Three business schools collaborate to foster European Business Education and alliances with the UK
Collaboration within the higher education has been at the core of the European Union project since the creation of Erasmus. In 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU and the UK higher education sector entered in a period of uncertainty.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented health and socio-economic crisis severely affecting the entire higher education sector around the World. The increasing internationalization has rendered business schools particularly vulnerable to travel banning; the lockdown policies have radically changed the conditions under which higher education had suddenly to perform research and emergency online education.
The idea of creating a truly international study programme based in Europe was initiated by Jean-Philippe Ammeux, Dean at IESEG School in Management – with the institution looking to partner with another AACSB accredited School in the south of Europe and a partner in the UK.
IQS School of Management in Barcelona was selected as the southern European partner and Carlos Moslares, the Dean was contacted by the partnerships development team of IESEG School of Management.
The programme began to be shaped further in March 2020 when the Sheffield Business School, led by Dean Professor Eileen McAuliffe at Sheffield Hallam University, became an AACSB accredited institution.
On the accreditation panel was Carlos Moslares, Dean at the IQS School of Management.
Throughout the visit, it became clear that Sheffield Business School and IQS shared an ambitious can-do attitude, with the importance of applied learning central to the strategies of both schools.
Sheffield Business School was subsequently invited to join the European Business Bachelor project.
To deliver such a complex programme, against the backdrop of Brexit and the onset of an unprecedented global pandemic, presented an immense challenge.
Challenges of drafting an agreement that suited all parties
Each institution has its institutional culture, traditions and the legal framework from the public quality agencies in each country were challenges the three institutions had to face in order to create this program. From the beginning, the three institutions were very committed to run this unique and innovative program. A detailed curriculum mapping helped them to better understand the learning goals. The economic and the governance model was one of the challenges faced initially and thanks to the collaborative spirit, they found the best solution for the three business schools involved in this project and decided to implement an exchange based model. Highly detailed contracts had to be drawn up and agreed, each in line within the legal framework of the nations involved.
Managing logistical complications such as Brexit when designing the program
The dual degrees experiences the different institutions had already in place with other business schools outside of the European Union helped them to plan and manage the logistical complications associated with the Brexit. Ultimately, this led the Swiss law being accepted as the gold standard to meet the requirements of all three institutions. Fortunately, with all three institutions holding AACSB accreditation, and there being such positive chemistry from the first meeting, it was clear that all three institutions had the passion to make the project come to a successful fruition. Such was the tenacity of the team that in just over a year, the programme is set to welcome the first cohort of students in September 2021.
Structure of the curriculum and credit transfer
The transferred credits have been approved by the three public quality agencies in the three countries once the business schools have submitted a detailed match mapping of the three programs including the learning goals. Students are studying together during the first semester of the second year, the third and the fourth year of the program. They will follow a single path and will be awarded three nationally recognized degrees in Spain, France and the UK.
Future challenges
Covid-19 will no doubt continue to challenge the program in the weeks and months to come but the uniqueness of the program is a real opportunity to strike a chord with students. Given the fact that the three schools are accredited by AACSB, the AoL will provide the useful information for continuous improvement.
It is hoped the European Business Bachelor will be a springboard to future joint research projects and enhanced opportunities for staff mobility and development. This will be key to the success of the programme.
These highly skilled and experienced graduates will be well placed to join international companies and, with an education experience grounded in applied and multi-cultured learning, they are sure to be successful in the world of international business in the years to come.