that directly support the School’s students.
Did you know?
Since September 2022, emlyon has applied a tuition fee reduction for all CROUS scholarship students enrolled in the Grande École Program. This measure was extended to the Global Bachelor of Business Administration in 2024.
Depending on the scholarship level, the reduction ranges from 5% (level 0 bis) to 100% (level 7), significantly improving access to the programs.
Concrete support at the heart of the student journey
The emlyon Foundation funds four mechanisms that directly benefit students (living expenses, emergency funds, oneoff financial support for preparatory students applying to Grandes Écoles, etc.).
4 mechanisms – 4 ways to take action
Living Expenses Grants
Grants designed to address financial difficulties and essential needs (housing, health, food).
Emergency Funds
Oneoff financial support for students facing exceptional circumstances that threaten their studies (accident, death of a parent, etc.).
Fragile Health & Disability Grants
Support for students with disabilities or visible/invisible health conditions.
“Tour de France des oraux”
A support program for preparatory students in AuvergneRhôneAlpes: coaching and financial assistance to attend admission interviews.
Living Expenses Grants
Supporting students to ensure equal opportunity
These grants allow talented students from modest backgrounds to pursue their studies at emlyon business school without their living conditions jeopardizing their success.
When essential expenses—housing, food, transport, health—are no longer a constant source of worry, academic success becomes attainable.
Why is this essential?
Even when tuition fees are reduced or covered, living expenses remain a major barrier. Some students face precarious social and financial situations. Covering daily living costs can lead to: constant financial stress, excessive paid work, reduced academic and extracurricular involvement, difficulty integrating and building a network or even giving up on joining or continuing at a Grande École.
These grants provide students with the peace of mind they need to fully focus on their studies and their future.
Your support is a godsend and a beacon of hope. There is no greater reward for us than knowing that our dreams are being supported.
What does the grant cover?
The grant covers about 50% of annual living expenses.
Awarded to CROUS scholarship students after application review.
Available for students in the Grande École Program and Global BBA, all years included.
Key figures for 2025
- 1,067 CROUS scholarship students at emlyon
- 70 students (CROUS levels 4 to 7) received a €5,000 living expenses grant
The most modest (CROUS level 7) have family incomes below €5,000/year; nearly 90 joined emlyon in 2025
Impact of your donation
Your support:
- allows talented students to focus fully on their studies
- promotes equal opportunity
- helps young talents integrate into school life and build their professional future
Each funded scholarship transforms a student’s trajectory: one can stop working evening shifts, another can finally secure proper housing, and another can begin to envision their future with peace of mind.
Our goal
Structuring multiyear support for the students we accompany
€500,000 = 100 students supported = 100 secure academic journeys
Emergency Funds
Rapid responses to life’s unexpected events
The emergency fund provides immediate support in cases of serious and unforeseen hardship: illness, bereavement, family breakdown, natural disaster, or crisis in the student’s home country.
Without immediate help, these events can jeopardize both academic progress and personal stability.
Why is this indispensable?
The emergency fund provides support when everything is falling apart, offers students the time and resources needed to recover.
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, the Foundation can act quickly and with precision, ensuring that a personal crisis does not jeopardize a student’s academic or professional future.
Without rapid help, risks include: dropping out, interruption of studies, permanent withdrawal, debt, social isolation, depression.
What does emergency support cover?
In addition to the human support provided by the School’s Health & Wellbeing Office, the emlyon Foundation offers assistance designed to meet a student’s essential needs immediately, including: payment of a housing deposit, food expenses, urgent travel (familyrelated, medical, administrative), any other essential expense linked to the crisis.
This is tailormade support, adapted to each situation, enabling the student to navigate a critical period without jeopardizing their studies.
Emergency situations can affect any emlyon student, regardless of program, year, age, nationality, or social background.
Each request is reviewed by a monthly committee composed of experts from various departments and donors, following several key steps:
- Individual meetings with students to assess their situation. The social worker may also intervene if needed. Their resources and expenses are analyzed to obtain a fair and comprehensive understanding of the case.
- A detailed review of the student’s situation, distinguishing primary needs (housing, food, health) from secondary needs (equipment, digital access).
- A collective decision on the allocation of support that is adapted, proportionate, and targeted.
What is the amount of support provided by the Emergency Fund?
The financial support generally ranges from €500 to €1,000. It is provided on a oneoff basis and is designed to meet an immediate and essential need.
Since the creation of the Emergency Fund in 2016, requests have been steadily increasing, reflecting a real and growing need. In 2025, more than 120 grants were awarded.
What is the impact of your donation?
Your donation can make a difference in just a few days.
- you enable a rapid response to a critical situation,
- you create an immediate human impact,
- you help prevent a student’s academic journey from being derailed.
Our goal
Support over 100 students in emergency situations by raising €100,000 per year.
Fragile Health & Disability Grants
Supporting success despite health challenges
These grants support students with disabilities, chronic illnesses, or visible/invisible health conditions so they can study under fair conditions.
They cover needs such as: sensory or motor disabilities, chronic or psychological illnesses, language or speech disorders, including DYS disorders.
Beyond academic accommodations, they help cover additional costs linked to disability.
Why is this indispensable?
In France, the proportion of students with disabilities in Grandes Écoles remains low due to:
- lack of reassuring information in high school
- fear of not being able to keep up (fatigue, accessibility, medical care)
- administrative complexity
- reluctance to selfdeclare due to stigma
Did you know?
64,000 students with disabilities were recorded at the start of the 2023 academic year in public and private higher education institutions of public interest — representing 2.2% of all students.
Source: MESRDGESIP
Uncovered needs
Despite emlyon funding health & disability services and infrastructure, students still face additional costs:
- adapted equipment (software, reading tools, specific devices)
- notetaking assistance or signlanguage interpretation
- mobility support, including for international internships
- daily life surcharges linked to disability
Beneficiaries
At emlyon, more than 340 students with disabilities have come forward, representing a wide variety of profiles. This figure remains underestimated, as some students do not dare to declare their situation or believe they are not eligible.
In 2025, 31 students received support following a call for applications. This represents a doubling of beneficiaries compared with 2024, along with a 20% increase in the total amount allocated.
What is the impact of your donation?
By supporting the Fragile Health & Disability Grants,
- you enable a student with a disability to pursue their studies under appropriate conditions,
- you help a young person focus on their education rather than on a side job incompatible with their health,
- you become a key contributor to a more inclusive and attractive School.
Our goal
Providing targeted, effective support with strong human impact.
Supporting more than 50 students by raising €100,000 per year.
Tour de France des oraux
Empower talents ahead of entrance exams
The Tour de France of Oral Exams is aimed at preparatoryclass students from modest backgrounds or priority territories, with the goal of combating selfcensorship and opening access to France’s top Grandes Écoles.
Because of their social or geographic background, many of these students do not always dare to aim for a Grande École or lack the resources needed to succeed in the competitive exams. Through longterm human support and financial assistance, emlyon business school and its Foundation work upstream of the entrance exams to fight selfcensorship and promote genuine equal opportunity.”
Why act at the preparatory stage?
Despite strong academic potential, some students: limit their ambitions, lack information about exams and interviews, fear financial costs, selfcensor due to perceived inaccessibility
For emlyon, taking action at this pivotal stage means strengthening its socialmobility mission beyond its own student community.
The solution
A program implemented by emlyon supports students enrolled in preparatory classes at six partner institutions in the AuvergneRhôneAlpes region.
A coachingstyle support system is offered over two years (mentoring, internships, oralexam preparation, etc.) in partnership with the student association Astuce.
At the end of this period, targeted financial assistance may be granted, enabling students to cover travel and accommodation costs throughout France, as well as meal expenses related to the oral exams.”
Amount of support
The amounts awarded vary depending on the student’s situation:
- from €200 to €900, for a total annual budget of €10,000.
What is the impact of your donation?
By supporting emlyon’s Tour de France of Oral Exams, you help talented young people pursue their ambitions and overcome selfcensorship, you can take an active role in the program (mentoring, mock interview panels, selection committees), you guide young students as they build their future.
Our goal
Supporting around 200 preparatoryclass students by raising €10,000 per year