Germany getting back on track.

Germany: Getting back on track, MBA4success, (following are excerpts)

With a change in consciousness and competition the state and quality of business education is making great strides forward. The rise in institutions now offering quality MBA programmes stands in testament to these changes. New state investments have begun to lure the top students.

Within this market there are a handful of private institutions, which lead the rankings and have the most respect. However they only enrol 2.5% of the country's college students. WHU is Germany's oldest private business school and certainly one of the best positioned to take advantage of the current trend. Michael Frenkel, the dean of WHU attributes this to the school's long-standing structural advantages over the country's public universities. Like in France, public schools were banned from charging fees or selecting its student body. Recent reforms in the public sector now make it possible for these schools to select students and set tuition fees. "It's a virtuous circle: you have good students and you have good output means you are an attractive place for researchers and companies to recruit. And that means you can tell students: If you study here you can get good jobs", says Prof. Frenkel.

In the case of the University of Mannheim, the trend can be best demonstrated. Last year, this institution spinned off its Executive Education, including its part-time and full-time MBAs as a separate private institution.

"We need to be able to implement world-class MBA programmes in order to get recognition in the international rankings and we would not be able to do so as a part of the state university", claimed Armin Heinzl, academic director and head of strategy at Mannheim Business School.

To prove his point, he cited that under the state system it took nearly a year to change tuition fees. "That is not way to act in a volatile and dynamic market", he said. Mannheim's arrangement is unique but could foster a new trend, which is exactly what the German government had in mind when they earmarked 1.9m euros to develop a set of elite universities within the existing system. What this means is that undergrad, MSc , and PhD degrees follow the old system while MBAs and Executive Education can follow a new path to excellence.

The school, which is the current chouchou of the German education system, is ESMT (European School of Management and Technology) in Berlin. This January for example, they launched an MBA programme exclusively in English. What has got everyone's attention is that this is no ordinary school. It was launched by consortium of 25 of the nation's top enterprises, which include Allianz, DaimlerChrysler, Deutsche Bank and Siemens. With backers such as these titans it is not surprising that the school already has an endowment of 80m plus 1.5m in annual scholarship support and some of the best industrial connections across the continent.

Their goal is simple: become the best MBA in Germany first; then one of the top 5 in Europe; and eventually one of the leading global MBA players. According to Francis Bidault, the director of the school's MBA programme, it is possible.

"Competition of this sort is absolutely healthy", said George Mycroft, in a recent lecture to candidates contemplate further education in Germany. "Europe still needs more first class institutions. In this way, a European vision of business education and job placement can draw some of the keenest minds and talent".

Tags: Germany

Comments

[Ada]

Germany has always been a great country, very powerful and well organized. So the fact that they are getting back on track is not a surprise, is something that we were sure it will happen. The best thing about organizing the education system I that, like this, they will stop the fake diplomas use;