Founded in 1997, the International University of Geneva has quickly imposed itself as a centre for quality. IUG is a business school specialized in management, media, communication and international relations. This University offers several study options leading to bachelor degrees, and two master programmes, one of which is an MBA, promoting an open multicultural learning environment where the value of diversity is experienced among its international student body and faculty.
We met with Mr. Erik Willumsen, Director-General of IUG, who told us about the University, the curriculum and its educational principles.
E.W. An important moment we share with our students is their university studies. Human values and exchange have an important place in our institution, and that is the reason why we provide our students with an education in order to become real professionals meeting the requirements in a world becoming more and more competitive and selective. We put every possible effort to provide them with an education in a unique and dynamic learning environment that develops analytical skills serving the needs of the professional world, and thereby preparing them to become successful within business and related areas.
Our students come from all over the world. Today, we have sixty-two nationalities represented among our students and professors, coming from the five continents. You cannot say that there is one country that is over-represented ; it tends to be a real balance. I could even say, very international. The courses are all taught in English, and the curricula offered are a combination of the American and European academic traditions.
What kind of programmes do you offer ?
The International University in Geneva proposes accredited undergraduate and graduate programmes in Business Administration (BBA, MBA), International Relations (BA in International Relations), and in Media and Communication (BA, MA). We are more centred on management, accounting, and finance with, evidently, courses in micro- and macro-economics.
To students who have finished their secondary education, we offer several undergraduate studies-or bachelor programmes if you prefer-in management, finance, communications and international relations. Our MBA, our Master of Business, is a post-graduate programme designed for those who already have a university degree and some professional experience and who are interested in going into managerial positions or jobs with high responsibility. The MBA is considered a good investment for getting these kinds of positions. For instance, the Master Programme in Media and Communication can be either completed in one or two years, studying full- time or part-time in the evenings or weekends. The courses concentrate on analyses, problem-solving, case studies and a practical approach to situations in the business world.
Q : What are the admission requirements ? To enter an undergraduate programme the students must have a secondary education diploma-the baccalaureate or equivalent from their country-and they have to have pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). We are, by the way, the centre for TOEFL in Switzerland. To be admitted into our master programme, we require students to have university degrees, in addition to the TOEFL. For the Master of Business Administration (MBA), we require in addition that the students pass the « Graduate Management Admission Test » (GMAT).
Your faculty has strong academic credentials with relevant practical experience. Why do you encourage practical experience so much ?
Today, the working world has become very selective and the competition is extremely fierce. We aim at fostering a balanced programme of academic excellence and practical business orientation through effective teaching and learning processes, personalized student services, and a faculty that is devoted to achieving excellence in teaching.
Our approach is practical and we are therefore enabling our students to be operational very quickly in any business environment-private or public. The students have to be responsive to the working world and we are highly aware of this fact. Our professors have both strong academic and professional backgrounds. The idea is to create a bridge between the real world and the academic one, and that it is the most direct possible.
There are two or three important links in all our programmes : first of all there is the multicultural aspect that we find in Geneva ; second, the practical approach we find in the academic curricula through case studies, visits to companies and inviting speakers from the business world ; and the fact that this is a university with human dimensions. The students are provided with an education that is responsive to the changing needs in management development through an outcome-based curriculum and in close co-operation with the international business community. The classes are small, with a maximum of twenty to thirty students allowing interaction among the professor and students.
We also offer various services to our students. For instance, we offer career counselling services where the students receive assistance in writing job-applications, curriculum, motivation letters and their search for jobs. We also organize Career Days where students meet representatives from different companies, such as Procter & Gamble. Hewlett-Packard, the World Wild Fund for Nature, Lloyds Bank, etc. We invite companies from different branches of activities so that students meet representatives of businesses as varied as possible.
Have you developed educational exchange programmes with institutions or countries abroad ?
We are accredited by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE) ; we participate in the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) ; Consejo Latinoamericano de Escuelas de Administraci ?n (CLADEA) ; Phi Beta Delta International Honor Society, Epsilon Gamma Chapter, etc. We also have developed exchange programmes mainly with universities in the United States, but also with Latin and Central America and, of course, Europe. We have just signed an agreement with a business school in Turkey.
International University in Geneva ICC, 20, Rte du Pr ?-Bois, 1215 Geneva 15, Switzerland Tel : (+41 22) 710 71 10/12
