Best business schools in Europe

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Shaping tomorrow’s Managers, Entrepreneurs, and Leaders
Università Cattolica School
of Sustainable Management
ALTIS
ALTIS is committed
to developing new
knowledge and
contributing to the
academic and policy
debate on a
sustainable approach
to entrepreneurship
and management.
BEST
BUSINESS
SCHOOLS
IN
EUROPE
JULY 2021 | ISSUE - 03

EDITOR’S
NOTE
The word ‘business’ has become ubiquitous in this world. In
the basest sense, business is the exchange of goods or
services with a profit motive. Hence, a majority of our wants
are satisfied only one or another form of business. M. J. Jucius and
G. R. Terry in their ‘Introduction to Business’ say, “what is gained
depends on one’s objectives, interests and curiosity.”
“Business has the capacity to satisfy almost any ambition one may
have. It is extensive, subject to man’s manipulation and is made up
of many different types of work performed by many different types
of people,” they added.
Therefore, the comprehension of business serves a multitude of
society’s interests. After all, this is how the wheel of economies
revolves; this is the medium through which nations prosper; and not
an evil force which exploits the consumers, as many would have you
believe. But this is a new world.
A world where a poorly worded tweet from a political leader can
incite panic and threats of military action is the kind of uncertain
dwelling we are living in today. And there are many more decisions
made by people in authoritative roles, even if they don’t make it to
the morning headlines, that bear great consequences. In this world
RISK, CARE, DREAM,
AND EXPECT!

and in every other, the importance of good leadership is
something that cannot be understated. It is a matter of
utmost austerity.
A leadership role in business requires expertise or
comprehension of a vast array of disciplines and proficiency
over a variety of competencies. The title of this editor’s
note, which is a quote by Derek Davis- “Risk, care, dream,
and expect”, encapsulates the role of business leadership
splendidly.
Business schools play an important role in developing
responsible future leaders. In order to do so, firstly, they
need to be innovative with what and how they teach, and
how they govern. Secondly, they need to stay relevant to the
current trends and practices when it comes to impactful
teaching, research, and employability. Thirdly, they need to
be mindful of accreditation from the right bodies and of
accessibility. Lastly, their most important role is of
developing the business acumen in the minds of young
aspirants.
In this edition of The Knowledge Review magazine - ‘Best
Business Schools in Europe, 2021’, we are honoured to
showcase some of the inspiring business schools across
Europe which are fulfilling the aforementioned duties of
business schools whilst influencing the business trends of
this great continent, if not, the world.
It is an exciting time in the world right now. So have an
exciting time reading through this edition.
Happy Reading! T R
Aditya Umale
adityaumale@insightssuccess.com
AdityaUmale

ALTIS
Università
Cattolica
School of Sustainable Management
CoverStory
Shaping tomorrow’s Managers, Entrepreneurs, and Leaders
08
Articles
European Insights
EdTech Sector in Europe
Has the emphasis on examination
undermined natural learning?
Rethinking Pedagogy
38
22

Department of Business
Administration, Universidad
Carlos III de Madrid
The Unorthodox Training
Grounds of Business Innovators
26
FOM University of Economics
and Management
Training the Next
Generation of Technocrats
32
ISG - International
Business School
Facilitating International
Business Programs Dynamically
40
CXO
Technology Vs Books
“Let the window be
open and let the light come”
36
C
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N
T
E
N
T
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Editor-in-Chief Sumita Sarkar
SME-SMO Executive Atul Dhoran
Circulation Manager Tanaji
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URL
Name of the Institution Brief
ALTIS – Graduate School
Business & Society
https://www.leedsbeckett.ac.
uk/leeds-business-school/
ALTIS is a breeding ground for minds and
innovative ideas, where academics, professionals,
entrepreneurs and managers, as well as talented
youths, meet and debate turning managerial
culture for sustainable development and impact
entrepreneurship into reality.
EU Business School,
Barcelona
https://www.iedc.si/
IEDC-Bled School
of Management
https://www.isg.fr/
campus/paris
Established in 1973, EU Business School (EU) is an
international, professionally accredited, high-
ranking business school with campuses in
Barcelona, Geneva, Montreux, Munich and online.
ISG Business School
https://www.su.se/foretagse
konomiska-institutionen/
ISG Business School’s active didactics, ingrained
in issues facing today’s companies, train students
to become responsible, innovative and
entreprising managers capable of advancing on
an international level.
Leeds Business School,
Leeds Metropolitan
University
Leeds Business School provides its students with
excellent technical facilities and the opportunity
to build important relationships with
established businesses across the industry.
https://www.hhs.se/
Universidad Carlos
III de Madrid
https://www.fom.de/hochschul
zentren/studium-in-essen.html
University of Applied
Sciences for Economics
and Management
Stockholm School
of Economics
Stockholm Business School offers
undergraduate and advanced level education
in two subjects, business administration and
advertising and public relations.
The Stockholm School of Economics is an academic
hub for ambitious students and researchers from all
over the world. By working closely with corporate
partners and society at large, SSE has been creating
opportunities for its graduates for over 100 years.
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid is dedicated
to its mission of contributing to the
improvement of society through teaching of the
highest quality and cutting-edge research.
FOM University of Applied Sciences offers
prospective students numerous ways to gain a
university degree while they continue to work.
V.N. Karazin Kharkov
National University
Business School
https://www.univer.kharkov.ua/en
V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University is a
leading Ukrainian research and educational
institution with a 216-year history.
Stockholm Business
School (SBS),
Stockholm University
https://www.uc3m.es/conocenos
/campus/campus-getafe
https://altis.unicatt.it/
The IEDC–Bled School of Management, founded
in 1986 as the rst business school of its type in
Central and Eastern Europe, is one of the leading
international management development
institutions in Europe.
https://www.euruni.edu/
BEST
BUSINESS
SCHOOLS
IN
EUROPE

ALTIS is committed to
creating plenty of learning
and networking opportunities
aimed at associating two
concepts: 'social and
environmental sustainability'
and ‘competitive advantage’
Università Cattolica School
of Sustainable Management

The role of philosophy of education, for professional
educators, is that they have to know all along the
way the big picture or the end goal that the students
have to work towards so that they can guide them through
the process before turning them loose in the world.
As educators, you would want the students to do particular
things that make their lives meaningful and significant. As
fellow humans, you would want the students to understand
their lives in a philosophical way and how they fit into the
big picture.
ALTIS is the School of Sustainable Management of the
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, one of the most
prestigious Italian universities – with five campuses across
the country and a 100-year history – as well as the largest
Catholic university in Europe.
The Milan, Italy-based ALTIS Università Cattolica
School of Sustainable Management was conceived by
ALTIS is
committed to keep
growing in accordance
with its mission: promoting
entrepreneurship and
management for a
sustainable development

Best Business Schools in Europe
later changed its name into Professione Sostenibilità. The
recent shift onto the term “sustainability”, is due to the fact
that what is associated with sustainable practices is
gradually changing and expanding from the corporate world
into other sectors and realms of meaning. Through this
course, several hundreds of managers have been trained and
taught how to integrate sustainability into their companies’
mission, vision and corporate strategies.
Being the Trendsetters
Looking back, resistance to change was one of the biggest
challenges that the School had to face in its early days, and
it still is in some regards. Traditional business thinking
continues to prevail on innovation-oriented approaches in
many Italian sectors of economic activity. However, more
and more Italian companies have been integrating the
principles of sustainability into their mission, vision and
corporate strategies, and ALTIS contributed largely to this
process.
Over the years, thanks to the prestigious name of the
Università Cattolica and the progressive creation of a solid
team of professionals, ALTIS has been acknowledged as a
reference point for those who want to learn about
sustainability and receive qualified guidance on how to
implement its principles.
ALTIS’ areas of activity (Research - Education -
Consulting) are developed with an approach of cross-
fertilisation: researchers, lecturers and consultants
collaborate to keep the content of papers, courses and
consultancy projects up-to-date and close to the real needs
of its beneficiaries and the markets. For example, the
School has been one of the first academic institutions in
Italy to focus on sustainable finance.
ALTIS’ researchers have been monitoring the developments
of this phenomenon that has been gaining interest in
Europe, as confirmed by the steady growth of sustainable
investments (green, climate, social and sustainability bonds)
and the recent regulations passed by the institutions of the
European Union, which are laying the foundations for a
Green Bond Standard – a taxonomy for sustainable
activities, and rules on sustainability-related disclosure.
In response to this new trend, the School added to its
curriculum some training programmes meant to provide
new competencies for a changing world, such as an
‘executive course’ in sustainable finance for professionals
and Italy’s first “Master’s in Finance” with a specific focus
on sustainable finance.
Professor Mario Molteni and the former Rector, Professor
Lorenzo Ornaghi, with the philosophy that schools and
institutions should take the charge in reshaping the society.
The school stemmed from this historical institution in the
early 2000s, focusing on responsible management and
entrepreneurship. The values of sustainability, business
ethics and social and environmental responsibility are
disseminated through a combination of training
programmes (Masters’ and short courses), avant-garde
research activity and consultancy services.
ALTIS is committed to developing new knowledge and
contributing to the academic and policy debate on a
sustainable approach to entrepreneurship and management.
Its final goal is to promote the full integration of principles
of shared value creation and impact measurement in the
strategies, governance and management of profit and non-
profit organisations, as well as in the public sector.
The notion of CSR (corporate social responsibility) dates
back to the mid-20th century, but it recently became
relevant to companies. The European Union acknowledged
this concept in 1993, by publishing the “White Paper on
growth, competitiveness, and employment”. The importance
of sustainable development was also affirmed during
Lisbon’s European Council in 2000, and shortly after it was
included in the agenda of the EU Member States. One of
the early adopters was Italy, which has actively
implemented the EU’s guidelines on sustainability since
2003.
The School was established in those very years when Italian
companies still lacked a thorough understanding of what
sustainability was and why it was essential for their
business and the wellbeing of their territory and
communities. For this reason, ALTIS is committed to
creating plenty of learning and networking opportunities
aimed at associating two concepts: then said ‘social and
environmental sustainability’ and ‘competitive advantage’.
It stressed the importance of measuring the impacts of a
business as a way to better evaluate its outcomes and
optimise the inner workings, focusing on the creation of
shared value and the involvement of all relevant
stakeholders (from the suppliers to the final customers or
clients).
That was the core concept of the first training programme
ever designed by the School: the executive course
Professione CSR (literally, “the profession of CSR”), which

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en
p
s
Moreover, the consultancy team began offering services for
financial institutions and investors that need guidance to
effectively integrate ESG (environmental, social and
corporate governance) criteria in the investment choices
and define impact investing strategies, as well as for big
corporations and SMEs that need to measure and report
social, environmental, and governance-related
performances to improve their ESG rating and become
more attractive to investors.
The Academic Rollout
Regarding the education area, ALTIS offers a growing
number of post-graduate Masters, MBAs, and training
programmes addressed to a variety of beneficiaries:
executives from public administrations and non-profit
organisations, companies, and schools. All of them impart
to various extents valuable notions and practices of
corporate responsibility, and economic, environmental and
social sustainability. Some are more traditional, such as the
Executive Course in Management Control or the Executive
Master’s in Strategic Development of SMEs.
However, they update their contents regularly in accordance
with the latest trends and market needs and introduce
notions of sustainability in professions that are generally
considered untouched by it, as in the case of controllers and
auditors.
Other programmes address the need for new professional
figures, such as the aforementioned Executive Course
Professione Sostenibilità, or the Executive MBA that
combines managerial skills with a sustainability mindset,
and the Master’s in Sustainable Business Administration or
the above-mentioned Master’s in Sustainable Finance, both
of which integrate sustainability principles in all teachings.
The teaching language is Italian; however, the School’s
curriculum includes an international programme that is
taught entirely in English – the Master’s in Strategic
Management for Global Business, which provides the
students with the ability to identify the strategic drivers of
long-term success of a company, recognize the challenges
and opportunities of the international economy, and turn
them into sound, innovative, and sustainable business
opportunities. (altis.unicatt.it/smgb)
Thanks to the synergy among the three areas of activity, the
students also benefit from both a theoretical and practical
perspective on their specific field of study. They may meet

The values of sustainability,
usiness ethics and social and
nvironmental responsibility are
disseminated through a
combination of training
programmes (Masters’ and
short courses), avant-garde
research activity and
consultancy services
On the other hand, organisations may access a selected pool
of talents, co-create projects and events, and support the
realisation of customised researches with a practical
application.
Crafting a positive change environment
As it creates a positive environment that encourages the
exchange of best practices and nurtures the entrepreneurial
spirit, over the years ALTIS has activated initiatives and
projects that later became fully independent. An example is
the E4Impact Foundation: it all started with a training
programme for African impact entrepreneurs, that took
place in Rome in 2005.
To have an even greater impact on the African
entrepreneurial ecosystem, in 2010, the programme was
moved to Africa: the first MBA in ‘Impact
Entrepreneurship’ was inaugurated at the Tangaza
University College in Kenya. Over the following years, due
to the success of the first on-site editions, similar MBAs
were started in other countries of the continent, in
partnership with local higher education institutions
(https://e4impact.org/).
In 2015, the project turned into an independent Foundation
that organises MBAs in collaboration with universities
located in 16 African countries, and also supports Italian
companies that are looking into expanding their business in
the continent. In 2018, the E4Impact Foundation launched a
‘business accelerator’ in Nairobi, through funding support
managers and experts from leading corporations, gain
first-hand experience by working on tailor-made
consultancy projects for real companies, as well as keep an
eye on the avant-garde findings of national and foreign
academicians, for example, by participating in seminars and
events organised by the university, or even international
conferences, such as the Internal Social Innovation
Research Conference (ISIRC) that will be co-hosted by
ALTIS in September 2021.

ALTIS offers a growing
number of post-graduate
Masters, MBAs, and training
programmes addressed to a
variety of beneficiaries:
executives from public
administrations and non-profit
organisations, companies and
schools
from the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and
ENI – the multinational oil and gas company.
The accelerator provides new businesses in Africa with
training, connections with local investors and international
companies, seed funding, ICT and satellite communication
services, and office space. Around 40 enterprises have been
accelerated and five have started working with Italian or
European companies. Overall, the programme has raised
about 1.30 million euros of investments.
Another instance of a successful initiative is the CSR
Manager Network, the first community of sustainability
managers in Italy that was kick-started with the students of
the ALTIS’ long-running training programme addressed to
sustainability professionals (Professione Sostenibilità), at a
time when this was not a recognised profession and there
was not an official framework regarding their duties,
competencies and position in the company’s organizational
chart.
In continuity with this effort, in 2021 the Network along
with ALTIS inaugurated a collaboration with the UNI Ente
Italiano di Normazione – the Italian organisation for
standardisation, to create a national standard on the
requirements for the profession and thus achieve its
institutionalisation.

The Network is under ALTIS’ Scientific Direction and is
strongly committed to raising awareness on the
professions of sustainability and strengthening the ties
among this category of professionals and other companies
and organisations, through events, research and
networking opportunities. Since 2005, the School has
contributed to the dissemination of principles for a
sustainability mindset within the current generation of
Italian managers and professionals.
UNI – Ente Italiano di Nomerazoine had recognized the
training programme “Professione sostenibilità” as the
Italian course which can adequately train sustainability
managers.
International partnerships
ALTIS has also formed several partnerships based on
mutual exchange of knowledge and best practices. Today,
its extensive network counts numerous SMEs as well as
multinational companies such as Allianz, AON, Danone,
EY, KPMG, Medtronic, Randstad, Samsung, and
Vodafone. It also collaborates with many higher education
institutions, in Italy and abroad, which allowed its PhD
candidates and researchers to access fellowships and new
research opportunities.
Through the E4Impact Foundation, it has built
relationships within almost all African countries,
strengthened with the creation of the “E4Impact Alliance”.
Launched in 2019, it is an initiative aimed at creating the
largest pan-African community of universities with a
recognized brand that promotes impact entrepreneurship
across the continent and beyond.
Moreover, ALTIS enjoys the membership status in many
renowned associations that promote research, training, and
advocacy activities aimed at guiding people and businesses
towards a model for a sustainable society. Some examples
are: Association for Research on Non-profit Organizations
and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA), European Foundation
for Management Development (EFMD), Global Network
for Corporate Citizenship (GNCC), International Society
for Third-Sector Research (ISTR), Non-profit Academic
Centers Council (N.A.C.C.), Principle For Responsible
Management Education (PRME), Global Compact, The
Academy of Business in Society (ABIS) and Social Value
Italia - the association that promotes social impact
measurement.
Endowing responsibility through education across the
world
ALTIS was born with an international vocation, and since
its early days, launched international projects in other
continents as well. It exported the Italian entrepreneurial
model, and especially the best practices from its industrial
clusters, to foreign countries, with the support of local
organisations to reach out to entrepreneurs of SMEs.
In the effort of facilitating knowledge transfer, it has
designed and executed custom training programmes in
America (Brazil, Mexico and Peru), Eastern Europe
(Albania), the Middle East (notably Bethany, less than two
miles from Jerusalem), and Asia (Myanmar, Pakistan and
India).
One of the longest-running collaborations is the one with
the SEBRAE network, the main organisation promoting
competitiveness and sustainable development among local
SMEs in Brazil. It all started in 2005, with a small training
programme on “Innovative policies for the development of
industrial districts”, which paved the way to other courses
for top and middle managers in the south of Brazil and
annual visits to the top-tier companies of the industrial
districts in the North of Italy.
Empowering individuals and organisations
Other than sustainable finance, the School’s collaborators
hold academic and practical expertise in various areas of
sustainability, such as strategic sustainable management,

social impact measurement and non-financial reporting,
enterprise competitiveness, social innovation and impact
entrepreneurship.
The beneficiaries belong to different sectors, ranging from
the public administration and large institutions to private
companies, non-profit organisations and schools. The work
is based on principles of continuous innovation and
knowledge transfer: it is not limited to teaching notions and
skills, but strives to empower those who embark on this
journey, by making them fully autonomous and competent
on the matter by the end of it.
For these reasons, ALTIS generates a real impact on
individuals and organisations, who, in turn, become
ambassadors of the principles of corporate responsibility
and sustainable management.
The Indomitable Leader committed to Transformation
The idea at the basis of ALTIS, a ‘school of sustainable
management’, was conceived by Professor Mario Molteni
in the early 2000s. At that time, CSR was just beginning to
raise interest in Italy, in the wake of the international
debate.
“With ALTIS,” explains Molteni, “we made a bet on the
fact that CSR represented a key challenge to foster the
development of a fairer and more equitable society. Today,
the growing attention and the economic and political
actions towards sustainability prove that we had a good
intuition.”
Professor Molteni is a Full Professor of ‘corporate strategy’
at the Università Cattolica. He has dedicated his academic
career to combine corporate strategy and sustainability. In
the 1990s, he was the Director of ISVI (Institute for
Business Values), which he led until 2008. In the meantime,
within the academic environment, he laid the foundations of
ALTIS and promoted the creation of the CSR Manager
Network – the Italian Association for sustainability
managers and professionals.
In 2015, he handed over the role of ALTIS’ Director to
Professor Vito Moramarco, in order to focus entirely on
E4Impact, a project created inside ALTIS to foster impact
entrepreneurship in Africa. The initiative later became a
Foundation, acknowledged as an official spin-off of the
Università Cattolica, and received the support of a group of
primary Italian corporations.
Professor Mario Molteni’s
commitment and his extensive
list of publications on corporate
strategy, entrepreneurship, and
CSR have inspired many young
academicians and students to
further pursue the study of such
topics
Professor Mario Molteni
Founder

Because of his commitment to empowering African impact
entrepreneurs through the training programmes developed
by the E4Impact Foundation, he was nominated ‘Senior
Ashoka Fellow’ in 2015. As stated in the reasons for the
award, Professor Molteni launched this initiative because he
realised that: “a dynamic entrepreneurial system is
fundamental to sustain the economies of Africa, particularly
due to the significant role that entrepreneurs play in the job
creation process. Moreover, institutions of higher learning
have a critical role to play in developing such
entrepreneurial systems, particularly through training of
local entrepreneurs,” as he explains.
The ALTIS-E4Impact’s MBAs are full-fledged university
degree programmes of the Università Cattolica offered in
partnership with African universities. Through such
partnerships, these local institutions become as competitive
as their international counterparts and are able to attract the
country’s brightest minds, thus reducing the ‘brain drain’
and training new entrepreneurs who may come up with
businesses that address the most pressing issues, such as
youth unemployment (https://e4impact.org/).
Molteni’s commitment and his extensive list of publications
on corporate strategy, entrepreneurship, and CSR have
inspired many young academicians and students to further
pursue the study of such topics.
Adapting to uncertainty
The School’s resilience and adaptability were of great
relevance at the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. In a
matter of days, academic tutors and professors rearranged
their calendars and turned a part of their teachings into
videos or live streaming lessons.
Meanwhile, the Università Cattolica reinforced its digital
tools, to guarantee access to a virtual classroom to all
students. The first tool is Blackboard – the university’s
Learning System Management (LMS) platform, which
gives access to videos, study materials and a forum for
discussions. The second is Collaborate, a tool for interactive
lectures. Moreover, the students were warmly invited to
regularly hold online study sessions and meetings to work
on their group projects.
Thanks to these tools, the university has created ‘a virtual
classroom as wide as the country’, which keeps the students
united, although at a distance. In the past months, they have
been sharing on social media their everyday life and this
strengthened their sense of belonging to the university’s
community. ALTIS’ personnel quickly shifted to a fully
remote working style, and have been seamlessly managing
the everyday activities.
Since the start of the pandemic in February 2020, the
School launched new online-only courses, welcomed
incoming students remotely, celebrated digitally their
graduations and inaugurated a series of webinars that have
been giving access to its expertise and values to a larger
public, reaching also those who could never attend on-site
events before the lockdowns.
At ALTIS, everyone is eagerly waiting to return to the
campus and resume in-person attendance, which is still
considered to be the best learning method. However, the
past year represented a valuable opportunity to its people: it
allowed them to reflect once more on the School’s role and
improve the way they conduct researches, train students,
and support companies and organisations, even remotely.
A commitment to Sustainable Education
ALTIS is committed to keeping growing in accordance with
its mission: promoting entrepreneurship and management
for sustainable development. In shaping tomorrow’s
managers and entrepreneurs, it contributes to creating a
generation of people that will bring forth this vision and
integrate it into the organisations and societies in which
they will operate.
As for education, it will keep designing training
programmes focused on sustainability, to promote its
Vito Moramarco Current
Director

integration in various economic sectors and provide its
students with sound managerial skills enriched with a vision
and approach that values social impact and social
responsibility.
In 2022, it will expand its offer for executives and launch
new programmes on sustainable finance, sustainable
business administration, and circular economy, as well as
courses focused on the practical implementation of
sustainable policies in a company.
Regarding aspects of research, the researchers will develop
new tools and methodologies to measure social impact, and
will keep analysing the relationship between stakeholder
engagement and business performance, and identifying the
drivers of growth and the creation of value for a company.
New partnerships will be created with national and
international institutions, to provide novel research
opportunities, exchange best practices and findings, and
amplify the reach of its publications.
Moreover, the ‘consulting area’ will keep expanding its
expertise and hone the skills of its youngest consultants.
The consultancy team plans to collaborate with more
companies and organisations, with a specific focus on
SMEs, thus reaching the entrepreneurs that constitute Italy’s
economic backbone: more than 90% of Italian companies
fit in this category. It most certainly will keep transferring
tools and knowledge through consultancy projects, events
or training programmes, with an open-minded approach and
a drive for innovation, in Italy and abroad.
A few years ago, the E4Impact Foundation announced that
it will have created a portfolio of MBA entrepreneurship
programmes in 20 African countries by 2023, leading an
ever-greater impact on the continent in terms of
entrepreneurs trained, new enterprises launched, and new
jobs created in the formal economy. Today, the Foundation
works in 16 countries and its team is determined to reach
the goal by the deadline, yet it might even exceed the
expectations.
Empowering learners with a bold vision
In the future, sustainability is going to be an even greater
priority than it is now: it is necessary for the development
of a fairer and more responsible economy and a society. In
this, the interaction and collaboration among different
sectors are of paramount importance.
Non-profit organisations have a clear understanding of the
value of a development model that takes into consideration
the wellbeing of an individual and the society during
policymaking, as opposed to a model where such issues are
considered only as a remedial action after impactful
decisions were made. They generally have a strong purpose
but lack the expertise and managerial skills of the corporate
world.
The new generation of entrepreneurs need to learn from
both dimensions, up to the point of being able to balance
economic success and social and environmental impact.
Doing business cannot disregard anymore the needs of
customers and clients, their claims for greater transparency
or a more sustainable supply chain.
The consequence is that even corporate innovation takes on
a “social” perspective and is now aimed at developing
solutions to today’s issues, through technological
advancement, knowledge transfer, organisational reforms
and empowerment of individuals. This is how companies
can harmoniously coexist with a community and its
territory, thus bringing forth benefits for both parts.

-Riccardo, Italy
Through the Master’s in SMGB I have learned the technical aspects of
finance and marketing and how to manage a business from every point of
view. I also experienced what it means to work as a team in a multicultural,
international environment. I would recommend it for the entrepreneurial
perspective and focus, and also the multidisciplinary approach.
Alumni Testimonials
I wanted to create a start-up in Turkey. At ALTIS, I learned how to write a
business plan, manage risks and be a leader. By sharing this experience with
students from other countries, I realised that localising products and
services is vital, and that a business must take into consideration the
distinctive characteristics of each country and region before stepping into
their markets.
-Can, Turkey
I came to ALTIS because I wanted to add a cultural dimension to my
educational journey. Milan is an amazing place to study and learn, because
of its people, culture and food. The people that the Master brings together in
one classroom is very rich and heterogeneous. The fact that out of 20
students we had 11 nationalities is an outstanding record on its own.
-Vanida, Thailand
Towards the end of the Masters, I did an internship in Ratti, Gruppo
Marzotto, the biggest textile company in Europe. I was asked to do
market research, focusing on South and Central America. I could get
first-hand experience in a real company, and apply the teachings of
marketing and project management.
-Federico, Colombia
While attending the Master’s, I have had many ideas on improvements and
changes that could be applied to my family business. For this reason, my
final project was a new business plan for my family’s company. Among
other things, I plan to implement an educational programme addressed to
our employees
-Aleksandra, Serbia
From the Master’s in Strategic Management for Global Business

Rethinking Pedagogy
emphasis on
examination
undermined
natural
learning?
Has the
in his eyes, the teacher sparks a question: “Does language
effect the way we think?”
Debate breaks out immediately! Students on both sides of
the discussion lay their points out and others dissect them.
The teacher interjects occasionally asking for clarification
on some of the points or asks the class to put more thought
or consideration to a point made by a student.
After a lively discussion, things start to calm down a little
and the teacher separates the essential and
aydream with me for a moment as I imagine my
Dideal classroom. A classroom fitted with big
windows and occupied by – not rows of crowded
desks placed against the wall with just enough space in
between for students to reach them – but upright chairs
placed in a circle. An arrangement that announces that this
is a room for the exchange of ideas and open discussion.
The students enter and take their preferred seats, followed
by the teacher who doesn’t bring out his big books of things
to teach and sits in the circle with the students. With wonder
22 | July 2021

www.theknowledgereview.com | 23

nonessential points. The teacher then asks students to read
extracts from the works of Steven Pinker on the same topic.
This stimulates further discussion and debate.
The atmosphere of the class is relaxed, collaborative,
engaging, and – most importantly – fun! Learning is driven
by curiosity and personal interest. Students’ minds are
engaged in the whole learning process, they have a stake in
it. The teacher acts a just a purveyor of information and a
curator of ideas.
This is what my ideal classroom would look like.
But the dejecting reality is that most of the classrooms are
shaped to serve a different goal entirely. For a multitude of
teachers and students the classroom experience is designed,
down to the very last detail, by the requirement to prepare
for examinations.
Many educators and stakeholders in the education sector
have been raising concern about the exam-driven classroom
practices. Klaus Dieter Braun, Founder and General
Manager of FOM University of Economics and
Management (FOM) voiced his disillusionment with the
factory, rote-formulaic study pedagogies stating, “As long
as the exams represent a mere snapshot of memorised
knowledge, they are no guarantee of sustainable
empowerment on the labour market. For this reason, the
number of examinations at FOM have been reduced and
replaced by other examination formats such as project
work, homework, presentations, and transfer assessments in
order to promote a deeper engagement with the learning
material and a transfer to professional practice.”
“The sustainability of learning is to be ensured, which is
why FOM University works with the concept of transfer
didactics and with the concept of ‘design thinking’, which
enables students to find their own solutions,” Klaus Dieter
Braun added.
Examinations need not directly affect the learning process.
The devil is in the detail you see. In some cases, it is the
over obsession with standardised tests that interferes with
the development of the learner’s psyche. In some cases,
parents place more emphasis on marks and results than is
warranted.
The need to strike a balance between examination-centred
pedagogies and curiosity-driven learning is more prominent
now than ever before.
A faculty representative of the Department of Business
Administration, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M),
stated: “Exams do not directly interfere with the natural
learning. Our institution combines both successfully. The
UC3M teaching model is based on continuous assessment,
so it continuously assesses student’s effort, active
participation in cases and research paper discussions,
teamwork projects, exercises, virtual simulation games, and
other practices. In that way, the grade of continuous work
accounts for a minimum of 40% in each course; and the
final exam no more than a 60% in any subject. This changes
the way that students manage their learning process.”
They say that work culture is a rat race. If that is the case
then education, for many, is turning into a rat triathlon.
Today students are mainly worried about pleasing their
teachers and scoring high on tests that may prove to be
irrelevant in a few years. This, many would agree, is not an
inspiring vision for the future of the education sector.
The time for change from within is now. The education
sector needs to evolve into something approximating a
version of it that the learners find engaging, enthralling and
challenging enough, rather than something that is mundane,
repetitive, and out-of-sync of the modern world.
- Aditya Umale
24 | July 2021

Department of Business Administration
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
The Unorthodox Training Grounds of Business Innovators
educational institutions that are
committed to developing competent
and knowledgeable business leaders
whilst backing their studies with
appropriate research and experience
and understanding of current market
dynamics. In a nutshell, we need
institutions like the Department of
Business Administration,
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
(UC3M, henceforth) is a public
university, providing innovative
teaching of the highest quality and
focused primarily on research. It has
been consistently ranked among the
top institutions in Europe according to
th
the several rankings: 35 worldwide
th
and 16 in Europe, on QS Top 50
Under 50 2020 Ranking; and ranked
third in economics and management,
fields in which it appears among the
Top 200 universities in the world
according to the 'Shanghai Ranking'
2020.
Department of Business
Administration, Universidad Carlos III
de Madrid (Business-UC3M) is the
largest department of the university
and consists of four areas of
knowledge (accounting, finance,
management, and marketing). It is a
research-oriented department that aims
to compete at the international level
with the best business departments and
business schools in Europe.
As a key reference, in the business
school ranking of UT Dallas, only
IESE and IE rank better than Business-
UC3M in Spain, and Business-UC3M
ranks between the position 20 and 35
Business plays a crucial role in
the development and economy
of any country. Businesses
drive employment, production of
goods and services, and lay the
foundation for alliances between
nations. To run businesses, we need
people with the right acumen and
skillsets who can drive the growth of
industries, and hence, the economies.
Business administrators are proving to
be more and more important by the
day. Engineers innovate, creators
generate ideas and give birth to new
products, but the job of ensuring that
this product is the best possible fit for
the market requires people who
understand how business processes and
capturing markets work. And to train
people who aspire to thrive in the ever-
evolving business sphere, we need
26 | July 2021

for European institutions, depending
on the year and the area.
The university's faculty members have
published in the leading journals in the
four areas: The Accounting Review,
Journal of Accounting and Economics,
Journal of Finance, Review of
Financial Studies, Journal of Financial
Economics, Academy of Management
Journal, Academy of Management
Review, Administrative Science
Quarterly, Organization Science,
Management Science, Strategic
Management Journal, Journal of
Marketing, Journal of Marketing
Research and Marketing Science.
Business-UC3M is committed to
diversity. Around half of the faculty
members are women, around one third
are not Spanish, and around one third
hold PhDs from international
institutions (some as prestigious as
MIT, Harvard, Berkeley, Stanford, or
NYU).
Business-UC3M uses its excellence in
research to excel as well in education
(research-driven education), offering a
variety of undergraduate and graduate
programs covering all functional
business areas: Accounting, Finance,
Management, and Marketing.
Business-UC3M is the only public
Spanish university that is AACSB,
AMBA and ACCA accredited. Through
excellence in research and education,
the institute aims to contribute to
society, educating thousands of
undergraduate and graduate students.
Mission Statement:
UC3M's mission is to contribute to the
improvement of society through
teaching of the highest quality and
cutting-edge research in line with
stringent international standards. The
university aspires to excel in all its
activities, with the aim of becoming
one of the top universities in Europe.
We see
ourselves as one
of the top business
schools in Europe,
producing
cutting-edge
research and
transferring our
research to
society
UC3M-Business' USP is research-
premium education in all business
domains at value prices, combined
with social and cultural values that
promote students' integration into
society. It is also the most international
university in Spain. The business
department is traditionally very strong
in quantitative research domains,
developing research in finance,
quantitative marketing, management
(innovation and research policies,
CSR, human resource management,
marketing management, operations,
entrepreneurship, family firms), and
accounting.
Additionally, the university also has a
group of behavioural researchers
publishing in the leading management
and applied psychology journals. The
department has grown internationally,
balancing the development of all areas,
and fostering cross-fertilization
between its constituent areas. Most of
the teaching (almost 80%) is in
English, with degrees taught 100% in
English, and others combining courses
in Spanish and in English. The students

are highly international, especially in
graduate programmes. The faculty has
also developed innovative teaching
tools, such as virtual business games.
The Business-UC3M offers a variety of
undergraduate and graduate programs
covering all functional business areas:
accounting, finance, management, and
marketing. UC3M is widely
recognized by society at large as the
leading university in business
administration in Spain. Three basic
indicators show this:
Ÿ UC3M is among the 50 best
European universities in teaching
excellence, according to the 2019
The Teaching ranking;
Ÿ Business-UC3M is #1 in the
ranking in all the business degrees
that they consider: business
administration, finance and
accounting, and the double degree
in 'law and business administration'.
Its degrees have the highest entry
marks in the country;
Ÿ Business-UC3M is the only
Spanish public university that is
AACSB accredited, and the only
accredited by AMBA. Its degree in
Finance and Accounting was the
first (and among the very few)
degrees in the country to be
accredited by an international
accounting body (ACCA).
Training the Business Acumen
The business faculty have fruitfully
exploited collaboration opportunities
with professors from their polytechnic
school, through the Big Data Institute.
The university offers other avenues,
such as the UC3M Science Park to
nurture start-ups. In the last few years,
34 spin‐offs have been created, most of
them by university students and
teaching staff. The university has a
strategic business start‐up program in
its technology‐based business
incubator.
From an educational point of view, the
university also collaborates with
technological areas. It has recently
introduced a new bachelor's degree,
Bachelor's in management and
technology, to foster innovative
UC3M's mission
is to contribute to
the improvement
of society through
teaching of the
highest quality and
cutting-edge
research in line
with stringent
international
standards
28 | July 2021

technological management. The
institute also offers a dual bachelor's in
business administration and IT.
Standing Apart
The students generally describe it as a
lifetime event. Madrid is a vibrant
cosmopolitan city in Western Europe
with nice Mediterranean weather, and
well-connected to all relevant cities in
the country and in Europe. The
institute has a massive turnout of
international exchange students,
allowing students to exchange ideas
with multiple cultures, mostly from
central, south, and North America, and
Europe, offering unique networking
opportunities. UC3M is also starting to
attract students from Asia.
"Our students enjoy the interaction
with faculty members who are carrying
out cutting-edge research, and
research-driven teaching/education,"
said one of the senior faculty members
of UC3M. "Quantitative tools are a
stronghold of the business faculty, and
the business department degrees and
masters offer research-premium
education in all business domains," he
added.
The EdTech Adaption
The faculty traditionally used online
resources; they have a school
providing professional education based
on online systems, so they were
naturally well equipped for the new
context. As soon as the pandemic
lockdowns started, all courses were
moved to online systems and the
teaching activity was quickly adapted
to teach online in Spring 2020.
However, given the massive volume of
online courses, the university acquired
supplementary platforms (Blackboard
Collaborate, Wooclap, Kaltura, and
several digital blackboard applications),
and invested in hardware resources to
teach mixed online-offline classes
(Smart Podium digital boards, and
classroom video systems allowing
remote students to connect with the
classroom) for the course 2020-2021.
To Infinity and Beyond…
“We see ourselves as one of the top
business schools in Europe, producing
cutting-edge research and transferring
our research to society,” concluded the
proud faculty of Business-UC3M.
w.theknowledgereview.com | 29
ww

Atopic that should not go amiss in conversations
about the current work culture, is that there are
many more non-traditional students (working
students) pursuing degrees today than ever before. This
means that the typical college experience looks a little
different now. Working your way through college certainly
doesn’t make getting grades any easier.
Fortunately, though, there is a university in Essen,
Northrine-Westfalia, Germany, which has made its mission
to aide those hardworking individuals who aspire to pursue
college degrees whilst continuing their work full-time.
This university is one of the largest universities in Europe
and holds the crème de la crème of credentials. It is the one
and only - FOM Hochschule für Oekonomie &
Management (Henceforth, FOM) or the ‘FOM University
of Economics and Management’.
FOM was founded in 1991 as an initiative of the non-profit
foundation BildungsCentrum der Wirtschaft in Essen with
the objective to offer professionals the chance to gain a
state-recognized university degree without having to give
up work or restrict their professional activity.
Alongside professionals from all sectors of industry and
with varying functions, trainees wishing to combine in-
company training with a Bachelor’s degree course as part of
a dual-study programme also study at the internationally-
oriented university. To enable the combination of study and
work, lectures are held in the evenings and at weekends.
With 57,000 students, FOM is Germany's largest private
attendance university. Experienced lecturers from the
academic world and industry give on-site lectures at 34
study centres throughout Germany and in Vienna/Austria.
FOM University of Economics
and Management
Training the Next Generation of Technocrats
32 | July 2021

The university is consequently under the supervision of the
Ministry of Innovation, Science and Research of North
Rhine-Westphalia.
Responsibility for the academic organisation of FOM lies
with the President, Vice-Presidents, regional Directors of
Study and Deans. The Senate Advisory Board, the Boards
of Trustees and the External Study Programme Evaluation
Commission ensure that course content is linked to practice.
The Futuristic Thinking
FOM offers on-site study programmes, including
affordable tuition fees, which are tailored to the special
needs of students who work and study simultaneously.
FOM ensures that the goals based upon this mission
statement are achieved with a comprehensive quality
management system that guarantees excellent standards in
all aspects of its goals. FOM is committed to an equality-
oriented university culture that nurtures all existing talents
and potentials irrespective of sex, age, nationality, religion,
and social background.
FOM was founded as a university of business and industry
and gears its study programmes to the needs of companies.
More than 1,000 renowned cooperation partners from all
over Germany provide their employees with academic
qualifications in 6 different fields (Business & Management,
Business & Psychology, Economy & Law, IT-Management,
Engineering, Health & Social Affairs) in 43 Bachelor's and
Master's programmes at FOM.
International students, for whom FOM offers full-time
programmes in English, also benefit from the proximity to
business and the practical orientation of the programme.
They are supported by the International Office in all
organisational matters to keep the hurdles of studying
abroad low.
To achieve optimal study success, FOM has developed a
special learning concept with the focus on transferring
competence to systematically link academic content with
professional practice. By applying the concept, it should be
achieved that knowledge is not only internalised through
pure reproduction, but above all through concrete transfer,
so that, in the sense of constructive alignment, a
With 57,000 students, FOM
is Germany's largest private
attendance university.
Experienced lecturers from
the academic world and
industry give on-site
lectures at 34 study centres
throughout Germany and in
Vienna/Austria
“
“
Prof. Dr Hermeier

constructive orientation of the teaching, learning and
examination formats towards the learning outcomes is
realized.
Making them Tech-Savvy
The topic of digital transformation runs cross-sectionally
through all degree programmes and semesters. In addition,
the university’s IT and engineering departments work
together on topics concerning Industry 4.0 (e.g. Machine
Learning). Wherever possible, impulses from business are
implemented and the demand reports from companies are
taken over when updating the course content. University
certificates (e.g. Legal Tech) are offered to deepen practice-
relevant and subject-specific content during studies or for
further academic training.
FOM operates 26 competence centres and research
institutes whose results are directly applied in teaching.
Moreover, FOM supports its students in finding practice-
relevant research topics and offers an elaborate research
forum on current topics every year.
The Visionary in Charge
Klaus Dieter Braun laid the foundation for extensive
educational initiatives already during his time as Managing
To achieve optimal study
success, FOM has
developed a special
learning concept with the
focus on transferring
competence to
systematically link
academic content with
professional practice
“
“
34 | July 2021

Director of the Essener Unternehmensverband (EUV) in the
1980s. He founded the BCW Foundation, which is an
ardent supporter of FOM. More than 3,000 employees from
27 nations work in the BCW Group institutions. Braun was
an early and tireless advocate of permeability in the
education system, making it possible for anyone with the
talent to study, regardless of the family or financial
situation.
One of Braun's guiding principles is to provide
opportunities for ambitious people and to offer a
contemporary and sustainable academic education at
moderate tuition fees. He also holds numerous honorary
positions (e.g. founding and board member of the Ruhr
Research Centre Düsseldorf).
The FOM Experience
A unique characteristic of the learning experience in FOM
is its part-time face-to-face study with lectures, based on the
belief that personal contact between the lecturers and the
students is at the core of ‘high motivational drive' to learn
and study successfully.
Digital learning materials can be accessed via the campus
management system and organisational tasks (e.g.,
registering for exams) can be completed regardless of
location and time. In this way, students are relieved of all
organisational tasks as far as possible. Apart from the
academic and practical experience, FOM lecturers need to
have appropriate didactics in order to motivate and activate
the students after work or on weekends after a 40-hour
week. To provide optimal support for students and teachers,
FOM maintains its own media development department. In
addition, FOM is proud of the specially developed ‘FOM
Transfer Didactics.’
A Household Name
FOM was the first university in North Rhine-Westphalia to
receive the quality seal of the German Council of Science
and Humanities in 2004 which was confirmed in July 2016
with a reaccreditation. In 2012, FOM was also the first
private university in Germany to be accredited as an
institution by the FIBAA (Foundation for International
Business Administration Accreditation). This seal of
approval from one of the world's most important higher
education assessment agencies proves that FOM's quality
management satisfies the highest international standards.
In June 2021, the Stifterverband - which presents
innovative university projects on the topic of "Transitions in
times of the pandemic" every month in 2021 and thus wants
to make them visible beyond the region, has chosen the
special programme "Study into the job" as "University Pearl
of the Month June". The programme paves the way for
young people to take up dual studies, even in the difficult
labour market situation caused by the pandemic: high
school graduates can already start a Bachelor's degree at
FOM, even if they have not yet found a suitable
apprenticeship, traineeship, or internship. The university
supports them in their job search during their studies,
among other things with active networking and virtual job
application training.
Dynamic modes of knowledge delivery
FOM identified a new target group for whom distance
learning was not an option, but who nevertheless could not
reach a nearby university centre. “Digital Live Study” was
developed (initially for 4 Bachelor's programmes), in which
lectures are broadcast in real-time from a FOM-owned
studio. In addition, special teaching and learning materials,
as well as additional communication concepts (e.g.
counselling via video conference), are being developed.
“Digital live study” is to be offered as an additional
alternative to physical face-to-face study, with the
possibility of switching between physical and virtual
presence on a semester-by-semester basis, so that students
do not have to interrupt their studies even during business
trips or longer (professional) stays abroad.
Making a Mark on the Labour Market
FOM is constantly adapting its curriculum to the needs of
the labour market. The current revision of the Bachelor's
degree programmes aims even more intensively than before
at transfer-oriented learning (instead of rote learning).
Students are to be enabled to make evidence-based
decisions in the long term beyond the duration of their
studies. FOM wants to remain not only the market leader
but also the quality leader in part-time study.

This is an anonymous saying whose variations are
adopted by many a poets and prose writers in their
works. ‘Light’ is a metaphor for knowledge and ‘the
window’, for the mind. If we keep our mind (window) open,
the knowledge is sure to creep in. Whoever puts in efforts,
will acquire knowledge. Knowledge is nobody’s privilege,
not even of books.
Having set the tone of the discussion, I may hasten to add
that I myself am a voracious book reader. Reading a book
certainly enhances one’s knowledge. The enhancement can
be as big as showing up a new direction, a new way of
thinking or fulfilling dreams, or understanding a new subject
and can be as little as telling the reader that books by such
and such author aren’t of ‘my type’, hence avoid. But,
enhancements, it does give.
Gutenberg, the first printing press, was a technological
marvel. It allowed the knowledge to proliferate at an
unprecedented rate by way of printed books. The earliest
reference to the ‘pre book era’ is found in India’s Vedic
period where the Sanskrit scriptures were written on the
‘Bhoj patras’- a tree bark. On the flattened bark, the sacred
mantras were written. Then, there are stone inscriptions, but
they can’t be compared to relatively handy Bhoj patra
books. See, the portability was in vogue even in those times
also and a suitable technology was also available. Bhoj
Patras were difficult to preserve for longer time periods and
hence, several Rishis depended on the ‘Shruti’- memorising
by listening only, but this is a side stepping.
Coming back to the main topic, do you remember the
famous quote by Henry Ford, "Any customer can have a car
painted any colour that he wants, so long as it is black."
Similarly, so long as the intention is to acquire knowledge,
the choice of medium is irrelevant. Yes, the printed books
have all the wisdom of the world stored between the two
covers for ages. Earliest scientists, writers, philosophers and
thinkers ‘published’ their work in the form of some type of
printed material and we are benefitting from these
collections immensely. ‘Published’ was a synonym for
‘printing’. But that is no more the case.
The difficulty in preserving these works, copying and
distributing them in a given amount of time became a
Herculean task and soon, the help of the technology was
sought.
The first computers and even the mobiles had what is known
as 5x7 matrix of dots which formed an alphabet when
selectively some of them were highlighted. This was
annoying to the eyes and very repulsive way of reading text
on the screen or from a printout for any comfort. The
printers were aptly named ‘Dot matrix printers’. The
technology of display and printing progressed fast and now
we have totally strain free reading, on the screen or on the
paper.
Once computers came into the mainstream for day-to-day
use from their elite positions in the research laboratories, it
was but natural that more people began reading from the
screen. One thing led to another and the book reading Apps
and devices like Kindle and other tablets were born.
The large sized mobile phones nailed the proliferation of
tablets like devices also. It is said that the mobile killed the
camera, calendar, calculator, navigation, TV, and other such
appliances. It also on its way to dominate the book industry,
purposefully avoiding the word ‘kill’ to soothe the feelings
of the purists.
The advantages of reading E- books are too many to list.
Apart from the convenience of holding several hundreds of
them in our hands on a mobile, it also allows us to adjust the
fonts, background colour, annotate and even find out the
meaning of a word with an online dictionary. Online
translation is the icing on the cake.
Take just one of the advantages. If someone writes an
article, he/she will have all the references, resources
available with him in the device itself and will not have to
rush to libraries to search some.
Two recent technological developments have all the
ingredients of changing the ‘reading’ scenario once again.
Let’s talk about the first. Which in my view, is almost there,
but not quite? In my student days, whenever exams were
round the corner, the thought of reading those voluminous
books always scared me. I always dreamt of a technique
Let the WINDOW BE OPEN and
let the LIGHT COME
36 | July 2021

Technology Vs Books
where in keeping these books just below the pillow while
sleeping will inductively transfer the book knowledge in my
little brain! With Audio Books, the dream is a step nearer.
With Audio Books, one can ‘read’ with eyes closed. Imagine
the advantage of this. Like ‘hands free’ gadgets, this is ‘eyes
free’ device. There is a choice of voices, male or female and
also the pace. But why I said, ‘not quite?’ Ideally, the voice
should be ours. When we read a novel, all the dialogues we
read are actually spoken in our mind in our voice by us. This
triggers thinking or imagining process. So, the technology
should develop to allow our voice to be heard.
The second development is the cloud computing or cloud
storage. Cloud storage has diminished the need of very high
memory requirement. With the advent of 4G and now 5G,
one can access virtually any material from anywhere in the
world in seconds. Books in physical form can never
compete with this.
And why we need books? To enhance knowledge? Then
why not use ‘do it yourself’ type of virtual labs right from
the school? Such stereoscopic 3D experiential learning
systems are already available in the country.
Ending on a lighter note. Earlier, the photographs of
lawyers, attorneys, politicians and philosophers without the
volumes on the Encyclopaedia Britannica in the background
was deemed incomplete. Now such photos look like a
fossil. That’s the power of technology.
The author is Kashyap Mankad, Founding Member and
Technical Director, Saras-3D, Inc
Kashyap Mankad
Technical Director
3D EdTech (Saras-3D)
Kashyap Mankad is a Founding Member and
Technical Director at 3D EdTech (Saras-3D) a
dynamic ed-tech start-up that aims to elevate and
transform the learning experience for K12 students
through 3D technology.
At Saras-3D, Kashyap oversees the overall operations
and working of the various technical departments
functioning in India office. He drives the end-to-end
development of content for all the four subjects.
An electronics hobbyist turned electronics
professional, Kashyap was previously Group Director
- Electro Optical Systems Group, Space Applications
Centre at ISRO, Ahmedabad where he developed
electro optical payloads for the organization’s space
program. He was also the Project Director for INSAT
3D/R/S and GISAT 1 & 2 Payloads and Committee
Member on the Chandrayaan 2 mission, where he
advised and evaluated various pre-launch
calibration aspects of the payloads.
He has represented India as a member of the Expert
Team on Satellite Systems (ET-SAT), at World
Meteorological Organisation, United Nations, Geneva.
A firm believer in the concept of ‘pay it forward’ he
provides voluntary services to the Space Exhibition
attached to the Space Applications Centre on
weekends where he regularly interacts with students
and other visitors answering any queries they may
have about the field.
Kashyap also serves as Technical Director at Neo
Sense Vector Technology another start-up that seeks
to Digitize, Disrupt and Democratize Healthcare and is
a Resource Scientist at Vikram Sarabhai Space
Exhibition, SAC, Ahmedabad.
He holds an M.E. (Electronics) from Dharmsinh Desai
Institute of Technology, Nadiad and B.E. (Electronics)
from Lalbhai Dalpatbhai College of Engineering,
Ahmedabad.
About the Author

EdTech
Sector
in Eur pe
o
38 | July 2021

European Insights
learning does not allow the features
that can able a teacher to keep an eye
on the students. No doubt there is
video calling feature available in every
app used by schools and colleges, but it
is not always appropriate.
Europe’s education is also considered
as one of the finest education systems,
so, it is understandable when they do
not want to compromise with their
traditional ways of teaching.
Ÿ EdTech sector in Europe
EdTech sector has come into the public
eye after the pandemic hit the world.
Education has gone online completely.
Be it private institutes, schoolings,
government institutes, everything has
gone virtual. Virtual education was a
thing before the pandemic, but people
were not well aware of it. After the
Covid-19 outbreak, virtual education
or the EdTech sector became a way of
business too.
Individuals in European countries
decided to start up their own business
and pass on their knowledge to others.
The consequence of this was financial
stability in times of world facing
economic instability. YouTube
channels provided learning before
pandemic too, but it became a hub after
the once in a lifetime global health
crisis.
Even students are starting their own
websites, channels, and apps for other
students to learn from. It is mind-
boggling to see how education has
shifted towards technology-oriented
Ÿ What is EdTech
EdTech refers to hardware and
software designed to improve student
learning outcomes by enhancing
teacher-led learning in classrooms.
EdTech is a perfect blend of education
and technology, for example, smart
classrooms and smart schools
comprising computers, projectors for
better understanding of students.
EdTech should be a 50-50 blend of
Education and Technology; but given
the situation, it is safe to say that the
education system has gone completely
Tech savvy. Europe is now spreading
its wings towards the EdTech sector.
Europe trusts more on traditional
learning rather than virtual learning but
given the situation, it is trying to grow
virtually in education. Europe has
always believed that physical presence
in a classroom is more impactful when
it comes to education. Nevertheless,
Europe is reaching out in the world
now post Covid-19 crisis.
The education system elsewhere is
gelling fast with the changes but
Europe had always believed in
classroom education. It indeed creates
a huge difference while learning
online. Offline learning is more
impactful and helpful. There is a
difference when you sit in the class
with the uniform on. Offline learning
has taken away the lapse of a teacher
scolding a student for talking in the
class.
Offline learning allows the teacher to
pay attention to students, but online
platforms. The success rates for the
start-ups and age-old businesses in
education are astonishing.
While business was changing their
approach between the chaos caused by
covid-19 EdTech was the only business
sector which did not have to do take
too many efforts. Other businesses
faced challenges, and many lost their
business because of the current
situation.
Having said that EdTech is the safe
field to stake your efforts and money
at. Online classes saved many students
from year drops and backlogs. Also,
because of the lockdown which lasted
for almost a year not only students, but
people got to learn different things. If
we just look at it for just educational
purposes, then many courses,
languages, codding are doing good
business.
Hence, we can say that EdTech was a
success during the pandemic and it is
perhaps possible that it will do
exceptionally well post covid-19.
- Sayali Sangewar

We are
developing
cross
competences
with the other
schools of our
group - IONIS, to
teach
technology and
creativity.
“
Everyone values an educational institute that
provides a qualitative learning experience to its
students or learners. In these dynamic times, where
the pandemic has pushed students to learn online and
change their learning habits; it has become paramount for
any educational institution to buckle up and cater to the
changing requirements of students. An ideal educational
institute is one that is driven by its core values and is using
the ‘change’ as leverage to catapult itself to greater heights.
One such dynamic institute is ISG – International
Business School.
ISG has been developing a unique learning model based
upon its strong identity and core values: Entrepreneurship
Spirit, Creativity, Open-mindedness, Responsibility and
Personal Development. ISG has a long record of
educational innovation, using Anglo-Saxon methods of
higher education and moulding them to fit international
needs.
Since its foundation in 1967, ISG has been offering
international business programs, Bachelor or MBA, and
continuously innovating learning approaches and has since
developed a unique educational model. ISG has over 20,000
graduates, including 3,000 from the international programs.
Many of these graduates hold leadership positions in some
of the largest multinational firms in over 60 countries while
others are flourishing entrepreneurs.
“Our students have a lot of practical exercises thanks to
different projects that they usually have to achieve as a team
along with a competition with the students from all of our
campus,” says the staff at ISG. The list of such exercises
includes Business Games, Challenge Innovation,
ISG - International
Business School
Facilitating International Business Programs Dynamically
40 | July 2021

Innovation Week, Challenge, Planète Solidaire, Parcours
libre artistique, and Concours d’éloquence, etc. ISG is a
reputed Business School offering its students a strong
alumni network, partnership with 160 international
universities, and expertise in innovation and
entrepreneurship.
Dynamics of ISG
ISG has some unique attributes that makes it, the go-to
school for students. Some of which are mentioned below:
Ÿ Programme Grande Ecole: A Master’s degree program
of five years delivering bac + 5. The excellence of the
program makes it possible to target the key functions of
the company. The first cycle is an opportunity to forge a
solid global and international, digital, and technological
culture. The second cycle allows everyone to build and
manage their project, to build and realize new business
models.
Ÿ Bachelor’s in International Management: The ISG
Bachelor’s program is a three-year program taught
100% in English or in English/French.
Ÿ Business & Management (3+2): The bachelor cycle is
based on the acquisition of business and management
fundamentals (years 1 and 2) as well as on strong
international experience (year 3).
Masters and MBA cycle students choose from 2 major
courses opening onto a wide range of areas of expertise
to specialize in management, international business,
finance, communication, marketing, luxury, new
technologies or entrepreneurship.
François Baroin
Martin Fayulu
Cyril Chiche

Frank Tapiro
Anne-sophie Pic
Ÿ International program BBA / IMBA: This three-year
program of BBA is delivered to ISG by Middlesex
University, one of the 1000 universities in the world
included in the Shanghai ranking. The International
MBA constitutes a one year program conducted in Paris.
The education is based on a broad array of disciplines,
which allows students to acquire a comprehensive range
of management skills and an in-depth understanding of
the global marketplace and its dynamics. It is taught
entirely in English by a team of educators with top
international academic and business credentials.
Ÿ MSc & MBA:Focused on 3 objectives, the Master of
Science develops the acquisition of technical skills and
knowledge. ISG offers MBAs to students as per their
projects that combine the acquisition of knowledge with
an entrepreneurial spirit. This provides students, the
benefit of personalised support and an open-minded
approach.
It is a school that is connected to the world. Its Parisian
campus of the Bachelor’s in Business and Administration of
the ISG has many computer rooms. Like all the schools
under the umbrella of IONIS Group, ISG has a dedicated
high-speed digital network, equipped with optical fibre (1.5
GB per second) with Wi-Fi connection throughout its
campus. This helps students in having optimal learning
conditions and a setup or connection that allows the school
to have conferences simultaneously with other
organizations in several sites.
Also, the Bordeaux campus provides an environment that
promotes cultural diversity, and it is conducive to exchange.
The Bordeaux Bachelor’s in Business Administration
campus is made up of two nearby buildings:
42 | July 2021

Ÿ Inaugurated in 1986 by Alain Juppé, the Camille Godard
campus consists of a 2,500 m² building. The building
has been rehabilitated via a design architecture on 3
levels.
Ÿ Inaugurated in 2011, the Jardin Public campus is part of
a complex combining modernity and historical heritage
with an area of 4000 m² and featuring the best computer,
teaching, and living spaces for students.
The Lyon campus of the ISG also brings together several
other schools of the IONIS Group: EPITA and IPSA. This
proximity and multidisciplinary is an asset for students who
can develop joint projects combining complementary
sectors (such as computer engineering and new
technologies) thus facilitating business creation.
The Bachelor’s in Business and Administration at ISG
Nantes beneﬁts a student’s lifestyle by having joint
associations with the other schools of the IONIS Group
present in Nantes.
During the lockdowns, students were taking classes at home
with Microsoft Teams or Zoom. They still had workshops,
conferences, and projects remotely. The most important one
was: PLANETE SOLIDAIRE 2021.
The school is a member of the Association to Advance
Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), CLADEA
(Consejo Latinoamericano de Escuelas de Administración),
the European Foundation for Management Development
(EFMD), the Conference des Grandes Ecoles (CGE), and
the Union des Grandes Ecoles Indépendantes (UGEI). This
makes ISG, one of the top B-Schools to choose from while
studying in Europe.

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