Community of European Management Schools and International Companies

CEMS, the Community of European Management Schools and International Companies is a cooperation of multinational enterprises and Europe's leading business schools and universities. Currently CEMS unites 17 European universities, four associate overseas institutions and more than fifty corporate partners. CEMS organizes the CEMS MIM degree, supports the CEMS Alumni Association (CAA) and facilitates general cooperation among its members.

In December 2007, the CEMS MIM program was ranked as the 2nd best masters in management by the Financial Times. [http://rankings.ft.com/rankings/masters]

CEMS MIM

The CEMS Master in International Management (CEMS MIM) is a one-year degree program taught jointly by the CEMS universities available to a select group of students at the member universities. The aim of CEMS is to be the European force in education and research for students who aspire to play a leading role in the development and direction of enterprises in a global context.

These individuals will be outstanding in their:
* high academic standards and professional skills
* ability to perform effectively in a fast changing environment
* empathy with different cultures, values and behaviours
* willingness to take responsibility within society" (quote from the CEMS program homepage)

The CEMS MIM consists of a base semester (usually part of the standard degree at the home university) followed by an exchange semester at a second CEMS university. In addition to completing ones home degree graduation from the CEMS also requires successful completion of a business project, skill seminars, an international internship, and 3 language exams. While the CEMS MIM is a high quality academic degree, the uniqueness of the CEMS MIM thus lies in its addition focus on practical business skills, language proficiency and early international experience.

Every CEMS university has a limited amount of places available for CEMS MIM students. Therefore the selection producedure is tough. In most cases universities have pre-requirements to be accepted in the selection procedure. Examples include a high grade average and proof of language skills. There are no official statistics for the graduation rate of the CEMS students, but it is estimated to be around 80%. The usual reason for not graduating is the failure to complete a third language exam followed by a failure to complete the home degree.The organization of the CEMS degree differs slightly among the member universities, but mostly it is a requirement to already be enrolled or selected for a master of business degree with a member university prior to applying for the CEMS MIM. The CEMS MIM is therefore often referred to as a "dual-degree", since all of the CEMS graduates receive both a degree from their home university as well as from the CEMS.

The Financial Times evaluated European masters programmes in management in 2007 and provided a ranking on their website, showing the CEMS MIM degree to be on the 2nd place. As the CEMS degree is basically a top-up to a normal business degree (and involves extensive additional work,) most CEMS students are more competitive and study-focused than other business students.

CEMS Alumni Association (CAA)

The CEMS Alumni Association (CAA) enables the multicultural experience of CEMS graduates to be continued and developed. Founded in 1993 by CEMS graduates, the Association is an international network throughout the world of CEMS graduates.

Organised on a Europe-wide basis, the CAA is led by an Executive Committee and is present in many countries through Local Committees made up of CEMS alumni. The local committees are responsible for keeping in contact with CEMS alumni and organising professional and social activities. They meet on a regular basis to discuss the activities and development of the Association, and jointly elect the Executive Committee every two years.

The Executive Committee's mission is to foster the CEMS alumni community in Europe by proposing and developing initiatives that reflect CAA objectives. A team of four alumni, supported by the CEMS Alumni Coordinator, promotes activities at a European level. The Executive Committee also represents alumni interests on the CEMS Executive Board and supports development of the CEMS alliance.

CEMS member universities

* Austria: Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien
* Belgium: Louvain School of Management, part of Université Catholique de Louvain
* Czech Republic: University of Economics, Prague
* Denmark: Copenhagen Business School
* Finland: Helsinki School of Economics
* France: HEC Paris
* Germany: Universität zu Köln
* Great Britain: London School of Economics
* Hungary: Corvinus University of Budapest
* Ireland: Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, Dublin
* Italy: Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, Milan
* Netherlands: RSM Erasmus University, Rotterdam
* Norway: Norges Handelshøyskole (NHH), Bergen
* Poland: Warsaw School of Economics
* Portugal: Universidade Nova de Lisboa
* Russia: St. Petersburg State University
* Sweden: Handelshögskolan i Stockholm (Stockholm School of Economics)
* Spain: ESADE, Barcelona
* Switzerland: Universität St. Gallen

CEMS Corporate Partners

CEMS corporate Partners are expected to contribute financially (about 20000 € each year) and with human resources to the program. This means that they chart skills courses, give lectures or invite CEMS students to company activities where students learn about certain corporate practices or solve cases. These connections are very useful to promote the company to the students, while the students gain insight into real-world problems and solution approaches.

List of partners:
* A.T. Kearney
* Austrian National Bank
* BNP Paribas
* BP
* Crédit Agricole
* Credit Suisse
* Deutsche Bank
* Dresdner Bank
* EADS
* Elcoteq
* ENI
* Fidelity
* GlaxoSmithKline
* Haniel
* Henkel
* Hydro
* Indesit Company
* ING
* International Finance Corporation
* JP Morgan
* Kerry Group
* KGHM
* Kone
* KPMG
* L'Oréal
* LVMH
* Michelin
* Mol
* Nestlé
* Nokia
* Novo Nordisk
* OMV
* Polska Wytwórnia Papierów Wartościowych
* PriceWaterhouseCoopers
* Procter & Gamble
* Randstad Holding
* Reuters
* Ringier
* Royal Bank of Scotland
* Schindler
* Shell
* Siemens
* Skoda
* Statoil
* Stora Enso
* Swiss Re
* Tele2
* The Boston Consulting Group
* UBS
* Vestas
* Whirlpool
* Wolseley
* Zürich

External links

* [http://www.cems.org/ Official CEMS website] .
* [http://rankings.ft.com/rankings/masters Financial Times ranking of Masters programs in Europe, 2007] .