The Institut Lyfe Executive Café: a new learning environment for our students

At the beginning of September, Institut Lyfe Executive Café opened its doors on the emlyon business school campus. This new space builds on the partnership between the two institutions and further expands the professional training facilities available to Institut Lyfe students.

Designed for participants in emlyon business school’s Executive Education programmes, the Executive Café is also a real-world learning environment for Institut Lyfe students. Here, they have the opportunity to practise their future profession in conditions that closely reflect those they will encounter throughout their careers.

Learning by doing at Institut Lyfe

At Institut Lyfe, education is notably based on a practice- and experience-led approach: learning by doing. Professional training environments (MESP) enable our students to put their knowledge into practice, develop their skills and progressively experience the demands of the professional world.

In these environments, they do more than simply apply the techniques they have learned in class. From their first year, they work in real, operational conditions with genuine customers. They learn to work as part of a team, adapt to customer expectations, deal with unexpected situations and contribute to the smooth running of an operation. From their second year onwards, their training gradually prepares them for management roles, enabling them to develop skills in organisation, coordination and team supervision.

For students planning careers in hospitality and catering, culinary arts or pastry, these experiences are an important step in developing their professional identity.

A new MESP environment for Institut Lyfe students

With the Executive Café, Institut Lyfe students now have a new environment in which to experience the different aspects of running a food service operation. Welcoming customers, managing service, organising the activity, coordinating teams and ensuring the quality of the experience provided: each day offers a new opportunity to learn and progress.

With the opening of this new training venue, Institut Lyfe is pursuing the same ambition: to train through experience, enabling students to learn their profession in a real-world environment and progressively build the skills they need to become the professionals and managers of tomorrow.

 

Strengthening collaboration with emlyon business school

The collaboration between Institut Lyfe and emlyon business school has been established for many years. It first took shape with the launch of the MSc-Master of Science International Hospitality Management, followed, from 2025 onwards, by the opening of two training venues on emlyon business school’s new Lyon campus: La Table, a Mediterranean brasserie, and L’Atelier, a bakery and pastry shop.

The Executive Café therefore complements the food service facilities already located in Lyon’s 7th arrondissement and brings to three the number of professional training venues available to Institut Lyfe students on the emlyon business school campus.

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