Duration
45h Th
Number of credits
| Master in sales management, professional focus (en alternance) | 5 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
All year long, with partial in January
If a student fails an examination during the first term:
- They are permitted to resit the assessed subject during the second term (May-June);
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
This course holds two parts :
On one hand the MSMA Soft Skill Course, which presents a large panel of transversal skills, of selling and buying techniques and of communication.
On the other hand, one workshop of the HEC Skills Workshops, which offer a large choice of activities covering a range of different topics. Contents vary a lot from one workshop to another. For the full program for bachelor students, please refer to the HEC Liege website :
https://www.hec.uliege.be/cms/c_8475896/en/hec-skills-workshops
It is indeed the bachelor's degree programme that students on this master's course have access to: the master's programme offers full-time students the opportunity to engage with the world of work, which is less relevant in the context of this work-study programme that already involves many hours spent in a company.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
The MSMA Soft Skills course aims to achieve the following objectives:
To master the basic techniques of communication
To understand the concepts of sender and receiver, and the various factors that can distort the transmission of a message
To explore various concepts such as active listening, paraphrasing and networking techniques
To master the concepts of non-verbal communication and intercultural communication
To use NLP to reach mutually satisfactory decisions
To adapt one's sales message so that it is designed to achieve the desired objective
Identify how to integrate effectively into a sales team
Prepare for sales and negotiations effectively
Master and practise various sales techniques
Prospecting / Networking: making contact and identifying the type of prospect
Move from analysing commercial demand to analysing the customer's needs
Put into practice the various techniques used by professional buyers
Discover the SONCAS model from the buyer's perspective
Lead meetings effectively to ensure focus, participation and clarity of decisions
Manage stress by remaining calm and using strategies to deal with pressure constructively
Handle harassment situations by identifying issues, responding firmly and taking appropriate action.
The Skills Workshops focus on HEC's six categories of cross-disciplinary skills:
* TO BE
- personal development
- interpersonal skills
* TO ACT
- project management
- problem-solving and digital skills
* TO CHANGE
- innovation and entrepreneurship
- societal reflection and transition
Each workshop focuses on acquiring a clearly defined practical skill that ties in with one of the general objectives listed above. The learning outcomes for each workshop are specific and defined within each module.
Generally speaking, by the end of a workshop, students will have had the opportunity to practise the targeted skill, receive personalised feedback on their strengths and weaknesses, and be given suggestions for improving that skill. They will also have been provided with tools and resources enabling them to continue their learning independently after the workshop.
The bachelor's programme aims to equip students with transferable skills that will be useful both in their future professional lives and as they continue their academic studies.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
The Soft Skills course has no entry requirements.
Most workshops have no entry requirements and are open to all students. However, a few workshops do require prior skills. Where this is the case, these are listed under the 'Notes' section in the workshop descriptions on the HEC-ULg website:
https://www.hec.uliege.be/cms/c_8475896/fr/hec-ateliers-de-competences
This programme also lists the few workshops for which students are required to make a financial contribution, which they accept to pay if they enrol or place a bid in this workshop.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
The soft skills course will consist of a combination of self-study on an online platform (Lola), group work and practical tasks to be carried out in the workplace, which will be subject to continuous assessment. The final assignment will take the form of a video in which students explain the link between the topics covered in the course and their own experiences. In the event of absences from certain sessions, written assignments will be set to make up for the missed sessions. For the course, students will be divided into four sub-groups to encourage greater interaction.
The Skills Workshops all share a teaching method based on 'learning by doing'. They expose students to complex situations, enabling them to practise the targeted skills, identify their weaknesses and improve through practical activities. As the Skills Workshops are interactive, they are designed for small groups, which allows for attention to be paid to students' specific needs. They also emphasise contact with the professional world and a multidisciplinary approach. Depending on the workshop, students may be given the opportunity to take part in educational trips, company visits, multidisciplinary seminars, fieldwork, etc.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Further information:
Blended learning
Additional information:
Each worksop counts 4 accompanied work sessions of 4 hours and some homework linked with the workshop's theme. Depending on the workshop, this could be, among others, to visit conferences, to take part in field observations or travels, or to design presentations or reports.
To accomplish the 2 ECTS of the MSMA Skills Workshops, each student must take part in one workshops in the bachelor program of HEC-Liège. Each student will also have to follow the MSMA soft skills course given in the weeks where there is no skills workshop.
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Platform(s) used for course materials:
- LOL@
Further information:
Platform(s) used for course materials:
- LOL@
Further information:
Documents explaining how the Skills Workshops are organized are available on the Lol@ platform (https://lola.hec.uliege.be/course/view.php?id=446 )
Specific additional references and readings can be asked in the different workshops.
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
written exam ( open-ended questions ) AND oral exam
Written work / report
Continuous assessment
Further information:
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
written exam ( open-ended questions ) AND oral exam
- Remote
written exam ( open-ended questions )
Continuous assessment
Further information:
Written work / report
Continuous assessment
Out-of-session test(s)
The soft skills course will be assessed on the basis of continuous assessment, group written reports and a written examination. It accounts for 50 per cent of the final mark.
Each workshop is assessed according to its own criteria, which may include presentations, group work, written reports, oral interviews and continuous assessment. The workshop completed by the student also accounts for 50 per cent of the final mark.
Further details:
If a fail mark (less than 10/20) is obtained for either component, it will not be validated, and an 'absent' mark will replace the overall mark for the entire course. The missed soft skills course or workshop must then be selected and attended the following year.
Skills workshops are assessed on a continuous basis and are not subject to an end-of-term examination. As they are assessed in person, are based on interaction, and often involve external factors, it is generally difficult to organise a resit for skills workshops. However, depending on the workshop and the student's performance, it may be possible to improve a mark by redoing part of the work or by submitting additional work. In the event of a resit, please contact your workshop tutor to find out whether it is possible to improve your mark and what steps you need to take to do so. In the resit session, a failed workshop would result in its mark replacing the overall workshop mark. In the case of a minor failure and depending on the student's academic record, this might then be approved by the cycle examination board. If this is not the case, a failed workshop is not validated and therefore requires the student to enrol in another workshop the following year.
To enable students to choose a workshop where they can make genuine progress, the assessment system focuses on genuine commitment to improving skills and progress relative to their own starting level. The system described below ensures that a student who is committed to the workshop will not fail due to a lack of initial competence.
Students who meet the three conditions below will therefore be awarded a mark of at least 10/20: (1) active and committed participation in face-to-face activities, (2) thorough completion of the set homework, (3) implementation of a strategy for self-regulation and the development of the targeted skills. The portion of the mark exceeding 10/20 will be awarded according to criteria specific to each workshop and will, in particular, recognise progress made in relation to the students' starting level.
The principle of continuous assessment and the limited number of sessions mean that attendance at activities is compulsory. Proof of reason will be required for any absence, and unauthorised absences will be penalised in the mark for the missed workshop. A student who misses at least two sessions of a workshop (whether authorised or not) will be recorded as absent for that workshop and, consequently, for the course.
If a workshop cannot be validated due to unauthorised absences, the student will lose the right to take part in the workshop allocation process for the entire bachelor's degree programme. To enrol, they must contact Françoise Dubois after 5 October and register for one of the workshops where places remain available after the first round of enrolment.
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
Registration for the Skills Workshops will be opened on September 15th and will end on September 30th, 2026. This registration only concerns workshops students want to accomplish during the academic year 2026-2027. A complete description of the registration process is available on the Lol@ page of the Skills Workshops (https://lola.hec.uliege.be/course/view.php?id=379) Students who want to register after September 30th should contact the managers of the Skills Portfolio after October 5th. Unfortunately, their choice in workshops will be reduced.
The groups allocated to the different workshops will be published on October 2nd. The first sessions will take place on October 6th. The registration form, the student information and the timetable of the workshops will be available on Skiwi (http://skiwi.hec.uliege.be/)
Workshop allocation is definitive. It is impossible to change, exchange or unregister from a workshop, except in case of a malfunction in the allocation process.
Each workshop has an individual page on Lol@. Once your registration to the workshop is confirmed, please register on this page.
Contacts
Teachers of the Soft Skills course : Charlotte Wautelet (c.wautelet@helmo.be) et Françoise Gabriel (f.gabriel@helmo.be)
Skills workshops program manager : David Homburg (david.homburg@uliege.be)
Skills workshops program secretary : Françoise Dubois (francoise.dubois@uliege.be)
Academic Referent : Giseline Rondeaux (g.rondeaux@uliege.be)