CEMS under the microscope

Andrea Sironi and four CEMS representatives paid NHH a three-day visit last week as part of an evaluation of the CEMS programme. Sironi and Rector Jan I. Haaland discussed amongst other things how NHH can contribute to CEMS partners and vice versa.

21.11.2006 - Kristin Risvand Mo

The CEMS Peer Review evaluation system was established in 2005, and this is the first time that NHH has been evaluated by its CEMS partners. The goal is to identify what the institutions in the network can contribute to each other and to ensure that the quality of the programme holds the same high standard in all CEMS partners schools.

CEMS representatives visitng NHH: From left Renata Subrtova (University of Economics, Prague), Roland Siegers (CEMS European Office), Mary Talbot (Reuters), Andrea Sironi (Università Luigi Bocconi) and Andras Nemeslaki (Corvinus University of Budapest).

The chairman of the committee, Andrea Sironi from Università Luigi Bocconi in Milan, was very satisfied with NHH.
"I am impressed with how well grounded CEMS is in the management. In this regard NHH is amongst the top CEMS schools."

He also emphasised that the International Office stands was very good, and that the other CEMS schools could learn much from NHH in a number of best practice areas.

Need to strengthen contacts with the business community
According to Sironi NHH has room to improve its management processes, especially with regard to the allocation of tasks and responsibility in connection to the running of courses and seminars. Sironi also raised the importance of good relations with the business community.

"Remember that CEMS was actually established by the business community. There are two Norwegian corporate partners in CEMS, Hydro and Statoil, and their involvement in business projects, skills seminars, internships and graduate recruitment is important for the development of the network. NHH should make it a goal to being further corporate partners into the CEMS network."

The CEMS committee came to Bergen on Wednesday afternoon and the following days were spent interviewing faculty members engaged in CEMS, the deans, the Rector and Deputy Rector, students, CEMS alumni, representatives from the business community, and administrative employees.

NHH produced a thorough self evaluation report as preparation for the CEMS Peer Review visit. The report included information on programmes offered at NHH, the course portfolio, programme management, student evaluations, corporate relations, and communications and networking.

The CEMS Peer Review committee will produce a report within three weeks of the visit, that NHH will then follow up with an action plan.

Useful
"It has been a very useful and informative process", says Rector Jan I. Haaland.
"The self evaluation exercise gave us the opportunity to see NHH from the outside. In addition I must emphasise the discussion that went on during the visit. The CEMS Peer Review committee identified a number of areas that we know we can improve, and now we are even more motivated to do so."

The visit came to a close with a lunch in Stupet on Friday afternoon. The International Office has been responsible for the visit, with CEMS Coordinator Siren Høgtun and Director John Andersen in charge.

The CEMS team at NHH comprises Nina Gry Stein and Nina Hagen fromt eh International Office, Rector Jan I. Haaland, Deputy Rector and CEMS Board Member Gunnar E. Christensen and CEMS Academic Director Tor Aase Johannessen.