UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORDSchool of ManagementProgrammetitle: Master’s in European and International Business Management (EIBM)
Awarding and teaching institution: / Joint awardUniversity of Bradford
Audencia-Nantes Ecole de Management
Deusto ‘La Comercial’
Final award: / MSc in European and International Business Management (EIBM)
Programme title:
Pathway: / European and International Business Management (EIBM)
General Management
Programme accredited by:
And officially recognised by: / EQUIS
The Ministry of Education of Spain
Duration: / Full-time: 14-16 months
UCAS code:
Date produced: / 18th March 2012
Last updated : / 23rd August2012
Introduction
The European and International Business Management (EIBM) programme, also known as EMP (European Management Programme, its initial title) is an established programme built upon a long standing co-operation between the three member institutions of a consortium consisting of Universidad de Deusto “La Comercial” (Bilbao), Bradford University School of Management (Bradford) and Audencia - Nantes Ecole de Management (Nantes). This trilingual, tripartite, multicultural programme was set up in 1990.
The MSc European and International Business Management (EIBM) is an inter-university postgraduate programme providing general business and management education to build on students’ previous educational backgrounds. the same time, it develops and consolidates a broad linguistic ability with an emphasis on developing competence in the use of technical language in business and economics. It also gives students an international experience through living and studying in three countries, in multicultural environments. The programme duration is between 13 and 16 months and is delivered in three prestigious European HEIs, in France, Spain and the UK: Audencia – Nantes Ecole de Management (Audencia), the Universidad de Deusto – La Comercial in Bilbao (Deusto), and Bradford University School of Management (SoM). Effective communication in a business context is an important element of the programme, thus each partner delivers its part of the programme in its native language. Consolidation of learning through practice is also a key objective of the programme, which is facilitated through internships. Students on the EIBM can expect to graduate with theoretical and practical knowledge of management as it is conducted in an international business environment developing the communication skills necessary to make an immediate and effective contribution in an international context
In accordance with the University’s mission ‘Making Knowledge Work’, the School of Management aims to provide programmes that educate individuals as managers and business specialists, and thereby improve the quality of management as a profession. As part of this mission, Bilbao, Nantes and Bradford have cooperated academically since 1994 in this joint programme.
Joint award
Students completing the programme are eligible for a joint award from the three participating institutions.
Details of the University of Bradford’s (UoB) Regulations Governing Taught Programmes are available:
Further, specific, criteria concerning admissions and eligibility for the award of MSc in European and International Business Management is specified below.
Under this arrangement, each institution is responsible for the delivery of a proportion of the degree equivalent to one third of the programme content (see below for details). The modules delivered by each institution are subject to annual review and agreement by the three institutions. The three institutions have joint responsibility for the quality assurance of all components of the programme.
Programme Aims
The focus of the MSc EIBM is the management of organisations, either in private companies, public institutions or non-profit oriented organisations within an international context. Its objective is to ensure that successful students are able to promote and lead the development of projects, businesses and organisations, specifically those linked to international or multicultural activities, and; to collaborate with facilitating the aims of organizations in a responsible and ethical way to improve long-term competitiveness in a globalised market.
The MSc EIBM covers all the main areas of Business Administration (Finance, Marketing & Logistics, Strategy, General Management, Socio-economic Context, Human Resources & Corporate Social Responsibility) with a very specific focus on European, international and multicultural organisations.
The proficient use of managerial skills and a sound knowledge of several European languages and business cultures are critical enabling factors for a successful career in international organisations, including those with a national or regional basis but with an international exposure.
Hence, this programme is a trilingual MSc providing participants with the managerial, linguistic and cultural knowledge and skills that will allow them to add high value in international and multicultural organisations.
Teaching is conducted in the local language of each institution (French at Audencia, Spanish at Deusto and English at Bradford). Minor modules/programmes may be taught in the other two languages if required (for instance, a module taught in English at Audencia). In addition, intensive language modules in French are offered in Bilbao and in Spanish in Nantes at the beginning of the programme for students in need of language consolidation.
Successful students are able to develop their professional career at international level. Their rare combination of skills and competence makes them operational in an English, French or Spanish-speaking working environment and therefore they are ideally suited for an international career.
Internationalism of programme
The MSc EIBM programme is international in essence and geared towards European and international business management. The teaching faculty is international in composition. Whilst the majority of EIBM students come from two European countries, France and Spain, there is also a strong South and Central American presence, as well as students coming from various European countries, Northern Africa, and China. Since the early 1990s, over 600 professionals of 37 nationalities have followed the EIBM programme. This great cultural diversity is a fundamental component of the programme, which aims to achieve complete immersion in a multicultural context.
A particular feature of this joint programme is its absolute reliance on student mobility, as students are systematically required to study in each of the three partner institutions. This programme allows students to acquire an advanced knowledge of how to manage an organisation in an international context. Participants develop their managerial skills in three different European countries and languages, gaining awareness of the economic, social and cultural differences between the three countries and developing skills that will enable them to adapt successfully to different environments and business cultures. There is also an emphasis on developing competence in the use of technical language in business and economics. Participants also interact for at least nine months of the programme with students from different countries, cultures, fields of expertise and working experience, building the fundamentals for a global career.
Admission Requirements
Candidates must fulfil the following criteria in order to be considered for enrolment on the programme:
·An official university degree (all academic areas, without restriction, are admitted) whereby the country of origin validates it to enrol for a postgraduate Master’s.
·Previously obtained undergraduate and postgraduate degrees must amount to a minimum number of credits of 240 ECTS (or equivalent in non European institutions).
·Fluent knowledge of, at least, two of the three working languages of the joint programme (Spanish, French, English). Candidates must show a native speaker level (C2 according to CEFRL) or befluent (C1) in at least two of the languages, and have acquired some passive knowledge in the third (A2). Some flexibility may be shown in the third language if there is a clear commitment by the student to improving his/her language skills in this language prior to starting the Master’s.
·A personal statement demonstrating motivation/commitment to the programme.
Applications made to the programme can be submitted to any of the three Institutions. These applications, once received, will be assessed against the admissions criteria by the Programme Director (for Bradford - the Academic Partnership Manager), assisted by the admissions or programme administrator at each Institution.
Once initial eligibility has been assessed the Programme Director will conduct a telephone discussion with the candidate – this is designed to discuss the programme, and ascertain suitable aptitude for study and achievement of the programme learning outcomes.
The Programme Director for each Institution will make recommendations based on the candidate’s eligibility against admissions criteria and clear aptitude for the programme as ascertain through the telephone discussion and personal statement. These recommendations are discussed by all three Programme Directors on a regular basis before a formal offer is made to the applicant.
Students who fall short on one section of the language requirements when submitting their application may be offered a place on the condition that they attend an intensive programme during September, prior to the starting date of the MSc in October, in order to strengthen the weaker language.
Programme Learning Outcomes
The programme provides both a sound theoretical knowledge about managing international companies and the necessary experience in dealing with problems related to multiculturalism, to the personal adaptation of employees to international companies, and to influencing the adaptation of organisations themselves. Postgraduates develop the required skills in order to work in the field of management in countries different from their own, and for conducting business and cooperating with people from all over the world. In addition, competencies specific to each of the three partner institutions bring benefit to the students’ learning experience.
On Successful completion of the programme, students are able to:
Knowledge and understanding
LO1:Demonstrate critical knowledge of the core functions in management and ofcurrent trends affecting the world ofbusiness at European and international level;
LO2:Demonstrate a broad but rigorous understanding of the concepts, constructs and frameworks applicable to a business context and of the tools and techniques used to support decision making;
LO3:Demonstrate specialist knowledge of European and international business activities and of the practical implications that cultural differences can bring to business conducted across national boundaries, with particular reference to the three business cultures at the core of the programme.
Discipline skills
LO4:Critically appraise current research and advanced scholarship in management to support the formulation of solutions to contemporary European and international business problems;
LO5:Communicate complex ideas in Business, Management and Economics in three key business languages;
LO6:Exercise a personal and critical understanding of sustainability and be able to make business decisions, taking into account the complexity of the sustainability agenda in its broadest sense;
Personal transferable skills
LO7:Show adaptability and originality in tackling and solving problems, and the ability to work and interact cooperatively with others in all three languages and business cultures of the programme and provide ethical leadership in bringing about strategic transformational change;
LO8:Experience of learning and studying in an international context.
LO9:A European and an international perspective on business activities and direct contact with the socio-economic reality of each of the three countries where the programme has taken place.
Curriculum
Programme timetable
- September to December:Part 1, in either Bilbao or Nantes (two groups)
- January to March:Part 2, in either Nantes or Bilbao (groups swap)
- April to beginning of July:Part 3, in Bradford (the two groups merge)
- July to end of December:Internship in a company (not in the candidate’s country of origin)
- February:Graduation Ceremony in Bilbao
Programme structure
Students registered on MSc EIBM are divided into two groups that follow slightly different itineraries. This partition depends on the language level of each candidate at the time of enrolment. Candidates must show at least a native speaker’s level (C2 according to CEFRL, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) in one of the three languages of the programme, be fluent (C1) in a second language, and have a basic knowledge (A2) of the third. Those who do not fulfill all language requirements when submitting their application are offered an intensive programme during September, prior to the starting date of the Master’s in October, in order to strengthen the weaker language.. Participants with a good command of French but whose knowledge of Spanish requires more attention normally start the programme in Audencia (Nantes). Students who have good communicative abilities in Spanish but whose knowledge of French is weaker start the programme in Deusto (Bilbao). Those proficient in both languages may choose whether to start the programme in France or in Spain.
The modules delivered in Nantes and in Bilbao are the same and are taught simultaneously in each institution. They are compulsory, core modules. The only difference in the EIBM core modules delivered at Deusto and Nantes is the medium of communication used. In addition to Business Management modules, participants follow business language modules (6 ECTS credits) in the languages that are not their own (two or in some cases the three of them). In this latter case the student must choose two languages to be evaluated).
After three months in the first institution, both groups change places in early January. They spend the following three months in Deusto (Bilbao) or Audencia (Nantes), where again all business modules are taught in the national language of the institution.
Finally both groups merge in April at Bradford, where they spend ten weeks until early July. All Bradford modules are taught in English.
In addition, students must prepare a Group Dissertation in English, which is presented in a viva to a panel consisting of the three Programme Directors. The viva is undertaken at Bradford at the end of June and is conducted in the three working languages of the programme, after which participants undertake an internship lasting 3 to 6 months in a country which is not their own.
In June, students can also re-sit supplementary assessments for the modules they failed in Deusto and Audencia in the first two terms. Preparation of the supplementary assessments and marking is the responsibility of Deusto and Audencia. Bradford is responsible for the organisation of the supplementary assessments.
The MSc EIBM has a 90 ECTS workload that typically covers the period from October of any given year until December of the following year. An extension of this period may occur if the student is not able to end his/her internship by the 31st December. The distribution of the 90 ECTS credits by thematic area is as follows:
Thematic Area / Period / Core / ECTSFinance / C / 7
Marketing & Logistics / C / 7
Socioeconomic & Legal aspects / October-March / C / 5
Management of Organizations / C / 8
Strategy / C / 6
Business Languages & Culture / C / 6
3 Electives (Bradford) / April-July / 15
Dissertation / December-July / 6
Internship / July-December / 30
Total / 90
39 ECTS credits consist of compulsory modules, which are taught during the first 6 months in Deusto-Bilbao and Audencia-Nantes. 15 credits are electives taught during the Spring period at Bradford. Students must simultaneously prepare a dissertation (6 ECTS) for which the specific details are provided. The modules below were the core modules studied at Deusto and Audencia during 2011-12. Programme content, however, is subject to an annual review and therefore may differ.
Compulsory modules are grouped by thematic areas (Finance, Marketing & Logistics, Socioeconomic & Legal aspects, Management of Organizations, Strategy, Business Language & Culture). Because the majority of participants do not hold a previous degree in Business Administration or related fields, the modules in the first period (October-December) provide the foundations of knowledge and understanding that are progressively developed through the addition of more complex theories and cases relevant to the management of international organisations.
The second term (January-March) offers more advanced modules, that enable students to address and solve real issues presented as case studies of international companies using management tools with a sound technical basis.
The third term (April-July) is spent in Bradford. Part 3 of the programme is a period of specialisation during which students are able to choose elective modules offered on the Bradford MBA programme (refer to Appendix A for an indicative list of elective modules). Students can take up to five modules from which the three best marks will count towards the final award.
Thematic Area / Module / Period / ECTSAccounting / October-December / 2
Finance / Financial Management / October-December / 2
European Financial Management / January-March / 3
Marketing / October-December / 2
Purchases / January-March / 1
Marketing & Logistics / European Marketing / January-March / 3
Technical Export / January-March / 1
Employment Law / October-December / 1
Principles of Economics / October-December / 1
Socioeconomic & Legal aspects / Management of the Total Liability / October-December / 1
European Law of competition / January-March / 2
General Policy of the Company / October-December / 2,5
Project Management / October-December / 1,5
Management of Organizations / Change, Organisation and Management / October-December / 1
Compared European Management / January-March / 1,5
Communication Skills / January-March / 1,5
Business Strategy / October-December / 2,5
Strategy / European Strategy / January-March / 2
Strategic Simulation Game / January-March / 1,5
Spanish / October- March / 3
Business Languages & Culture / French / October- March / 3
2 of the 3 are evaluated – 6 ECTS / English / October- March / 3
Dissertation and group oral examination
In December students choose the groups (composed of 2-3 people, exceptionally 4) they will work in on their dissertation. These groups are given a list of topics decided by the Steering Committee from which they must choose the one that will be addressed in their Dissertation. From January until mid June students work on this topic with the help and advice of professors from the three partner institutions (see also Student Support and Guidance). Most of the time students devote to the Dissertation takes place in the third term at Bradford.
The groups must submit their work in hard copy at Bradford by mid-June. A week later, the group presents the Dissertation orally at Bradford. In the viva, a representative of each of the three institutions is present and questions the student in their native language. Students receive an individual grade, which the examiners agree as a board that takes into account their contribution to the presentation and their ability to interact in the three working languages of the programme. The viva in which their work is presented assesses the achievements of each student. Successful students must show a sound command of the issue debated, and an ability to reasonably answer technical business questions related to their topic (addressed in their Dissertation or not) in any of the three languages of communication of the Master’s.