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One of France¡¯s Grandes Ecoles, Audencia was founded in 1900 as the Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Nantes. It celebrated its centenary in 2000 by becoming Audencia Nantes School of Management, derived from audientia and audacia, Latin for "listening" and "boldness" respectively, and took its current name in 2016. Its slogan of "Never Stop Daring" was adopted from among 1,270 suggestions during a consultation process.

In 2017 it became a consular institute, French equivalent of a public listed company, enabling greater autonomy and fresh investment, but with the Nantes and Saint Nazaire Chamber of Commerce continuing as the main shareholder.

It has been triple-accredited since 2015 and operates from four sites in Nantes plus offices in Paris and Beijing. Since 2017 it has been a partner with Shenzhen University in Shenzhen Audencia Business School, located in the Chinese city.

Its Grand Ecole undergraduate programme is rated among the best in France, while a survey in 2017 found that its MBAs ranked fourth among French business schools in terms of post-graduation pay. Its range of specialist masters¡¯ includes management and enterprise in the creative industries, run in partnership with Glasgow School of Art, and Management Engineering.

In 2018 its course on alternative economic models was rated among the 20 most interesting offered in business schools, and the school has worked in partnership with the City of Nantes on Nego-training, (negotiation training) aimed at closing a local 23 per cent gender gap in pay. Since 2003 new academic years have been marked by the Intercult arts festival, showcasing local talent, organised by Audencia¡¯s Arts Office.