ESCP Business School launches its first Phygital Factory

Located on its Paris campus, the ESCP Business School has launched its first Phygital Factory in order to create a creative space accessible to all students, teachers and staff wishing to learn about or explore the potential of digital technology applied to higher education.

Phygital is the concept of using technology to bridge the digital world with the physical world with the purpose of providing a unique interactive experience for the user.

Led by Director of Digital Transformation, Anthony Hié and Associate Dean of Educational Innovation, José Ramon Cobo this ambitious programme aims to offer all members of the ESCP community a unique end-to-end phygital experience on all six of the schools campuses by 2022.

The Phygital Factory consists of three adjacent spaces, each with specific facilities, including a ‘design’ space, a ‘share’ space, and a ‘make’ space, which is available to those who wish to create original digital educational content in microlearning or augmented reality mode.

In the long term, ESCPs target approach for the development of the digital environment on its campuses is 20/40: a minimum of 20 per cent digital in each course, a minimum of 40 per cent physical, with the balance leaving room for lecturers to produce more digital content if they wish.

“Our 2018-2022 strategic plan places great emphasis on digital and the deployment of hybrid classrooms. Our ambition is to shake up the codes of higher education by taking advantage of digital technologies. To do this, we are big believers in phygital, which takes the best of both the physical and digital worlds to create seamless experiences” said Associate Dean of Educational Innovation, José Ramon Cobo.