Facilitating Business Excellence with Outstanding Facilities

What’s in a building?

Facilities at INSEAD are more than just the materials they’re made of. The modern and technologically-advanced facilities across all four locations in Fontainebleau, Singapore, Abu Dhabi and San Francisco are enablers of effective learning, ongoing innovation and meaningful collaboration – all necessary elements of a world-class business school.

Reinvigorating the Europe Campus for the future

INSEAD’s historic Europe campus in Fontainebleau officially opened its doors in 1967 as the first international business school outside of the US.

Fifty years on, the phenomenal global expansion of “The Business School for the World” has taken it to a new threshold. It is therefore crucial to align with current realities by reimagining the original campus to reflect present excellence as well as future ambitions. Hence the launch of the 10-year Europe Campus Renewal Masterplan in mid-2023.

The ambitious project, which started during the Force for Good Campaign, will see major architectural upgrades to the Main Building, as well as the North and South Wings, to accommodate the growing INSEAD community. A new building for MBA teaching, more amphitheatres, a large hub and a new restaurant will also transform the campus experience.

Even while leveraging the power of technology, the focus will remain on the human experience, critically important in this digital era. The revamped indoor and outdoor spaces will foster greater interaction, innovation and inclusion. In line with INSEAD’s commitment to combatting climate change, the renewed campus will also be environmentally sustainable by integrating the unique setting of the Fontainebleau Forest.

Alumnus Paul Desmarais Jr. MBA’79 is also a strong supporter of the project, reflecting on how the sense of belonging he felt on campus during his time as an INSEAD student made it feel like home. 

A new home in Asia

In 2000, INSEAD officially opened the doors to its second campus. Located in Singapore, it made INSEAD the first business school with full campuses on multiple continents and would come to serve as a bridge between Asia and the rest of the world.

In 2015, the new Leadership Development Centre was inaugurated – a 6-storey building spanning 10,000sqm that included four amphitheatres and several meeting rooms to accommodate team study and interaction. This raised overall capacity by 50% to meet the rapidly growing demand for management and leadership education in Asia. The Centre’s opening was enabled by generous contributions totalling over S$20M from more than 170 donors, as well as two significant gifts of S$5M each from alumnus André Hoffmann MBA’90D and Indonesia’s Soeryadjaya family.

Another development on the Asia campus, this one made possible by the Tanoto Foundation, was the refurbishment of the Tanoto Research and Learning Hub in 2023. The Foundation has been a longstanding supporter of the school, also facilitating an upgrade of an amphitheatre in the Plessis Mornay building on the Europe campus. The main foyer in the Euro-Asia Centre was recently named the Tanoto Foundation Foyer in recognition of their generosity.

Expanding into the Middle East

In 2007, INSEAD strengthened its presence further with a new campus in the heart of Abu Dhabi’s financial district, offering advanced managerial ideas and worldwide business practices in one-of the fastest-growing geographies of the world.

Recently, the Virtual Reality (VR) Immersive Learning Initiative was launched as a global centre of excellence on the campus, supported by the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge. The new initiative offers an immersive, innovative and multisensory alternative to traditional pedagogical methods through the use of VR and XR EDTech solutions. Boasting a growing library of 20 VR Immersive Learning Experiences – the world’s largest – students are able to learn theory through practice, giving them the opportunity to make difficult decisions, analyse their behaviour and learn from their mistakes in a safe and controllable environment, and allowing for more effective and impactful learning overall.

A footprint in North America

Thanks to support of the Force for Good Campaign, INSEAD was able to solidify its global presence with the creation of the San Francisco Hub for Business Innovation in 2020.

The Hub – a converted 1930s industrial garage renovated with the help of founding donors – is located in the heart of the Bay Area’s start-up scene, at the epicentre of technology and innovation.

The tremendous support received through gifts to the Hub facilitates innovative research to solve pressing issues of our time by connecting INSEAD's global network of leaders and entrepreneurs with the vibrant tech ecosystem of San Francisco. It also allows the Hub to offer tailored programmes and events for business executives, entrepreneurs and companies, as well as for the hundreds of INSEAD alumni based in the region.

It’s in our DNA The entrepreneurial spirit and values of diversity that are a part of the very DNA of INSEAD and its community is reflected throughout the school’s facilities across campuses and shared by long-standing donors who have consistently shown their support through gifts to the Force for Good Campaign and beyond.