New Member Spotlight: SGH Warsaw School of Economics

Network Engagement

Ways the institution will support the GBSN mission to improve access to quality management and entrepreneurship education for the developing world:

Over the past few years, SGH has redefined its strategic approach and established extensive partnerships with universities and institutions from developing countries. New forms of cooperation have been established with numerous universities in developing countries of Africa and Asia. We have expanded student and staff exchange and implemented special projects for young people from disadvantaged groups. In addition, comprehensive activities have been implemented within the so-called internationalization at home to raise awareness of intercultural communication and promotion of the importance of international partnerships.

Examples of projects and activities implemented at SGH and aimed at advancing partnerships with the developing world include: 

• Regular exchange of faculty, staff and students under the Erasmus+ KA107 and KA171 programs
• Empowering female students in developing countries in the areas of business and entrepreneurship (Business LEAD project: New Business Leaders For The New World implemented in cooperation with Groupe ISM from Senegal, Strathmore University from Kenya, the University of Mauritius and University of Tanzania)
• Activities aimed at implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals – SGH is a member of the Sustainable Development Goals Accord – an agreement of the international academic and scientific community established to implement the SDGs by partner universities through joint actions and sharing best practices. Furthermore, since 2009 SGH participates in PRME.
• Responding to global challenges – together with partners from the Middle East and Central Asia, SGH has implemented an EU-financed project “ref:EU” aimed at changing negative attitudes towards refugees from Muslim countries. Numerous initiatives have been undertaken pertaining to climate change and the sustainable development of our planet. 

The scope of the project covers the EU-Africa relations and the situation in the member states concerning the issues connected with EU External Economic Relations, as well as related policies at the EU and country levels. In the course of development of modern countries and regions; knowledge, skill, innovation and creativity were gradually gaining the position of the most distinctive and individual resources. This transformation has caused a change in the paradigm of thinking about the competitiveness of regions and forced it to move towards tight relations with knowledge and intellectual capital in enterprises. For more information please visit, www.afroeu.eu.

• Improving the aptitude of SGH community in areas of multiculturalism, tolerance, and promotion of diversity – e.g. implementation of the project “Welcome to Poland” aimed at intercultural capacity building, the establishment of the Center of Intercultural Excellence, the nomination of internal Multicultural Trainers, etc. SGH also joined the group of signatories of the Diversity Charter – an international initiative to promote diversity and equal employment opportunities, irrespective of gender, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, disability or religion.  

Institutional Contributions to the Network Platform in the First Year:

SGH is interested in projects aimed at strengthening cooperative ties between universities all over the world. We will be delighted to more actively engage in the activities and projects undertaken under the GBSN umbrella. We are ready to share our expertise in entrepreneurship, business education, responsible leadership and CSR. Likewise, we would like to join specific thematic groups at GBSN as well as explore opportunities to establish a GBSN network of international affairs experts at partner universities.

Institutional Engagement with Fellow GBSN Member Institutions:
We would be interested in establishing partnerships with GBSN members with whom we have not yet had a chance to cooperate so far. Based on our experience in innovative forms of education and successful strong cooperation with many GBSN member institutions, we would be ready to develop with other GBSN members joint short-term programs aimed at sustainable development, climate change, innovation as well as global inequalities and imbalances. 

The biggest challenge facing management in your community and how the institution addresses this challenge:
Today, we face a world in a state of unprecedented instability and uncertainty. The world of higher education has been deeply shaken by the global COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the unjust and illegal war in Ukraine as well as deadly conflicts in other places of the world such as for instance Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, have changed the way we operate and perceive the future. It has also redefined the role of higher education institutions and their leadership and management processes. In this context, SGH would like to point out the following issues which we strive to effectively address:

• Concentrating on the needs of people suffering from war and conflicts, especially young populations/students require us to implement new crisis management processes and the development of new competencies and a new sense of social and human responsibility as well as that of civic engagement.
• In response to COVID-19 pandemics, we had to introduce new models of education as well as implement mechanisms of swift adaptation to unexpected new developments in the higher education sector. The new forms of education will stay with us and need to be further advanced. 
• The transformation of the global economy and looming crisis requires a new approach to economic and financial models and consequently, it requires new approaches to education in those areas. 
• Responding to current global challenges, we need to develop new forms of responsible leadership and help educate the next generation of global leaders so that they are more capable of addressing new challenges and opportunities. 

Despite limitations and restrictions caused by wars, conflicts and other global challenges, we need to work closely together to build a better future for global education, modern research, and peaceful coexistence to keep pace with the increasingly unpredictable world of the 21st century. In times of global connectedness and rising global threats and challenges, we need to work together and make our international partnerships stronger. For that reason, we are proud to join the GBSN network and we are very much looking forward to closer cooperation with all GBSN Member Institutions. 

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GBSN promotes the expertise and interests of our members by providing a platform to communicate news and open opportunities to global audiences and share how they are innovating in management education to the benefit of their colleagues around the world. The New Member Spotlight series serves as a way for new member schools to introduce themselves to the network.

• New Member Spotlight