Schools and Businesses United to Train Responsible Managers

Over 30 years old, but certainly doesn't look it. The CEMS MIM (Master in International Management), founded in 1988 by Bocconi University, University of Cologne, Hec Paris and Esade Barcelona, was the first "supranational" Master program and still enjoys excellent health with a network of 34 universities scattered on all continents. "The first year takes place entirely in the students' own university," explains Massimo Magni, associate professor at the Department of Management and Technology and academic director for CEMS at Bocconi. "During the second, students spend a semester abroad in one of the partner universities. Upon completion, students obtain both the degree from their university and from CEMS MIM."

The program, for the current academic year, involves 1,348 students of almost 80 different nationalities, 65 of whom come from Bocconi after a stiff selection. But that's not all. CEMS is not just classroom lessons, but much more. "The network has 70 corporate partners, companies of primary importance at an international level, who organize ad hoc activities and various business projects," continues Magni, "managerial challenges that they have to face in reality and on which our students work as consultants." As the academic director points out, "direct contact with companies represents an additional opportunity for students to make themselves known, while for companies it is a fundamental element in the search for the most interesting talent."

And in fact, currently over 12 thousand CEMS alumni, of 85 different nationalities, occupy prominent positions in companies of various sectors in every part of the world. From the moment they join the program, students "will be held to the highest standards of ethical and social responsibility and professional integrity," Magni points out. "We want to train responsible managers." And international managers, since one of the requirements is that they know at least two languages in addition to their own.
"Summing up, we could say that CEMS MIM has three strengths," continues Massimo Magni. "The network, since it includes all schools of primary importance; the network of alumni, who are everywhere in the world in prestigious positions; and finally, the constant contact with companies, which makes this program excellent both in the theoretical parts learned in the classroom and from a practical point of view through the various business projects."