The issue of ‘European business schools and internationalization’ came up for discussion at the 4th International Business School Shanghai Conference (IBSSC), organized on October 18 and 19 by Antai College of Economics & Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and co-organized by MBAUniverse.com. Professor Christian Delporte, director, Business School Services, EFMD, spoke elaborately on the subject, clearing all the doubts and confusion that the audience had in their mind.
According to Professor Delporte, “These institutes follow well thought-out plans to meet the target. Foreign students, internationalization of faculty members and student bodies, and international board membership and mobility form the basis of these plans in most of the cases.”
Foreign students hold the key: The number of overseas students is the primary criterion for a B-school eyeing to go global. Professor Delporte said, “Top European business schools have more than 90 per cent of their students coming from overseas. In Lancaster University Management School, UK, 98% of the students come from other countries.”
The percentage of overseas students in some of the other top European B-schools is like this: Rotterdam School of Management, the Netherlands (98%), IMD, Switzerland (97%), University of Edinburgh Business School, UK (96%), Hult International Business School, US/UK/ UAE (94%), University of Oxford: Saïd, UK (93%), Aston Business School, UK (93%), Insead, France/Singapore (92%) and Birmingham Business School, UK (92%).
Foreign faculty members add great value: Though the percentage is not as high as students, around two-thirds or more faculty members in top European B-schools come from overseas. According to Financial Times data, the percentage of foreign professors or faculty members in some top European B-schools is like this: IMD, Switzerland (98%), Insead, France/Singapore (90%), London Business School, UK (83%), McGill University: Desautels, Canada (81%), Imperial College Business School, UK (80%) , Melbourne Business School, Australia (75%), Hult International Business School, US/UK/ UAE (74%) , University of Toronto: Rotman, Canada (71%) , University of British Columbia: Sauder, Canada (69%), and York University: Schulich, Canada (67%).
Professor Delporte said governance, faculty & research, staff, students and their learning experience including curriculum, exchanges, study trips & language courses, academic and corporate partnerships are some integral areas of internationalization.
Elaborating on globalization of programmes, he said teaching which focus on the European and global business environments, international perspective in all the main functional areas, international case studies and learning materials, courses jointly designed and taught with partner schools abroad and internships and foreign study trips are some of the parameters. External evaluation is also a very important ingredient of attaining internationalization, he said.
Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more news on top foreign B-schools.
