ENSCI prepares students to enter the job market and start a professional career. Relations with both French and foreign business are essential, both in terms of resources and in terms of professional opportunities for students. Recognition of the school and its reputation play an important role in selection for a job. Companies provide students with essential professional experience through internships. They also provide specialised professional input within the school itself. These specialists take part in assessing students’ work at all stages of their academic progress and thus enrich their training by bringing views in from the outside.

Project-based learning is an essential part of the method of teaching design and Ensci puts significant means into this. One of the main activities of the centre is to establish links with companies to set up partnership for project programmes and research which are developed in the Project Workshops.

Carrying out projects with industrial partners or institutions is an integral part of the school’s education project. Project studios are often linked with a business or other structure (institution, association, research centre) for a semester. This principle gradually helps students to become aware of what business is about, the practices, the challenges, the processes, and the realities. Through contact with the different players they become familiar with the specific language of the various fields (design, research, technical services, marketing, communication, quality assurance, management).
For students, it is also an opportunity to size up and assess the pertinence of their own ideas and practices, their knowledge, ability to put an argument together, proficiency with tools with outside contributors.

In its approach to partnerships, Ensci selects projects for their educational interest. Emphasis is put on innovation, creative exploration and forward-looking projects.
The school is open to all economic sectors: 

• housing and domestic equipment (Legrand and Tefal in 2005, Electrolux, EDF, Leroy Merlin, Technal, le Via) 
• information and communication technology (Kenwood in 2005, Thomson and France Telecom in 2003, Alcatel) 
• transport (the SNCF in 2005, Ministry of Transport in 2003, Renault, RATP, etc.) 
• distribution and commercial space (French Merchandising Institute in 2004, Fnac, Monoprix, Photo Service) 
• luxury goods (Hennessy in 2005, TagHeuer in 2004, Louis Vuitton) 
• packaging (Lipton in 2005, Danone, Carrefour) 
• services (Visa in 2004 and Sodexho 2003, or SNCF in 2003, Nestlé)
• personal accessories and equipment (Pentel in 2004, Delsey, Cébé, Salomon) 
• exhibitions and museums (La Cité des Sciences in 2005 and La Ferme du Buisson or Innova in Portugal in 2004, Workshop for Children at the Georges-Pompidou Centre, El Mirador in Chile) 
• public space (City of Paris in 2004, City of Montreuil)

Partnerships are also developed at an international level: for instance with Japan and Kenwood Design in 2005, with Switzerland and TagHeuer, with Portugal and the Salon Innova and with Great Britain and Visa Europe in 2004, with Italy and with Sweden and Electrolux in 2003.

These relations provide a viewpoint on the business world and ensure that ENSCI guarantees the quality of its training and measures its suitability with respect to professional issues and challenges.

Businesses generally make a financial contribution to teaching and to implementing projects in the school so that partnerships require certain rules. Students who take part undertake to abide by the agreements and the terms drawn up between the school and its partner.

There are two fundamental rules: 

1. confidentiality concerning information, given by the partner, work students produce under the partnership and also work done by other students at the school;
2. recognition by students of the principle of creation and group work within the school and in its teaching methods. This principle guarantees Ensci’s property rights on the creations and means that partnership companies have priority in acquiring these rights from the school.