BGA | BUSINESS IMPACT
together students for a course focused on a particular school’s expertise and was described by van de Velde as a “brilliant concept”. The further reach of franchising In the next session, vice-president of Collège de Paris Guillaume Finck spoke of the benefits of partnering with other schools and institutions through a franchise model. He was joined by Yasmina Kashouh, head of international programmes and academics at Collège de Paris. Together, they outlined how this approach removes the costs and potential pitfalls that come with opening a campus abroad. Most importantly for Finck and Kashouh is how a franchising model boosts the chances of reaching the local community for which programmes are intended and allows Collège de Paris to pursue its mission-based aims. For example, they explained that, by signing up to their model, a local franchise can offer programmes at local prices rather than needing to align it to prices that are applicable at a head campus operating in a different context thousands of miles away.
“A franchising model boosts the chances of reaching the local community for which programmes are intended”
The school’s desire to maximise its reach and impact are also what led Collège de Paris to the BGA network and to seek its accreditation. “[BGA accreditation is] part of our strategy, it’s not a bonus and it’s not [just] a logo we want to add on our brochure… There is a match because BGA integrates our ability to measure our impact into its philosophy. That works for us… more than measuring the number of PhD-holding faculty. Our philosophy is to have a social impact. So, an accreditor that knows how to integrate this is the right one for us,” Finck reasoned. Finck went on to cover the school’s dedication to its impact philosophy in the face of challenging circumstances, with specific reference to Myanmar, where he believes his institution is the last remaining international school. Commenting on direct influence and surveillance from the country’s military government, Finck pointed to Collège de Paris’ principal of providing ”education for all” and surmised that “we might as well make it true.” He also acknowledged that “no money comes back” from partnered programmes in Myanmar that cater largely to military students who are looking to switch careers. Whatever the overriding goal, partnering with institutions overseas and widening reach requires resources and this is where Finck believes schools could be doing better. “Many of the beautiful universities I visit have an international office – at the end of the hall, with one person struggling,” he commented. “It’s difficult to work in these conditions and we didn’t approach it this way. Instead, we integrated [internationalisation] into our fundamental strategy and created a dedicated business unit, Collège de Paris International, with a team of 24 people.” Campus within a campus Another route to establishing an overseas presence through partnerships was discussed by Sagi Hartov, CEO for Germany at Global University Systems and co-founder and executive president of Berlin School of Business Innovation.
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