Conference : International Partnerships in Business Schools

Economic globalisation and the labour mobility that follows such expansion have created a dramatic increase in intra-company cultural diversity over recent years. Managers are now expected to coordinate international teams and to deal with cross-cultural issues on a day-to-day basis; moreover, they are often requested to relocate to other countries themselves. Through multi-country education programmes, students will learn the skills needed to excel within the international job market. Thanks to partnerships with academic institutions both within and beyond Europe, universities are able to offer this invaluable experience.

This conference is an initiative of ESCP Europe, the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) and the Institut Français in London. With this event, we intend to measure the impact of international business school partnerships on student profiles, and to analyse the implications of such partnerships on the management of both business schools as a whole and the individual programmes provided therein.

Schedule

9:00 Coffee, registration

9:30 Welcome address by H.E. Bernard Emié, French Ambassador, Dr Eckhard Lübkemeier, German Chargé d’Affaires a.i., and Professor Patrick Gougeon, ESCP Europe

9:50 Keynote speaker: Nicola Dandridge, Chief Executive, Universities UK

10:10 Panel discussion: ‘Benefits of International partnerships’ - What types of international partnerships can be set up, what are the benefits of these partnerships, and what are the costs?

Sharon Bamford, CEO, AMBA Prof. Alain Chevalier, ESCP Europe Prof. John Edwards, Aston Business School Dr. Nina Lemmens, DAAD Pierre Tapie, Conference des Grandes Ecoles Simon Williams, British Council Prof. Andreas Zaby, Berlin School of Economics and Law Moderator: Ann Mroz, THE

12:30 Lunch

14:00 Panel discussion: ‘Best practice examples of successful partnerships’ - representatives from business schools will discuss the cultural issues they meet when negotiating international partnerships, providing real-life examples.

Prof. George Balabanis, CASS Prof. Natalia Guseva, Higher School of Economics, Moscow Bettina Kosiel, University of Mannheim, Mannheim Business School Richard Perrin, EDHEC Francoise Lafon, ESSEC Iris Ritter, HEC Prof. Baldur Veit, Reutlingen University and Professor Julia Brüggemann, ESB Business School Moderator: Eric Albert, La Tribune

16:30 Panel discussion: ‘Impact on business’ - successful corporate speakers will illustrate how international profiles benefit the business world.

Dr Ulrich Hoppe, German-British Chamber of Industry & Commerce David Marsh, SCCO International Arnaud Vaissié, Chairman of the French Chamber of Commerce in Great-Britain Moderator: Olaf Storbeck, Handelsblatt

17:30 Cocktail party