What on earth ?

Stand up environmental specialists......., thought so. For those looking for some background to the United Nations Climate Change Conference, starting tomorrow in Copenhagen, look no further than the UN's official site or the UK's Daily Telegraph for its FAQ. Eleven days to save the world? No, more realisically, eleven days during which 192 nations and 100 visiting heads of state will try and thrash out a comprehensive international deal to tackle climate change; one more effective than the Kyoto Protocol. The conference aims to agree targetted cuts in carbon emissions, develop low carbon economies, forest protection and funding for climate change preparation. Emissions need to drop significantly by 2014 but to do so requires formal, legalised agreements and money, a thorny issue. Political understanding, compromise and commitment are going to be the watchwords over these coming days. The US has a big hand to play in this particular game of poker and it's going to be interesting to see how the more developed gas guzzling nations persuade the newly industrialised not to make the same mistakes of over reliance on fossil fuels, whilst cleaning up their own copybook. This would be to underestimate efforts already made by a number of BRIC countries. Away from the official sites and soundbites, Greenpeace is running its own daily information as is the lively site tcktcktck. Both were behind the ageing heads of states campaign placed throughout Copenhagen International Airport.

Dubai's Déja Vu

The expression, you'd think they'd have learnt by now springs to mind as we read that City watchdog, The Financial Services Authority is said to be looking at exposure losses for UK Banks that have invested in Dubai World, the holding investment company wholly owned by the Dubai Government. Many were surprised as they thought that the structure of the islamic bonds or Sukuks implied state backing. However, as the Dubai stock market slid by 7%, the government has confirmed that Dubai World is not a government department and that it will not jump in to save the company - the creditors need to take responsbility for their actions. Dubai has been hitting the headlines regularly from its controversial workforce building those skyscrapers to its environmental record in constructing that palm and more recently the bling, bling reputation it gained with its avalanche of shiny celebrities used to promote the place. For those looking for a more detailed view, check out the FT, Le Figaro or the UK Times or the BBC who come up with a background view on what went wrong. Dubai World's website announces that the sun never sets on Dubai,. Their mission is to generate global socio-economic growth and sustainable stakeholder wealth through diversified investments, executing innovative projects and key strategic partnerships.

As someone once said, if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is.........

Welcome Skema

So after weeks of second guessing, ESC Lille and Ceram finally announced their new name: Skema Business School. An acronym for School of Knowledge Economy and Management, the name is designed to underline the group's DNA of knowledge economy, internationalisation, sustainable performance, innovation and entrepreneurship based on the values of humanity, diversity, pride and multi culturalism. SKEMA draws its roots from the classical languages; Greek and Latin, skhêma or schema, meaning shape, form, as well as attitude and appearance. Talking with students yesterday evening at the launch party, there was lots of discussion surrounding the new name. I particularly like the view that Skema may also be seen as meaning a plan. In a world of constant change, this is something we all need both personally and professionally to help us adapt to new challenges whilst staying true to our values.

Rise and Fall

A city cut in two by a huge wall; people listening in to your every conversation, no matter where, no matter what time; the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie...... it's the stuff of legends and black n' white movies. Yet it was neither long ago nor in a far distant land and it was a stark reality for many for nearly 30 years. As this week's 20th anniversary celebrations for the fall of the Berlin Wall take place, let's not forget that it was not so much a wall falling down as a barricade rising and minds opening up that changed the face of european and world history. It's easy to get carried away with the festivities, the speeches, the U2 concert. For me, however, it's probably the announcement last week that Czech President Vaclav Klaus had just signed the Lisbon agreement which underscores just how far we have come since the days of Checkpoint Charlie. That and perhaps the trailer below to this thought provoking film.

FT...... What else?

It's always a pleasure to read the Financial Times but even more so this week with the publication of its annual European Master in Management Survey 2009. It gave me real pleasure and great pride to see that Esc Lille and Imim are once more amongst the top twenty european business management programmes. Without wishing to plagiarise Mr Obama's Nobel Peace Prize speech, this is also a team effort between all the different departments and services within the school; alumni, staff and professors, whose constant hard work both at a management and academic level contribute to providing a value driven programme. The interactive chart allows you to check out how we fare on different criteria from international mobility to employment and salary ranking. This is an intentionally short post as otherwise I'm going to lapse into the pitiful, jingoistic "over the moon - the chaps done good" hyperbole more oft associated with football team coaches; still.....well done Esc Lille and .......SEMPER IMIM !

The Silly Season

Ah, summer, a time of Pims,  strawberries and no news. Better known as the 'silly season' by the media, this is usually the period where 'hard' news goes into hibernation. You're more likely to find some form of sponsored entertainment; think viral video,  sponsor led survey, or photo opportunity (who's holidaying where and with whom)  than an item of major business or consumer news. A time for frivolity and what could be more frivolous than fashion and the fashion world. ' The September Issue', due out in a few weeks time, attempts to explore the myth of the fashion world and its Prada clad darlings. It focusses on the production of the all important 425 pages, September issue of US Vogue and in particular gives a fascinating insight into the persona that is its editor and über fashion icon, Anna Wintour.  Working with creative people is intellectually stimulating and emotionally demanding as the film shows. A lesson in soft skills management. Certainly, some wear black,  delight in first name, name dropping and working in places  where other mere mortals would just like to drop anchor and chill.  They see nothing incongruous in photographing haute couture in far flung reaches of the planet surrounded by yaks, cannibals or both. However, cut through some of the larger than life, diva-esque characters and you're likely to find extremely hard working, goal oriented and focussed professionals who don't do 9 to 5.  What comes through clearly is Anna Wintour's canny ability to bridge the gap between commerce and creativity. She describes herself as 'decisive' but surely this has to be a sine  que non with a job that can influence millions and therefore make or break a fashion house or retailer.  For industry it certainly is, a $30 billion industry to be exact and US Vogue with its circulation of 1.2 million and page rates of around $90,000 plays a key role within this industry. 

Evolution

Within the International Marketing Major, we have a module called New Media Technologies. I am lucky to be able to count on communications professional, Marjorie Van Halteren here. With over 20 years experience in radio mainly in NYC but also in mainland Europe with the BBC, Marjorie is finely tuned into the dynamics of sound, vision and pulling them together to get your message across ..... and turn sound into art.  More a workshop than a module, the underlying aim is to help students get a grip on the media landscape; its dynamics, its strategies and in particular online media. From Broadcasting to Splintercasting, as Marjorie so aptly names it. Last year we looked at podcasting, see earlier post, with 'Welcome Pack' aimed at incoming Imim students. This year, students chose to venture into the visual. The brief was simple - a glimpse into student life.  The aim was not to train future Spielbergs but give them an insider's view on communications strategy and delivery. As with any creative project, creativity often comes through constraint and it was interesting to see the result and consider their choice of material (flash recorder, video camera, ordinary camera and various software). There were several different videos ranging from International Snapshots to Survivor's Guide to this one which neatly sums up the reflective mindset of final year students.