IBSS-EADA executive education programme launched

International Business School Suzhou at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University has signed an agreement that officially launches its first international cross-border executive education programme.

The agreement signing with EADA Business School, a leading business school based in Barcelona, Spain, came at the end of a year-long planning process to develop The Global Executive Series in Finance and Strategic Leadership programme.

The nine-month programme, which is recruiting students now for a March start, offers a contemporary and highly relevant programme in the core areas of capital markets, investment decision-making, market risk and strategic leadership.

It will be jointly delivered by IBSS and EADA, including modules taught at IBSS in Suzhou and a week-long residential experience at EADA’s training centre in Barcelona.

English-taught, the programme is highly recommended for senior managers or HR executives who are seeking to enhance their understanding in the critical areas of finance and strategic leadership.

At the signing event, which was attended by representatives from Suzhou Industrial Park, corporate guests, media representatives and XJTLU staff and students, Professor Sarah Dixon, Dean of IBSS, spoke of her delight at the new partnership, calling EADA an “outstanding partner”.

She said participants on the programme would be able to leverage the benefits of both partners including IBSS’ on-campus facilities like The IBSS Financial Lab and Trading Floor, which, developed in collaboration with Thompson Reuters lab, is the first and only university-based financial trading lab in China.

“This is a really, really exciting initiative. We’re quite a young school and this is actually our first cross-border executive education programme so it’s something new and exciting,” she said.

“The programme is an exciting example of international executive education. It’s going to be highly relevant, highly topical. It’s going to talk about the issues that we are encountering in our systems today so it’s all new knowledge.

“We [at IBSS] aim to be one of the top, well-known business schools in the world and this collaboration will certainly assist us in that.”

EADA Business School is one of Europe’s most innovative and prestigious business schools. A pioneer in developing and delivering training programmes targeted towards the business world, EADA has received over 120,000 participants from over 40 countries.

Jordi Diaz, Associate Dean for Programmes at EADA, said the partnership was the result of careful consideration and part of the school’s overall approach to developing top-quality international partnerships: “It is not by chance we have chosen IBSS,” he said.

In his speech, he spoke about EADA’s unique training centre, where programme participants will spend a week-long residency, highlighting that its location outside of Barcelona allows for a creative approach to learning that will put students out of their comfort zones to develop new ideas and ways of thinking.

He also noted that the programme will help students develop the ability to work at an international level and that strategic leadership skills were crucial in today’s globalised world.

“I am really honoured to be attending this signing on behalf of EADA Business School,” he said.

“The programme will help students be ready for working around the world. This idea of global intelligence will be embedded in the whole programme.”

Executive education is a key part of the offer at IBSS. In his remarks at the event, Ewout van der Schaft, Deputy Dean of IBSS, welcomed the collaboration with a “world-class” partner such as EADA, adding that executive education at IBSS was designed to help individuals who want to develop in their careers.

“The programme is part of IBSS’ executive education agenda,” he said. “Our executive education programmes are really tailored for today’s working professional.”