INTERVIEW
Southeast Asia remains a good hub because of the quality of students, and there is more of an approach for Schools and universities to be entrepreneurial
heartening when we meet a partner such as EDHEC that is ready to move forward. I think the pandemic has brought us closer because we had to have more meetings, and make sure we were able to support the students; during Covid-19, instead of coming to the US, the students remained in France and we offered all our courses online, which was a challenge. At UCLA Extension, our approach is to look at customisation. All our partners are different, and we try to adapt and find a common ground so that we can work closely with them.
Often, Angelo will be the point of contact with the students, and we will work with the instructors, so we are able to get feedback from both sides. I feel that has been very helpful. How did the design for the degree certificate structure come about – and why? AB: One of the key issues for joint programmes is recruitment. Numbers tend to be small for joint programmes and, after the first year or second year, it’s difficult for both partners to commit to that. In our structure, EDHEC takes the lead on recruitment: we present, we promote, we recruit students from 45 different nationalities; 80 students come from all over the world. We invest a lot in recruitment, but we ask for collaboration. UCLA Extension helps with visits to the US, and we have NTU which leads with recruitment in Asia. However, when it comes to graduation, NTU takes the lead. It organises something at the end of the second-year certification. UCLA leads on helping students with visa requirements for international students to intern in the US, because it has the local knowledge and contacts, and it understands the market. We decided to keep the programme modular rather than going for triple or dual degree. The modularity allows us to adapt quickly. We teach and prepare students for jobs and careers that do not exist yet. I have no idea what finance or marketing will look like in five years’ time, given innovations
How do you co-ordinate and work together?
AB: We have regular meetings, which allow us to pre-empt any glitches, and there are regular visits as well. Seeing the structures, the students and the professors, and talking to them, allows for a continuous exchange between the three institutions. The programme would not work without a dedicated team; it wouldn’t work if we just made an agreement on paper, two international teams shook hands – and nothing else happened. There is resource commitment. Those aspects are important for quality assurance because we know each other’s requirements for our accreditation. DC: We’re also trying to be very proactive. When Angelo started reviewing all the syllabi of the courses, he made sure that these were aligned with the courses being offered at EDHEC and NTU. We’re also getting a lot of feedback.
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Ambition | BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY
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