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WUP 7/8/14 - Employment and Interculturalisation in the MBA -  The cultural diversity at Wittenborg University not only heightens students’ employability after graduation but also equips them to perform well in an international environment.This was one of the conclusions reached by the German accreditation body, FIBAA, who recently granted Wittenborg unconditional accreditation for its Master of Business (MBA) programme starting on 1 September with another entree date on 9 February 2015. The  programme also fulfill the European MBA guidelines.

“The programmes Wittenborg offers so far are very international regarding the countries of origin of their students,” the FIBAA panel writes in its appraisal report.

“... the internationality of the teaching staff, the use of English as language of instruction, international content in many courses and existing collaboration agreements promote the employability of the graduates in a convincing manner and equip them with skills needed to perform well in an international environment.” The panel says it expects to also be the case with the MBA-programme once it is introduced.

The full-time Wittenborg Master of Business Admistration is an MBA degree primarily aimed at students with a non-business  bachelor degree who have at least two years experience of working in a company or organization in a position managing people, processes or both. These positions - whether in the private or public sector - can include management or policy-making positions in large organizations, as well as positions of management in small to medium sized companies.

The FIBAA panel members applauded Wittenborg for its promotion of gender equality and the implementation of general bans on discrimination.

“Wittenborg has put effort to ensure equality throughout the whole study programme and on campus. Within the strict code one finds formulated expectations addressing staff and future students which include ethical behaviour in relations to fellow students, faculty and staff as well as compliance with established policies and procedures of the institution. Students in particular life situa- tions are nurtured. Particularly noteworthy is the overall support for the foreign students, which also provides help in non-academic issues to the best possible extend.”

Wittenborg’s students represent around 50 different nationalities. Traditionally the two largest national groups of students at Wittenborg have been Dutch and Chinese. Other countries with a considerable number of students at Wittenborg are Nigeria, Iran, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan and Nepal. In the past year, Wittenborg has seen its European student contingent grow, however a growth in Dutch and European students in 2014 and the following years is a priority target for Wittenborg

The objective of the Witteborg MBA would be that students upon graduation are able to critical analyse and evaluate various developments within an organisation so that they can form, create and instigate policies, visions and aims and solutions within that organisation. They should be in a position to analyse the strategic processes and vision of a company or organisation and using this analysis apply and implement tools to innovate, optimise and (re-)structure these processes using an integral approach. From an international perspective, the students should learn to analyse the environment they find themselves in and adapt their behaviour and role according to the macro and microenvironments they find themselves in FIBAA recommends, as intended by Wittenborg, that the university should conduct alumni evaluations once the first students will have completed their studies.

“The described profile and the competence goals of the programme are comparable to other MBA programmes on the education market. Nevertheless, based on the international atmosphere, the small class sizes and the academic guidance by the teaching staff the panel con- siders that the programme can compete on the education market.

“To further strengthen the positioning of the programme on the job market, the panel encourages Wittenborg to compare the programme not only with competitors from the Netherlands but also, as currently done respectively planned, to compare with English taught MBA programmes in the native countries of the targeted students.”