For Silvia Didier, in charge of the course "Responsible leadership", it marked the second implementation of this method, incorporating adaptations based on prior feedback to refine the experience:

• Improving the form / organization: eg. use of a bigger and more adapted room for the World Café format, allowing for more time for feedback and reflection
• Improving the content: eg. integration of feedback loops after each presentation round...

 

The World Café: a double-loop learning

For students, the iterative nature of the World Café—where 15-minute presentations were followed by peer evaluations—enabled them to reflect, adapt, and improve their performance in subsequent rounds.

This approach not only fostered critical thinking and adaptability but also demonstrated how reflective practices can enhance both teaching and learning outcomes.

Such initiatives highlight iaelyon’s commitment to innovative pedagogy and continuous improvement in management education.


"I would like to sincerely thank you for this opportunity to practice a World Café. I found this concept truly enriching, as it allowed us to be more attentive to other presentations, interact directly with our peers, and engage in meaningful discussions.
I particularly appreciated this approach, which, in my opinion, is much more dynamic and engaging than traditional presentations in front of the whole class. It encourages active listening, deeper understanding and exchanges on the topics.

For our part, we aimed to create a truly interactive experience. To achieve this, we incorporated several case studies as well as questions for our audience, which helped them actively engage in the discussion and maintain their full attention."

Kamila Dulatova, Master 2 student COMEX

"I really liked the format of the World Café. When we speak of holding a presentation, it normally means that students present a researched topic to the whole class – to everyone at once. In contrast, the World Café is designed to give the presentation to only a small group of people.

Now the advantages are that
(1) the audience feels more at ease speaking up and giving feedback as the inhibition threshold is lowered. Furthermore, (2) the World Café with its associated 5min discussion time enables improvement and taking in different perspectives that
(3) then can be mentioned and put up for debate in the next rounds with different people. Also,
(4) everyone is forced to stay engaged and active, not just the presenting group.
More generally, I also felt like that people organized their presentations differently than in a “normal” presentation -
(5) they encouraged discussion already during the presentation time.
However, having said this - and this is the only point where I see potential problems - the presentation may not be delivered within the agreed time frame, as you can only partially control how much time these “in between presentation interactions” consume."

Marco Späth, Double degree student from the University of Bamberg

"I appreciated very much the format [of the World Café]. I was putting a lot of attention to the presentation as I was the only one. It was very interactive.
I was able to adapt my speech to the audience, improve over time.  On top of that, it is not a common format, so bringing something new was also attractive.
I highly recommend you to keep this format with all your groups! "

Valentine Parmentier, Master 2 student COMEX