CIPSH Academy 2025: Excelia at the Heart of an International Event

Excelia Business School, co-organiser of the CIPSH Academy 2025

This year, Excelia played a leading role alongside Apheleia. By welcoming researchers from Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Pacific, the School reaffirms its commitment to intercultural dialogue.

The involvement of Excelia Business School’s faculty members

The School’s participation is reflected in the active involvement of several faculty researchers:

• Nuno Guimaraes da Costa, Director of Research and Impact (Associate Dean – Research and Impact) and member of the organizing committee, he ensures the connection between governance and academic outreach

• Valentina Kirova, is a marketing faculty member whose research explores the impact of technology and responsible practices on marketing, innovation, and sustainable consumption, particularly around water as a common good

• Cécile Ezvan, is the Director of IRSI and an expert in ethics, CSR, and economic models that support social and ecological transition.

• Pierre Baret, Professor of Strategy, specializes in CSR and sustainable management. He develops accounting and management tools designed to address major environmental challenges.

This diversity of expertise illustrates the academic and scientific richness of Excelia, positioning its research at the heart of major global challenges.

Event photos

An academic reflection on water : from heritage to sustainable futures

• explored the historical dynamics of communities established around rivers, lakes, and oceans
• integrated Asian philosophies, notably Taoist conceptualisations of water and the spiritual dimension of its uses
• compared these traditions with global and contemporary perspectives

Excelia and the ecological transition : educating responsible leaders

True to its commitment to ecological transition, Excelia places sustainability at the heart of its educational practices. The School develops innovative initiatives to help students understand major environmental challenges and address them in a concrete and responsible way.

As part of the CIPSH Academy 2025, French and international students attended several conferences held on campus. Among them, the session “From River to Reef: Indigenous Pacific Water Cosmologies and the Ethics of Care” made a strong impression. By exploring the connections between Indigenous Pacific cultures, ethics of care, and responsible water management, this talk resonated with the themes of the Cross-Cultural Management course and with Excelia’s broader reflection on social responsibility.

In parallel, Excelia also integrates participatory educational tools into its programmes, such as La Fresque de l’Eau (The Water Fresk). This collaborative workshop raises student awareness about sustainable water management while helping them develop the skills needed to incorporate social, ethical, and environmental dimensions into their future professional decisions.

Whether through the international conferences of the CIPSH Academy or the participatory workshops embedded in its programmes, these initiatives reflect a single ambition: to train citizens and managers capable of taking action for a more sustainable and responsible future.

A strategic moment for Excelia

Participation in the CIPSH Academy 2025 marks a strategic milestone for Excelia:

• enhancing its visibility among  global academic networks

• affirming the relevance of its research in human and social sciences applied to management

• strengthening sustainable academic partnerships on an international scale

This edition reflects Excelia’s strategic commitment to research, international collaboration, and sustainable development. It reinforces the school’s mission to combine academic excellence, intercultural openness, and responsible management in addressing the world’s major challenges.

Among the participating organisations:

• Asian New Humanities Network (ANHN)
• International Geographical Union (IGU)
• Fédération Internationale des Sociétés Philosophiques (FISP)
• Union Internationale des Sciences Préhistoriques et Protohistoriques (UISPP)
• Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS)
• Union Académique Internationale (UAI)

As well as:

• CIPSH Chair on Cultural Heritage and Creative Humanities (Hang Seng University of Hong Kong)
• UNESCO Chair in Humanities and Integrated Cultural Landscape Management (Polytechnic Institute of Tomar, Portugal)
• UNESCO Chair in Water Studies (Rey Juan Carlos University, Spain)