Faculty & Research
A faculty of experts in technology, data, AI and management
emlyon tech school prepares students to design technological solutions and assess their impact on organizations. Its faculty brings together both researchers and practitioners.
At launch, emlyon tech school builds on the Operations, Data and Artificial Intelligence (ODAI) department of emlyon business school, which brings together nearly twenty professors specializing in computer science, mathematics, industrial engineering, and management sciences. Other departments contribute expertise in strategy, economics, finance, law, and the humanities. Dedicated recruitment efforts will further strengthen scientific and technological expertise.
Our vision of education
Technology and artificial intelligence in support of decision-making
The curriculum combines a strong foundation in mathematics, statistics, physics, programming, and artificial intelligence with a deep understanding of organizations. Students learn how to build models, test their reliability, and justify the decisions they help inform.
Organizations need professionals who can both develop technical tools and make informed decisions about their use. Projects connect technical expertise with decision-making: students must define the need their solution addresses, its conditions of use, cost, and limitations. Management and humanities courses enable them to assess the economic, social, and environmental implications of these solutions.
Learning through projects. Solve real-world challenges proposed by companies or research laboratories by combining STEM and management knowledge, producing a technical solution and presenting recommendations that decision-makers can understand.
Understanding and using AI. Study the foundations of AI models, evaluate their outputs, and explain their use. Data quality, bias, and explainability are integral to the learning process.
Learning from researchers and practitioners. Compare scientific methods with the practical constraints encountered in organizations.
Understanding technology in depth enables us to make informed choices about its use and assess its consequences. At emlyon tech school, this is central to our academic approach. Our programs combine strong foundations in science and management with projects undertaken with companies. The problem comes before the tool: students start with real business challenges and build solutions to deepen their understanding. Our faculty generates knowledge, tests it against organizational realities, and brings this approach into the classroom. Students learn to base their decisions on sound evidence and assess their impact.
Our areas of expertise
The areas of expertise cover data, models, and their applications within organizations. They are organized into four domains:
Artificial intelligence and machine learning. Generative and agentic AI, multi-agent systems, machine learning, time series analysis, natural language processing, and knowledge representation. These areas of expertise make it possible to design models and assess their reliability, interpretability, and applications. Faculty: Amy Wenxuan Ding, Imène Brigui, Ajay Kumar, Saeed Varasteh Yazdi, Jean Savinien, Sajad Nazari, Franck Jaotombo.
Operations and transitions. Smart logistics, robotic warehouses, inventory management, distribution networks, digital commerce, and the energy transition. Research focuses on operational decisions and their effects on performance, resources, and risk. Faculty: Yeming Gong, Yacine Rekik, Imen Ben Mohamed, Haithem Nagati, Wissam El Hachem, Jean-Baptiste Vaujour, Yue Cheng.
Data and digital systems. Data engineering and governance, connected devices, sensor networks, digital platforms, and information systems. The objective is to ensure reliable data and usable systems, supported by clear rules for data sharing and accountability. Faculty: Benoît Loeillet, Arturo Guizar, Rodreck David, Delphine Billouard-Fuentes.
Management and humanities. Strategy, innovation economics, finance, entrepreneurship, law, ethics, and social sciences. These disciplines help understand how technologies are used, develop business models, and assess the consequences of decisions. Faculty from the other departments of emlyon business school.
From a research perspective, emlyon tech school draws on the research centers and institutes of emlyon business school, notably the QUANT Center (quantitative methods) and the AIM Institute (Artificial Intelligence in Management) for ODAI faculty members, as well as the research centers in Strategy and Organization, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Technology, and Social Sciences for the other disciplines. Individual affiliations are detailed on the emlyon research portal.
Experts supporting students
Management and humanities: emlyon business school faculty
Management and humanities courses will be delivered by professors from other departments of emlyon business school. Their expertise covers strategy, innovation economics, business models, finance, entrepreneurship, digital law and regulation, technology ethics, sociology of technology adoption, and social and environmental impacts.
They will contribute to the design and evaluation of projects. Every system developed will also be assessed in terms of usefulness, cost, risks, and impact on people and organizations. Individual faculty profiles may be added once participating instructors have been confirmed.
Research & Innovation
Researchers' work addresses, among others, the following questions:
- How can human judgment and AI be combined, and under what conditions can the outputs of a model be trusted?
- How can decisions be made when data is incomplete, uncertain, or contradictory?
- Can generative AI contribute to scientific discovery, and how should its use be governed within organizations?
- How can inventory reliability be improved, robotic warehouses organized, and distribution networks designed more effectively?
- What benefits can connected devices, RFID, and blockchain bring to product traceability and data reliability, and at what cost?
- How can data be shared and governed across organizations, and what responsibility frameworks should apply?
- Which industrial, economic, and regulatory choices can accelerate the energy transition?
- How can energy transition infrastructure be financed, electricity markets regulated, and AI leveraged within the energy sector?
- How are technologies transforming organizations, professions, and business models?
- Methods they truly understand. Faculty will draw on their research to explain how a model is built, tested, and debated, as well as the situations in which it can be appropriately used.
- A structured approach to problem-solving. Projects will enable students to formulate a question, collect data, compare approaches, and defend evidence-based conclusions.
- Research-focused learning formats. Throughout the program, students will engage with a variety of research-oriented projects, including:
- Research Decoder: learning how to read, decode, and extract actionable insights from academic papers to support decision-making.
- Research Initiation: formulating a research question and answering it using a rigorous methodology.
- Tech Radar: conducting structured technology watch and analysis on a specific sector or technology.
- Applied Research Project: working alongside a faculty researcher on a challenge proposed by a company or research laboratory.
- Projects connected to real-world organizations. Company- and researcher-led projects will link technical findings to practical recommendations. Project content, supervision, and assessment methods will be specified within each program.
- Guidance toward academic research. Depending on the program, dissertations and faculty-supervised projects will allow students to explore a topic in greater depth and, for those interested, prepare for further studies in research.
In summary
Methods, publications, and case studies drawn directly from faculty research.
emlyon tech school is supported from its launch by a network of leading companies, including Capgemini, L'Oréal, Mantu, mc2i, OVHcloud, OpenAI, Renault Trucks, Schneider Electric, Thales, and Vicat.
FAQ
Teaching at emlyon tech school will be delivered by STEM faculty recruited specifically for the school, STEM and Management professors from emlyon business school, and active industry professionals. Scientific and technological expertise will be combined with management and humanities perspectives.
Management and the humanities will contribute to both the design and evaluation of projects. Beyond assessing a model's performance, students will examine its usefulness, cost, risks, and impact on people and organizations.
Practitioners will contribute to teaching and project work. Several faculty members also bring experience from industry or consulting. The specific forms of collaboration with companies will be detailed within each program.
Research will be embedded through the methods studied, the academic articles discussed, and the project-based challenges students tackle. Faculty will explain how research findings are established, the assumptions that support them, and their limitations.
Depending on the program, students will have opportunities to work alongside faculty researchers through research projects and dissertations.
emlyon tech school combines the design of technological solutions with a deep understanding of decision-making and organizations. Students will learn how to develop and evaluate a model, and then justify its use in a real-world context by drawing on insights from management and the humanities.
At the heart of the learning experience are the Fishbone Projects: end-to-end projects built around a real business challenge. Students combine STEM tools and methodologies with management analysis to develop recommendations and defend them before a jury.
AI tools will be studied in courses and applied in projects according to clearly defined guidelines. Students will be expected to verify results, explain their methodology, and document how these tools are used. Topics such as bias, data protection, and accountability will be addressed throughout the curriculum.
