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Blog
Written by Robert Miller
Tuesday, 03 May 2011 12:03
 On April 25th the Financial Times printed an article entitled Academia Strives for Relevance, which explored how business schools are prioritizing research and practical application in their programs. Read the article here.
A response from GBSN Board Member Dr. Robert Miller:
An argument as old as business schools themselves, maybe 50 years or more. The actual decision seems to revolve around: does one want the business school to be part of a university or not? If one does, well, one then supports "ivory tower research" over the "practical." Putting it in a slightly different context, if one wants the rest of the university to agree to the presence of a business school, then one must also agree that academic rigor will be equivalent to that in the rest of the university.
The reality, of course, is that B schools are, and have been for a long time, a mixture. Accounting, that most "practical" of subjects, is taught, although with much more than double entry bookkeeping. In finance classrooms, students will learn about bond and equity markets, but they'll also hear about financial theory (for better or worse!). How does one teach entrepreneurialism without being "practical." You get the idea: most schools try to address the direct needs of business (especially, of course, donors), while at the same time justifying their existence on a university campus, thus depending on the businesses to have training programs for more company-specific types of things.
In other words, the FT piece could have been written in 1950.
Written by Nora Brown
Monday, 02 May 2011 08:51
 Today the FT features an article on business education for entrepreneurs in Africa, focusing on the importance entrepreneurship plays in successful private sector growth. The article highlights GBSN's work facilitating the development of a successful entrepreneurial education program in Lagos, Nigeria, Enterprise Development Center, a great example of international collaboration that led to locally relevant programs.
By Ian Wylie, Published: May 2 2011
At Sensational Foods, an expanding self-service restaurant chain in Lagos serving traditional Nigerian fare, cashiers have perfected the technique of what they call “giraffing”...
Click here to read the full article
Written by Nora Brown
Thursday, 28 April 2011 15:56
GBSN and AABS continue to grow and development their joint agribusiness initiative through the African Agribusiness Network and Consortium. The Agribusiness Network and Consortium seeks to advance the agricultural development agenda by addressing the need for business skills and improved leadership and management practices in the agribusiness sector.
During the AABS annual meeting and conference in Cape Town, an informational meeting was held for business schools interested in engaging this new initiative. At this meeting, AABS launched the new AAgri.net website which will be the online source for program information and agribusiness resources. AABS is currently focusing on developing a network of interested schools while it continues to develop the proposal for the next pase of the project - development and delivery of a new agribusiness training program.
For further information about this activity, or to get your institution involved, please contact Dinah Hanson of AABS at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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Written by Lisa Leander
Thursday, 28 April 2011 14:57
Do you know the number one reason deans, faculty and the public and private sector participate in the 2011 Annual Conference?
Answer: Networking! As the leading network of business schools across the globe, this is the place to meet and engage with like-minded peers. And we are focusing helping you connect like never before with some opportunities available only in Mexico City: a chocolate, wine and molé tasting, tea breaks, a cocktail hour, welcome reception, even a trip to the famed pyramids. You’ll have more opportunities than ever for getting to know one another.
Sometimes the best networking is done (and friendships made) when you put on your walking shoes, roll up your sleeves and meet each other beyond the breakout session. I encourage you to consider extending your stay by one day to join us to visit the Teotihuacan Pyramids. This half-day tour will take participants to some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas.
This year we have made networking a main focus of the conference, allowing participants to learn more about institutions and organizations working in the sphere of management education and emerging markets. We hope to build upon this conference by promoting ways to partner, collaborate and engage in new programs among our member institutions and partnering organizations. We love hearing about all of the fellowships, scholarships, and partnerships that started from relationships made during the conference every year.
Want to start networking before Mexico City? Sign up for GBSN Connect today and start your profile. GBSN connect lets GBSN Members and friends network online through personal and institutional profiles, workspaces, discussions, polls and surveys. Log on today!
I look forward to seeing you in Mexico City.
Are you registered for the 2011 conference yet? Click here to sign up today!
Written by Guy Pfeffermann
Thursday, 28 April 2011 13:04
 I enjoyed spending 3 days with the Dean and entrepreneurship faculty of Sweden’s USBE (Umea School of Business and Economics), a longtime and active GBSN member. They are unique in having, for over a decade, nurtured Tanzanian Ph.D. candidates in a "sandwich" program funded by SIDA, the Swedish aid agency. In this program, doctoral candidates alternate studies in Dar es Salaam and Umea. Fifteen Tanzanian faculty have earned their Ph.D.s in this program, approximately half of the University of Dar es Salaam Business School's complement of Ph.D. faculty.
I ardently wish more funding becomes available in more countries for such programs, as they target the main stated need of business schools in Africa and other underserved regions: the extreme scarcity of faculty with Ph.Ds.
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Meeting in Sweden with the team from USBE
(From left, Per Nilsson, Hakon Boter, Hakon Bohman,
Guy Pfeffermann, Lars Lindbergh)
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Umea is a huge university, with over 30,000 students. Its Business School is inspiring other schools and departments within the University to engage in capacity-building for developing countries. At Dean Lindbergh’s invitation I joined USBE’s international advisory board, and am looking forward to deepening GBSN’s relationship with Scandinavia. On a different note, the world’s oldest pair of skis, dating all the way back to the Stone Age, are on display at Umea’s museum. I hope many of you will feel moved to visit this fascinating part of the world.
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Food for Thought
“One of the major drivers, in recent years, has been students’ growing
interest in engaging in developmental activities in emerging markets.
The best and brightest will pick a business school that offers such opportunities
– and this is equally true for top-of-the-line company recruitment.
Hence the degree of business school engagement in Africa and other developing
regions has become an increasingly important competitive offering.”
- Guy Pfeffermann, "Into Africa", Global Focus, Summer 2008 |
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