EUROPEAN
MANAGEMENT RESIDENCY
A European perspective on a changing world
A European perspective on a changing world
The European Management Residency is fully tailored to the needs and learning goals of our visiting partners and the students enrolled in their programmes. To design the Residency, UMIO builds on its widespread educational experiences and corporate networks from its MBA programmes, executive masters, and management courses to ensure an optimal connection between academia and business.
UMIO offers universities and business schools the possibility to spice up their programmes by integrating a tailor-made, high-quality, international experience in their masters, post-masters and (executive) MBAs. The group size of visiting delegations ranges from 15-35 students and the entire programme is conducted in the English language.
A typical version of the European Management Residency spreads over 1-2 weeks and encompasses an exciting mix of interactive lectures, discussion forums, company visits, social events and a practical action learning project. While the programme is completely personalised, we are happy to offer our partners a general impression of the possibilities in terms of themes, sessions, visits and projects available.
Designing a European Management Residency means using LEGO-like building blocks. Based on the desired learning objectives, we jointly create an exciting mix of interactive sessions, field visits, action learning projects and social events. Combinations are endless, hence every residency becomes a unique learning journey.
We have developed a specific set of themes and related interactive sessions that fit the context of the European Management Residency. A residency can be based on any theme or blend various thematic sessions to create a unique, multifaceted programme.
EUROPEAN ECONOMICS & GOVERNANCE
How is Europe governed? What does the economic and political environment of Europe look like? What is the role of the European Union and its institutions? And how do recent developments such as the Brexit influence EU integration practices? A residency on European Economics & Governance takes you to the very core of European policy and decision making and urges you to reflect on its implications for international trade.
The European Economy
This session discusses the economics of regional integration and the benefits of moving from a free trade area to a monetary union, as well as the theoretical approaches to fiscal policy. We compare the European integration experience with other regions in the world such as Asia, the Americas and Africa. The lecture will highlight the problems of economic policy when nations integrate.
The European Debt Crisis
In this session we look at the causes of the Euro debt crisis and its consequences for economic policy in the EU countries. We will discuss its relevance for today’s problems in Europe, including Britain’s recent vote to exit the European Union. We will then proceed with an anatomy of the crisis, starting with the root causes of Greece’s economic problems, followed by a discussion of the situation in countries like Cyprus, Italy and Spain.
European Union Governance
We provide a detailed overview of the changes introduced by the Lisbon Treaty. It includes presentations on key areas of institutional development, new principles of democratic governance in Europe, as well as the changes in the legislative and implementation framework. Participants will be urged to think about potential new developments in relation to policy and procedural changes.
European Labour Markets
This session looks at the performance of European labour markets after the Great recession. The European labour market developments are characterised by huge national differences. Part of these differences are cyclical, but some are structural. This leads us to discuss the possible roles of labour market institutions and policy in these developments.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP & BUSINESS VENTURING
How do European organisations perform in terms of new business development? How do different EU member states differ in their approach? How to measure success? And can we also learn from their mistakes? A residency on Entrepreneurship & Business Venturing brings you valuable insights in the art of European business creation at start-ups, SMEs as well as large multinationals.
Entrepreneurial Spirit
In this session we will shed some light on the concept of “entrepreneurial spirit”. What is it? What traits, competencies and characteristics can be regarded as being part of an entrepreneurial spirit? We will deal with opportunity obsession, the importance of a clear and inspiring vision, passion and enthusiasm, bootstrapping and managing risks.
Born or Become Creative?
Innovation can be conceived as the transformation of uncertainty in risk. A journey into uncharted territory requires improvisation, adaptation and pragmatism. Not surprising therefore that many assert that creativity is a necessity for innovation. Creative individuals seem to be very gifted. Or are they only capable? We have learned that creativity is more the outcome of a (learnable) process then a consequence of given personality or cultural characteristic.
Learning from the Numbers
What markets and industries are the best performers in terms of entrepreneurship? And why so? A large part of entrepreneurial success seems to be determined by the structure of industries and the behaviour of the organisations involved, ranging from innovation to pricing and advertising policy, cooperation and even cartel formation. During this session, we discuss the most important factors to watch when entering new markets.
Entrepreneurial Finance
In this session we will explore how comparative institutional arrangements affect the role of banks, informals and venture capital firms in providing seed and growth capital to entrepreneurial ventures. Access to (smart) capital seems to be a better explanation for differences in North American and European entrepreneurship than a lack of ambition or talent. It may also explain why the implications of “Lean Entrepreneurship” are more natural to European entrepreneurs than for the prototypical Silicon Valley entrepreneur.
CORPORATE LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT
How can organisations find an optimal balance between harvesting from individual talents, managing the learning climate within organisations, and making optimal use of training opportunities? The residency on Corporate Learning & Development will examine how a learning and development perspective can facilitate organisations to achieve better outcomes.
Learning in Organisations: So What?
Which challenges are on the daily agenda of professionals and organisations? How to deal with these challenges? In what way can learning & development be an answer? What is workplace learning about? In order to answer these questions we will start from personal experiences, linking them to current research insights.
Great Performers, Great Talents?
When McKinsey started the “War for Talent”, they were doing this because they found out that great companies have great people. As a consequence companies were encouraged to hire great people: talent. Hiring talent is based on the fundamental assumptions that talent is innate, that it can be bought, and that the potential for talent can be identified and developed early. What do we know about the validity of these assumptions?
Learning in Teams and Networks
We will explore how different social structures define the collective learning of organisations: teams, communities and networks. Strengths and weaknesses in knowledge sharing and development are defined. Moreover, a translation is made to what this means for the individual professional guiding his or her social learning.
Assessment Tools for Learning
In recent years, organisations have been facing and dealing with fundamental changes that have put the issue of supporting employees’ learning and development high on the agenda. During this session, we will discuss with the participants the (lack of) power of assessment tools, such as multi-source or 360-degree feedback techniques and Personal Development Plans (PDPs).
INNOVATION DESIGN & IMPLEMENTATION
How can organisations create innovations that make use of important trends? How can an organisation incorporate the customer perspective into business and design processes? What are things to take into consideration when it comes to implementing a sustainable innovation? A residency on ‘innovation design and implementation’ brings you valuable insights in what is needed to develop sustainable innovations that will evolve your organisation to the 21st century and beyond.
Identifying Market Opportunities
In this session we will go into the depths of what is needed to identify the trends that will influence your organisation now and in the (near) future. Besides anticipating change, also tools will be shared to alternate the way you perceive future trends, giving you the insights to bend future challenges and limitations into opportunities for your organisation.
Designing User-centred Solutions
Customers are becoming more demanding and new technological solutions are looking for methods to bridge the gap with the end-user. User-centred design is the practice that takes a human approach to improving or creating new products and services. We will share methods that will help you look at your target group in a new way. You will gain insights that create the basis for sustainable innovation that matches the needs and demands of your audience.
Prototyping the Business Concept
‘Practice makes perfect!’ and this also relates to the field of business innovation. Instead of developing a perfect concept in-house and then push it to the market, you will learn to prototype business concepts in an early stage and learn from real-life results. This new way of thinking and working is getting ever more important in our society that is becoming ever more complex, which makes it hard to anticipate results. Understanding this agile and practical way of working is the main focus of this session.
Implementing the Innovation
Implementing an innovation for an organisation often means change. This can be small changes, like for instance launching a new product or service, or big changes, for instance when redesigning internal processes and the overall company culture. In this session we will address the various challenges that you will encounter when implementing business innovations. The tools and methods shared in this session will be helpful to sustainably transform your organisation.
Maastricht is quite fortunate to be a central hub of an international business network. Our business school is a networked school that reaches out to small enterprises, large corporations and (non-)governmental organisations, thereby adding a valuable dimension to the European Management Residency. Field visits show the embodiment of what sound theory can result in!
A distinguishing feature of the European Management Residency is its creative and dynamic assignments. Participants are urged to work on practical action learning projects during the programme and are encouraged to deliver concrete and results-driven solutions to problems in business and society.
Please feel free to get in touch with me for individual advice!