International IACBE Conference at MSM huge success

On October 22nd and 23rd, Maastricht School of Management hosted the International Conference and European Regional Assembly meeting for the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE) in the heart of Europe, in Maastricht. The overarching theme of the conference was ‘Global Education and Academic Partnerships’.

The event broke all previous records with over 50 participants attending the event. Participants represented 26 educational institutions, from 4 continents: Africa, Asia, Europe and North-America, and 16 different countries Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Iran, Italy, Lebanon, Macedonia, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, Turkey, United States and Vietnam, making the conference a true global and multi-cultural event.

The keynote address was delivered by Professor Wim A. Naude, Dean of MSM on ‘Global Graduate Management Education and Academic Partnerships’. His presentation included trends on globalization and prompted the audience to question whether technological developments are actually causing barriers to globalization instead of enabling it. After the keynote speech, participants could attend a variety of presentations. The presentations included topics such as Global Programs, Businesses and Higher Education, Intercultural Understanding, Assessment, Case Studies and Technology and Higher Education. MSM’s Associate Dean, Ms. Kati Kovacs emphasized in her presentation the need to take a new and different approach to partnership development, one that may carry some risks compared to safe delivery modes that we are used to. The dinner took place at the Groote Societeit and was sponsored by Peregrine Academic Services.

On the 23rd participants attended the IACBE workshops on Outcomes Assessment Plan (OAP) and Site-Visit training. MSM’s academic coordinators, Dr. Stuart Dixon, Dr. Terry Kakeeto, and Mrs. Laura Ipacs, along with Chiara Jansen, Officer Quality Enhancement attended the OAP training while Ms. Liliana Bedoya, Senior Officer Quality Enhancement attended the site visit training initiative. MSM is strongly committed to continuously improve our education and processes and these workshops are invaluable for our colleagues.

The conference exceeded expectations and MSM is honored to have worked together with IACBE again and will continue this excellent relationship going forward.