EBS hosts EFMD External Relations Directors Meeting: 6th – 8th April 2008

Theme: “We are all international now: so what?”

Estonian Business School is proud to be the first business school in Central and Eastern Europe to host the meeting of the EFMD External Relations Directors, founded in 1992.

With the generous support of its unique sponsor, Microsoft, EBS welcomes 110 Directors of International and External Relations, PR and Marketing, Alumni and Careers offices from leading international business schools.

How do business schools meet the challenges of internationalisation? What faculty and staff do they need? How will they find and support international students? Do hey really need to be international? And what does internationalisation really mean? All these topics will be addressed in workshops led by expert school representatives. In addition to sharing best practice, they will spend two days also hear from keynote speakers on such topics as what companies expect of business school graduates in the next five years or what the future of business schools might be.

Whilst underlining that Estonian Business School’s vision is to become an internationally recognised institution through its students and lecturers, the outgoing Rector, Professor Madis Habakuk, stresses that internationalisation should not mean forgetting the country of origin: “Well-educated graduates, fluent in foreign languages, contribute to the growth of the Estonian economy.”

Representing Microsoft, Dr Monika Kavanova from the company’s Central and Eastern European HQ in Munich will challenge schools on the requirements companies foresee in their future employees. What should schools be teaching their students about internationalisation? How culturally aware should such graduates be?

Representatives of Venezuela, South Africa, Australia and China will debate different ways of internationalising, reflecting the challenges faced by schools in different continents and with different cultural and geographical heritages. “We hear a great deal about China and India”, says EBS Vice Rector Nicola Hijlkema, who chairs this session, adding that two large areas of the world – Africa and Latin America – are often forgotten. “I am thrilled that we shall have such a variety of speakers. We often forget that internationalisation is not merely ourselves moving into our immediate neighbourhood. Our competitors will also be coming to ‘steal’ our students!”

EFMD (European Foundation for Management Development) is an international membership organization, based in Brussels, Belgium. With more than 650 member organizations from academia, business, public service and consultancy in 75 countries, EFMD provides a unique forum for information, research, networking and debate on innovation and best practice in management development.

More information is available by contacting:

Nicola Hijlkema
Vice Rector for International Relations
Estonian Business School
tel: +372 665 1364
nicola.hijlkema@ebs.ee