CEMS Annual Events 2009

Featuring induction of new global partners and debate on educating globally responsible leaders

Partner schools from China, Turkey and Canada are to have their status ratified at the 2009 CEMS Annual Events, which will be hosted by one of the founder members of the alliance, the University of Cologne, in Germany.

This year's edition, held from Thursday, December 3 to Saturday, December 5 will assemble the main governing bodies and stakeholders, such as the Deans and Rectors of the member schools, senior Corporate Partner representatives, alumni, students and the many people from within the member organisations that help make the alliance work.

Deans and Rectors to award record number of CEMS MIM diplomas
A record 503 graduands are due to receive the CEMS Master's in International Management diploma, which was recently ranked number one in the world by the Financial Times, at a graduation ceremony that will feature keynote speaker Günter Verheugen (Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Enterprise and Industry). The 25 Deans and Rectors due to attend will hand over the MIM diplomas in person.

 Academic expansion on a global scale
Three schools are expected to see their membership status ratified: Tsignhua University (Beijing, China) will be renewed as an associate member for a further three years, whilst Richard Ivey School of Business (Canada) and Koç University (Turkey) are to be confirmed as full members, and therefore able to deliver the Master's in Management from August 2010. 

Carol Stephenson (Dean, Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario) is very clear as to the opportunities this will create: "The Richard Ivey School of Business is proud to be joining the CEMS alliance. This degree  addresses the need for a new breed of manager - one who understands best practice, who can assess the effect of innovation on international management and act to implement change. Joining the CEMS alliance expands Ivey's international profile and our connecting with practicing managers through the high-profile network of corporate partners."

Examining social responsibility within the business and education worlds
Another highlight of the three-day event will be the panel debate on the theme of Educating Globally Responsible Leaders. This corporate-academic event will highlight the vision of two guest speakers: Gary Steel (Executive Committee member responsible for Human Resources, ABB) and  Philippe Levêque (Director General of the international NGO Care France). At a time when CEMS is on the verge of introducing "Social Partners" into the alliance and incorporating ethics more fundamentally into the curriculum, this debate should prove of immediate relevance to CEMS' strategic priorities for the year ahead. The 25 Deans and Rectors attending the 2009 Annual Events will also have a vital role to play in this as they meet to continue progress on their joint book "Business Schools: which contribution to society", to be released in 2010.

 
About CEMS
Founded in 1988, CEMS is a strategic alliance of 28 member schools from 4 continents and over 50 prestigious corporate partners. The CEMS Master's in International Management provides a unique blend of top-level education and professional experience for multilingual, multicultural postgraduate students.

This success has been boosted by the direct involvement of academic and corporate partners in the definition and teaching of the curriculum, as well as the implementation of a series of joint research projects. http://www.cems.org