Management of Cultural Organizations - 234 - Master's Year 2

“After graduating from the Lyon School of Management, I worked for 8 years as a Consultant, including 5 years with Accenture: I specialized in companies in the communication, media and high technology sectors. Little by little, I felt the desire to work more specifically in the cultural sector. However, I had to face the facts: in the cultural sector, there aren’t very many ways in besides the major cultural establishments. I did a skills assessment, which confirmed that I needed training to enter this sector.  So I decided to apply for the Management of Cultural Organizations program at Paris Dauphine-PSL. I’ve always been interested in cinema. So I joined the Cinémathèque française as an intern. Over time, my six-month internship became a temporary full-time position, then a permanent one. Today, I am responsible for implementing and running the technology that allows the Cinémathèque française to do its work: the website, the phone app, its online catalogues, its Internet audiovisual archives, etc.” 

“After business school, I wanted to pursue studies with a more literary bent. I was passionate about cinema and had started writing a thesis on the film adaptation of the Charterhouse of Parma. The Dauphine Master's degree allowed me to bridge the gap between my two academic backgrounds. Above all, it allowed me to meet people who had different backgrounds from mine, ones that were more directly connected to the arts and the humanities.” I felt at home very quickly, and am still closely connected to some of my cohort. For me, coming from a business school, the added value offered by the Management of Cultural Organizations curriculum was primarily in the fields of law and intellectual property. I also really appreciated the real-life case studies. I am now the Administrative and Financial Director of the Cannes Film Festival. Formerly, I was Deputy Chief Administrative Officer at the Forum des Images.

After my Bachelor's degree in Law, it seemed an obvious next step to get an education in the cultural sector. I finished my first-year Master’s degree in Law with the Erasmus program, then applied for the Management of Cultural Organizations program at Paris Dauphine-PSL in 2000. I remember a very close-knit cohort, with engaged and open students who were invested in culture. The Dauphine program helped me feel more qualified to apply to positions in the cultural sector and to reach out to industry professionals. It also provided a framework for the empirical knowledge I had gained, and enabled me to see things with a more wide-ranging perspective.  For me, the real added value in the curriculum is its interdisciplinarity, as well as the opportunity to build a network. I really appreciate the fact that the faculty are still willing to make themselves available to provide advice or information, even years after I graduated.