How are Business Schools making a positive impact on the economies in which they operate?

The way Business Schools compete is changing. Those institutions which can demonstrate their positive influence on society are increasingly able to stand out from the crowd, in the eyes of prospective students, employers, and other stakeholders.

Business Impact set out to learn more and share examples of how Business Schools across the global BGA network are striving to make a positive impact on their graduates, communities, and the natural environment.

This article considers how Business Schools are making a positive impact on the economy/economies in which they operate. Interviewee respondents represent business schools in France, Japan, Egypt, Belgium, Switzerland, and Canada. 

How is your Business School making a positive impact on the economy/economies in which it operates?

Steven De Haes, Dean, Antwerp Management School: The participants in the educational activities of Antwerp Management School (AMS), as well as our business partners, are actively engaged in one of the central components of our mission: sustainable transformation. We aim to develop a mindset and a business model where sustainability becomes a clear strategic advantage to all stakeholders. In this way, we make an immediate and substantial long-term impact on companies and organisations, as well as on the professional careers of individual participants.

At a School level, we set up a Dean’s Club meeting with all the CEOs of our partnering organisations two times per year. During these meetings, the focus is on society and we discuss and demonstrate collective leadership in progressing our shared sustainability agenda.

Sherif Kamel, Dean, The American University in Cairo School of Business: The American University in Cairo (AUC) School of Business provides high-quality academic degree and executive education programmes which guarantee providing the market with high-calibre graduates, including promising leaders, entrepreneurs and change agents that contribute directly towards enhancing the economy.

The School demonstrates a direct impact on the economy through its creation of employment opportunities by incubating startups at its accelerator – The Venture Lab. It also impacts policy through interdisciplinary research endeavours conducted by its different research centres and offering a diverse portfolio of services through community development projects.

Kenji Yokoyama, Dean of External Relations, NUCB Business School: One of our educational features is to provide students with practical analytical and execution abilities through the full-fledged case method. [For this reason] NUCB Business School is regarded as a Business School which supplies society with managers who can analyse situations and solve problems and issues in a practical manner.

Yasmina Kashouh, DBA candidate at Ascencia Business School and Faculty Member at Collège de Paris International: Strong Business Schools are vital to the health of our regions and local communities. With more than 220,000 enrolled in Business Schools in France in 2021, business students provide billions of dollars to the national economy each year through student spending on fees, housing, products, and services that support businesses and employment both on and off campus.

Collège de Paris Group is helping shape growth by supporting regional policymakers and driving economic growth through employment, investment and student income; the School is developing skills and talent for high-value jobs; promoting new startups and small businesses; It is also helping improve productivity and innovation across all types of private and public sector organisations.  

And finally, it is making a substantial contribution to the local economy by connecting locally, nationally and internationally with businesses and communities, in addition to its core objectives of teaching and research.

Nicola Jackman, Head of Academics, Geneva Business School: At an institutional level, we are an active player in finding solutions not only for the current and future challenges that the global economy is facing, but also identifying potential future challenges that could appear on the table.

To achieve this, Geneva Business School has deep connections with a number of external stakeholders who sit on several of our committees and share their experiences and knowledge through our Industry Insights programme.

This article is part of a series and has been adapted from an article which originally appeared in Business Impact’s print magazine (edition: May 2022-July 2022).