HEC Pioneers since 1911

Dear Alumni, 

You've probably seen the new tagline of your favorite Alma Mater: HEC Pioneers since 1911? But what does it actually mean? In what way have our teachers and Alumni been pioneers in their field?

The Association, in its role as a platform, strives to offer you even more targeted content, so as to enrich your knowledge and network in Switzerland and around the world. Answering this question will enable us to unite around this project launched this autumn. And not only the HEC Alumni Committee, the Alumni, but also the HEC Faculty, some of its professors, the HEC Foundation, the Faculties of Law and Political Science, as well as the student associations HEConomist and Innovation Time.

As you probably know, the creation of the School of HEC in 1911 was not the beginning of economics in Lausanne and that's what you'll be discovering over the next few months as we prepare to celebrate the 120th anniversary of your Faculty! 

We wanted to let ourselves be carried away by the adventure of paper research and find the oldest archives linked to economics to highlight the essence of the HEC Faculty and to cover this theme with a 3-beat waltz: past, present and future throughout the academic year.

The aim is to better understand the identity and rediscover the intellectual heritage of the Faculty through a theme, selected each year by the Association, which will be presented from the angles of its past, present and future teaching.

We have been able to find an exceptional document, archived at Géopolis, which will be the common thread running through the year: "Théorie Critique de l'Impôt" (Critical Theory of Taxation) by a certain Léon Walras in 1861. This will be our theme for the year, thanks to the good care of the Walras Pareto Center. We have a little surprise in store for you about this...

His influence on the teaching of modern economics is so deep that his impulse contributed to the creation of our Faculty and the auditorium that bears his name.

But do you know why?

During the autumn semester, our talented journalistic partners at HEConomist have dipped their noses into the University and Canton archives and will bring you a few articles in written format about the professors and teachings that have changed the way we think.

Then, during the spring semester, this same theme will be confronted with contemporary actors, where HEConomist will join forces with another student association, Innovation Time, to bring you written and digital content such as podcasts and video interviews.

Finally, the end of the academic year will be marked by a panel of experts and economic players who will express their views on the future of this theme developed throughout the year.

Nadine Reichental and Daniel Maman