Independent University Newspaper
Copenhagen Business School

Popular searches:

Independent University Newspaper

Copenhagen Business School

CBS Students: “The implementation of the new strategy takes us in the direction we have wanted for a long time”

girl smiling

(Photo: CBS Photography)

The focus on whole students is an “essential” feature of the new strategy, according to the President of CBS Students, Sarah Diemar. She hopes the strategy will be a steppingstone to giving CBS graduates the profile they need to transform both society and the stereotypical image of CBS graduates.

News |   30. Sep 2020

Anne Thora Lykkegaard

Journalist

Sarah Diemar, the President of CBS Students, is satisfied with the new strategy. Because, although it closely resembles previous strategies, this one stands out by adopting a different view of students, she explains

“This strategy has a clearly holistic focus on students and aims to create a sustainable and healthy environment where individual students can develop, all with the goal of producing transformative and mentally prepared students. And that’s essential,” she says and continues:

“And that’s a direction we have wanted to take for a long time.”

Although concrete initiatives and projects have yet to be formulated, the strategy already contains the so-called Nordic Nines – a set of nine capabilities that CBS wishes all CBS students to have upon graduation. Capabilities such as ‘recognizing humanity’s challenges and having the entrepreneurial knowledge to help solve them’ and ‘growing by relearning and by teaching others to do the same’. (See all nine capabilities in the fact box)

“This is some of the most important work that has been conducted at CBS for a long while. A clear objective for what we want for our students, and that’s far more important than the strategy itself,” says Sarah Diemar and adds:

“We are the core of the university, so if we know where we want the students to go, it’s much easier to create an environment and teaching that match that. It will be a long time before it’s fully implemented, but just knowing what the profile is makes so much sense.”

Changing a culture

For CBS Students, the strategy continues the work already initiated to change cultures at CBS and among students.

For example, CBS and CBS Students are working to change the unhealthy performance culture that makes students too focused on getting good grades. With this in mind, the study board for the BSc in Business Administration and Psychology (HA Psyk.) has successfully introduced a grade-free first year that lowers students’ stress levels.

“We want to take CBS in a direction that’s healthier for its students, and that includes changing the story we tell about ourselves and stereotypical CBS students and graduates. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to perform well. We just need to make sure it’s done in a healthy and contributing way,” says Sarah Diemar.

“If we keep telling the same story about ourselves, we become that story. We become the story of students with sharp elbows, and that’s not necessarily who we are and definitely not what the business sector is looking for, according to employers and alumni.”

For Sarah Diemar, it is vital that students are cooperative when they leave CBS – for many reasons.

“We need graduates who can cooperate with many different people, and who have their sights on society at large, rather than simply profit. It’s important for the sustainable development of our society that we educate people to embrace this core value,” she says.

As the strategy will terminate in 2025, Sarah Diemar knows she will not have long to make the changes she wants to see. But she has high hopes.

“In an ideal world, I hope we end up with a lot of the teaching that will make people think out of the box. I hope we can make our mark on the business community and change the stereotypical pictures of businesswomen and businessmen. And CBS has a crucial role to play here, as many of its graduates end up working in the business community. So having the right profile is important,” she says.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

CBS Students: “The implementation of the new strategy takes us in the direction we have wanted for a long time”by

  • News

    Staff layoffs: What happens if you’re fired

    The clock is ticking. On Thursday morning (5 October), CBS employees will know if they are up for dismissal or not. But what will happen on the day? What emotional stages are you likely to encounter? And who will be there to pick you up when you are feeling the blow of being laid off? CBS WIRE has talked to HR and the consulting agency Actief Hartmanns to provide you with answers.

  • News

    Network, network, network – CBS graduates advise on getting your first job

    There are many approaches to finding your first job. Three recent CBS graduates talk about how they landed theirs. Their approaches were quite different, yet they all highlight networking as a key element.

  • News

    A-Z of the dismissals

    In these final days of September, the fate of a number of CBS employees is being decided. The final amount of money saved on salaries via voluntary severance agreements (aka redundancy packages, Ed.) and senior agreements will be known.  After this, the actual number of employees up for dismissal will be decided by management – and then the individuals will be selected.

  • News

    Layoffs break the crucial trust between organisation and employee

    CBS is laying off a number of employees soon, which will affect our university in different ways. When employees are fired without having done anything wrong, it shatters the trust between the organisation and employees, while also taking a toll on productivity, according to a CBS expert. Layoffs also affect the ‘survivors’, who are forced to adapt to a changed workload and the loss of cherished colleagues.

  • News

    Here to help – at the touch of a button and at Campus Desk

    Exam anxiety? Lost student card? I’ve wedged my car between a Fiat 500 and a lamp post, can you help? You never know what you’ll be asked next. But that’s just how the Campus Desk team like it. And if they can’t fix your problem, they’ll know someone who can. CBS WIRE asked the team about the whole range of topics they advice on every day.

  • Gif of the week
  • News

    CBS Quiz Time: Unraveling the success story

    A successful university environment such as CBS is often associated with academic pursuits, but campus life extends far beyond the classroom. At CBS Quiz Time, a student society motivated by creative thinking and social engagement, students join in a refreshing range of creativity, excitement, and social interaction. CBS WIRE talked to Celine Møller-Andersen to find out about the society’s vision, strategies and the factors that are driving its rapid expansion.

  • News

    Why so sudden? The CBS financial crisis explained

    Employees and union representatives have posed many questions in the wake of the 17 August announcement of a firing round. In this interview, University Director Arnold Boon explains how Senior Management has been working with the budget and a change of financial strategy since the fall of 2022, and why layoffs are now necessary.

Follow CBS students studying abroad

CBS WIRE collaborates with Videnskab.dk

Stay connected

Close