CEMS Skill Seminar goes global

On Thursday, September 29, NHH participated in the Global Skill Seminar hosted by Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) in São Paulo, Brazil. The Skill Seminar was broadcast on the Internet, thus, the debates with the guests happened in multiple cities at the same time, for the first time in CEMS history.

04.10.2011 - Carmen Codreanu

The Skill Seminar is one of the three pillars of the CEMS Alliance along with the Block Seminar and the Business Projects. The "Leadership Summit Brazil" was one of this autumn's Skill Seminar and the Seminar consisted of four debates: Government influence on the economy of Brazil, Investments in Brazil, Brazil's position in the Global Energy Market, and Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital.

An online event

CEMS students at NHH watching the Skill Seminar broadcast.

AT FGV, the event bought together CEMS academics and coordinators, Brazilian leaders and CEMS students. The event has also linked the CEMS member schools and students from abroad, by being broadcast on the Internet. It allowed students to watch and debate live and to interact through Skype video calls, Twitter and Facebook.

Leadership Summit Brazil at NHH

CEMS Students Luis Lemarie (left) from Ecuador and Alejandro Jaramillo from Columbia think that the skill Seminar is relevant and very usful.

CEMS Coordinators of NHH set up an "interaction room" where the NHH CEMS students had the opportunity to watch the Seminar live, and to ask questions directly of these Brazilian leaders at the Leadership Summit Brazil.

Several of the NHH CEMS students thought that the Skill Seminar was relevant as some of the debated topics were in their area of interest, and because they also have strong connections with their home countries.

"The Skill Seminar is interesting because it presents the economy and other facts about Brazil, and I am planning to go to work in Brazil. It is a chance to get a background about this country, opportunities that it provides, and to keep up-to-date with all that is happening there", says Luis Lemarie, CEMS student at NHH, from Ecuador.

Luis found an interesting connection between the Skill Seminar and the CEMS Block Seminar held at Voss, in August of the current year: "Both seminars are strongly practical- oriented: the Block Seminar was about Social Media, and the Skill Seminar uses Social Media to go global, as it links schools and students from the CEMS alliance." He continues: "I asked questions and I got answers directly from the Seminar's speakers, and that was impressive. It is amazing to see that things can go so easy."

Alejandro Jaramillo, CEMS student at NHH from Columbia, found the seminar relevant because "Brazil is becoming a leading economy in Latin America, and whatever happens in Brazil affects Columbia, whether it is about the country's economy, politics or other aspects of society."

He also addressed questions to the Brazilian speakers. Some examples of these questions include the following: "What is the Brazilian Government doing to support and promote entrepreneurship in Brazil?" and "Considering that Brazil is a rich country in natural resources, but also has a big population, what is doing the government in order to have a wealthier economy?"

A warm welcome

Maria Jose Tonelli, Vice-dean of Business School of the Fundação Getulio Vargas kicked off the Seminar by addressing special thanks to all the participating CEMS institutions, including NHH. She emphasized the importance of the leadership and innovative ideas for FGV and today's society, and how this Skill Seminar manages best to bring together "the economical leaders with the new generation of leaders - the students."

Elco Jol, the Founder and Chairman of the Leadership Summit Brazil led the speech by further presenting the Brazil economy and the challenges that it is currently facing, and noting the importance of being part of the CEMS alliance for FGV.

He concluded his speech by introducing the speakers and giving a warm welcome to all the participating students and CEMS associates: "The future looks bright for us and for all the students that are watching us now. Thank you and enjoy the show!"