Vortrag für die Konferenz anlässlich des 50-jährigen Bestehens an der PFUR Moskau,
4. Februar 2010Internationalisation: Focusing on special target groups

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am very honoured to speak here today, especially because the Berlin School of Economics and Law, which I head, has still a fairly new partnership with the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (PFUR), dating back to the year 2006. Nevertheless, my institution has maintained strong links to Russia for nearly 20 years, and I myself have become a member of the International Higher Education Academy of Sciences here in Moscow nine years ago.

The Berlin School of Economics and Law – in short BSEL – is a very internationally oriented University of Applied Sciences. With more than 100 active partnerships with universities world-wide we provide highly diversified exchange opportunities for our roundabout 8,500 students and 160 professors.

In addition to the regular exchange activities we have created a number of bi-national and international study programmes, as well as dual award courses for our students. Those programmes are well-accepted and offer truly intercultural learning experiences. As bi-national study programmes we conduct one German-British and one German-French option in the undergraduate sector as well as the “Chinese-European Economics and Business Studies” (in short CEEBS)  in the postgraduate sector, which I will talk about further on. In 2007, we started the programme “International Business Management” (IBMAN) which is taught completely in English, comprises two mandatory semesters abroad, as well as language tuition and intercultural subjects. Dual award courses are offered with partners in England, France, Turkey, the Netherlands, and Spain.

On top, we started a number of initiatives aimed at special target groups, in particular for developing and transforming countries, and for students with immigrant backgrounds. I will now introduce some of these programmes in relation to the theme of the conference.

Beginning in 2000, we started to put a focus on programmes especially made for transforming countries, thus not only sharing knowledge but also learning a lot about those countries ourselves. In the beginning, those programmes were mainly aimed at China, based on a very intense partnership with the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE) in Chengdu. Together with this university and the German Federal Bank (Deutsche Bundesbank) we started to hold yearly Conferences on Monetary Policy, alternately in Berlin and in Chengdu. In 2005, they were complemented by regular Conferences on Public Administration.

Also in the year 2000, the post-graduate study programme “Macroeconomic Policy Studies” (MPS) was established with the financial aid of InWEnt (Capacity Building International, Germany). This was a certificate programme aimed at representatives of Asian Central Banks (mainly People’s Bank of China), which imparted knowledge about modern macroeconomic theories and other related academic disciplines of modern economic thinking (especially public finance, monetary theory, international and development economics). Participants were enabled to answer questions about the proper monetary, currency and fiscal policy and which policy mix should be chosen. They studied good and bad experiences gained by other countries as well as the conditions for success in developing a strategy.

The course Macroeconomic Policy Studies was offered for nine years. Last year it was replaced by the “International Leadership Training (ILT) Hospital Management”, which is also financed by InWEnt. ILT qualifies health experts and managers from South-East Asia and China to initiate and manage change processes in their home countries. One major objective of the programme is to enable the participants to find adequate solutions for urgent management problems of their hospitals. In particular, the programme qualifies the participants to adapt common solutions to the special situations of their countries and implement them within the framework of the International Leadership Training programme. Participants should also become facilitators and multipliers of this knowledge and distribute it within their workplaces. For this purpose, during an internship phase in German hospitals they develop so-called transfer projects which they implement after their return to their home countries.

Another venture, also focused on China, was the EU-financed Asia-Link project for the development of a joint Master’s programme. The project comprised five universities: two in China (SWUFE and Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, JUFE) and three in Europe (Berlin School of Economics and Law, HES Amsterdam and the University of Applied Sciences Vienna). The primary aims were the joint development of six teaching modules and the training of Chinese professors by team teaching. In the next step, the Master’s programme “Chinese-European Economics and Business Studies” (CEEBS), which I already mentioned, was implemented. It incorporated the six teaching modules developed in the first step. Until now, it is a bi-national programme, conducted by BSEL and SWUFE. Students acquire a good base of knowledge in economics and business, as well as in the specific cultural and political foundations of China and Europe. The full-time programme comprehends four terms of study, including a compulsory semester at the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu. The fourth term can be spent in either location (Berlin or Chengdu).

Another interesting programme – the 1-year Master’s course “Labour Policies and Globalisation” (LPG) – was introduced in 2004 together with the University of Kassel. It was the pilot project of a world-wide offer by the Global Labour University (GLU) and was followed by corresponding programmes in South Africa, Brazil, and India. Other cooperative activities with focus on Asia and North America are planned. Members of the GLU are universities in Brazil, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, India, the Netherlands, and South Africa, and a number of national and international trade unions.

The focus of the programme Labour Policies and Globalisation is on the challenges for labour, posed by corporate decisions on investments across nations, by predominantly supply-side oriented macroeconomics, and by neo-liberal rules for trade and finance at a global level. Discussion of the adequacy of alternative policies for labour is a central element throughout the programme.

The study groups are very international – since the beginning in 2004 students with a trade union background from 49 countries have participated, among those many from developing and transforming countries. The course of studies benefits from broad financial support (mainly scholarships) from the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, the Hans Böckler Foundation, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, and the International Labour Organisation, which initiated the programme.

By offering those programmes, BSEL takes on social responsibility in a globalised world. Some challenges cannot be solved on the local level but need an international approach. In addition, it is also important for our professors to change the perspective from time to time and to focus on different problems. The projects which I have described have proven to be an enrichment for both sides.

Let me switch to a completely different aspect of internationalisation now – dealing with students with a foreign background at our own institution.

An initiative with a more internal view is the intercultural mentoring programme, which was introduced in April 2008. Originally, it was aimed at supporting students with an immigrant background in acquiring additional skills for a successful career entry. This seemed especially important because roundabout 20 % of our students in the Faculty of Business and Economics of BSEL have an immigrant background. In the very beginning, only women could be fostered; last year the programme was extended to male applicants as well. The mentoring programme is supported by ZONTA, an international initiative of business women that wants to advance the legal, political, economic, and professional status of women. This year, our programme will receive additional support from the federation of merchants and manufacturers of Berlin.

Let me give you a few details of the project. Originally, students with an immigrant background – the mentees – could apply for a mentor coming from the professional world. Statistics show that this particular group of students spends more time looking for jobs than similarly qualified German graduates, and that they are also confronted with career barriers in professional life. The mentor is supposed to help the student to identify his or her strengths, to eliminate possible shortcomings and to improve his or her self-marketing. In short, the mentors use their personal and professional skills to advise and assist the mentees in their individual development.

In the meantime, we have recognised that mentoring is a reciprocal relationship between mentor and mentee. Social integration requires mutual acceptance and tolerance between different ethnic groups. Intolerance is not necessarily caused by severe cultural differences; even little things can lead to misunderstandings or resentment. Therefore, a new aspect in the intercultural mentoring programme is the matching between German students as mentees with successful mentors who have an immigrant background. The experiences made in this intercultural relationship will in the long term create more acceptance of highly qualified graduates with immigrant background in the working world.

Let me explain why this seems important to us. University education in Germany in general is free of charge, at least on the undergraduate level. It therefore generates expenses for the national economy. Normally, those expenses will be regained when the graduates find qualified jobs and contribute to the gross national product. If graduates are not accepted because of their background, they will leave the country and search for work in other countries or else resign and retreat. In an immigrant country, as Germany now is, the economy cannot afford to lose this potential by not accepting the highly qualified graduates with a foreign background. Therefore, minimising prejudice through an intercultural mentoring programme seems worthwhile with regard to the national economy.

Furthermore, cross-cultural competence is an important factor for successful work in an international environment. Students and graduates with an immigrant background dispose of a lot of intercultural experience. Broadening this experience will also enrich the professional capacities.

Ladies and gentlemen,
I have just given a few examples of how my institution is dealing with special target groups. Internationalisation is a large field with many aspects. Sometimes customized programmes are needed for particular needs of international partners. Embedded in the overall strategy for internationalisation, we have made very good experience with the mentioned programmes. I would be happy if they could serve as an incitation for other universities.