In January 2017, I was selected as Ivey’s CEMS Student Board Representative (SBR). As a dual-master candidate for the Ivey Master of Science (MSc.) in International Business and for the CEMS Master in Management (MiM), I was already completing my graduate education on three continents making it one of the most international programs of its kind.
In addition to my graduate studies taking me from Canada to India, Italy, and Sweden; I would now also represent my cohort during three week-long board meetings in each of the Czech Republic, Germany, and Australia (not to mention complete a week-long course in Denmark and attend the CEMS Career Forum in Hungary– but those stories are for another time.)
Being an SBR however, involves much more than exotic travel. As Ivey’s SBR, I am responsible for representing Ivey Students’ interests on the world stage. During meetings, an SBR’s time includes meeting with Corporate Partners, the CEMS Alumni Executive Team, the CEMS Head Office, CEMS Academic Partners, CEMS Program Managers, and CEMS Students. Furthermore, we also attend and host several other panels, meetings, and discussions.
Our main task is to ensure the strategic agenda of CEMS aligns with the interest of students and to voice their opinions and concerns within the different CEMS committees. A graphic representation of the different committees in which we sit and/or vote shows how important the CEMS student voices are with the alliance:
A typical day at a CEMS Student Board meeting day is stretched from the early morning to the late night. Albeit the hectic schedule, the amazing Student Board Representatives from the 30 partner schools around the globe always make it an experience to remember. The constant pressure, lack of sleep, international travel, and common goal of improving the student experience create bonds within the CEMS Student Board which will last a lifetime.
Outside of the global meetings, the CEMS Student Board is also split into several teams which run numerous projects. The international nature of the board implies early calls for SBRs located in the Americas and late calls for those located in the Asia-Pacific as the board is truly global.
An example of a CEMS Student Board team project is the CEMS Startup Challenge which is held during the CEMS Career Forum in Budapest (the first edition was led by my predecessor, Kai Chen Ivey’s SBR ‘16) where students and alumni receive coaching and pitch their start-up to a panel of investors. For my part, I designed and launched the first CEMS Global Responsible Leadership Challenge with the support of Ivey. The case competition compels students to use their business knowledge to tackle a socially-focused challenge and is judged by CEMS Social Partners. This year was the first edition of the challenge which attracted students from 21 different CEMS schools.
It has been a pleasure to be part of the 2017 CEMS Student Board. My experience as an SBR will remain the highlight of my CEMS experience. While my meeting in Sydney was my last Student Board meeting, many more international CEMS events remain available for all CEMS students to attend in 2018: the CEMS Waltzing Days (Austria), the RCC Conference (United Kingdom), the V4 Conference (Poland), the Nordic Forum (Finland), Marenostrum (Portugal), SURGE (Sweden), DACH Forum (Switzerland), White Nights (Russia), Warroom (Poland), and the Asia-Pacific Forum (TBD).
Happy Holidays & Safe Travels,
Joshuah Lebacq