France has been one of the most in demand international higher education destinations in the world over the past quarter of a century. One of the most renowned education systems in the world coupled with a powerful economy, a unique lifestyle and an exceptional cultural dynamism are real assets for international students who want to pursue their higher education in France. Striving to cement their legacy in the French higher education realm is FIGS Education.

Scattered across France, FIGS Education schools share the same HEP values which stand for Humanism, Entrepreneurship and Professionalism. This is far more than a simple statement an dall FIGS Education schools have truly integrated those values within their teaching with dedicated modules to enhance their students' personal development skills. High employability is a promise of all FIGS Education schools owing to these three values which are coupled with student-centric education.

One-off Higher Education Destination
FIGS Education is the only institution offering higher education programmes in 10 cities across France in 10 different areas and FIGS Education offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the fields of Business, Communication, Computer Sciences, Tourism, Agribusiness, Heath Industry, Environment, Design, Insurance, and Real Estate. Also, all degrees offered by the institution are accredited degrees, complying with EU ECTS standards and are internationally recognized. The institute stands up for a supportive and guiding education and it defends an activist pedagogy, aiming to help women and men to achieve their personal and professional goals throughout their life.

Thanks to the HEP initiative followed byFIGS Education, their students can easily meet other students from different fields of study or schools, notably by sharing modules or specific learning experiences with them which acts as the perfect platform to improve their cross-cultural learning. FIGS Education believes that diversity of profiles, mixing of specialties and expertise is the only way of preparing students and learners to bring innovative solutions to tomorrow's world challenges.

While most educational institutions gather hundreds of students, all FIGS Education schools willingly limit the size of their classes and faculties.

This is part of their unique pedagogy to create a close relationship between teacher and learners as well as allowing a true learning by doing methodology. "We nurture the strengths and the personality of each individual, enabling him/her to pursue the project which is truly meaningful for them. We build close relationships with companies so that students can explore different career paths and find the one that suits them best.

At Figs, besides theoretical knowledge, students benefit from hands-on practice and training which is a huge asset for building their sustainable employability. Also, FIGS Education programmes are being partly taught at a foreign higher education institution and students have the opportunity to continue their studies in our schools. This is a great opportunity to develop strong international cooperation between institutions, to share a high level of training quality standards, and to contribute to the spreading of French specific know-how in higher education", speaks Bénédicte FAVRE, Director for International Development, FIGS Education.

A Modern-day International Higher Education Hub
FIGS Education strongly believes that internationalization of higher education is of major importance for the future. FIGS Education schools accommodates more than 1 000 international students per year. This large and diverse international community can benefit from several specific courses or services facilitating their integration in France such as induction seminar with intercultural issues, French as a foreign language course, other specific language courses, and refresher online courses to name a few.

FIGS Education believes that diversity of profiles, mixing of specialties and expertise is the only way of preparing students and learners to bring innovative solutions to tomorrow's world challenges

FIGS Education international student community also benefits from the support of a dedicated team in France (10 persons) and dedicated offices throughout the world that bring advice and help for orientation and admission. The French international department also supports this international student community upon arrival and throughout their studies by answering to specific needs or organizing specific social or cultural events.

As employability is a keystone of FIGS Education schools' pedagogy, teaching faculty play a major role in guiding the students. Most of their faculty members are indeed practitioners themselves. It means that they do easily relate theory with actual practice and they also offer real working opportunities or business issues to students. Almost all programmes include an internship which is being monitored by someone within the organization as well as a teacher. Last but not least, personal development and career orientation courses are offered as early as the first years of study at FIGS.

Students at the institute are being trained to market themselves, to public speaking, to adapting to different contexts, and to create their own job. Also, FIGS Education schools enjoy several incubators that offer various opportunities for students to build their own road to professional success. For aspiring international students, FIGS Education offers an accredited degree which is internationally recognized and value-added as well as the integration to a strong and powerful community of alumni worldwide.

Bénédicte FAVRE, Director for International Development, FIGS Education
graduated with a Master in International Relations & Languages as well as from the Graduate Program in International Business for Executives at EM Business School. In 2011, she was awarded with Honours and MBA in International Management at IDRAC Business School.