New partnership with GISMA Business School set to deliver Kingston University postgraduate business programmes for the first time in Germany

Posted Thursday 29 November 2018

The MSc in International Business Management will be the first programme delivered at GISMA Business School.

Kingston Business School has announced a new partnership with GISMA Business School in Germany which will see the delivery of British postgraduate degrees at GISMA's Hanover site.

The programmes – among only a small number to be United Kingdom-accredited but taught in Germany – have been designed by Kingston Business School and will be delivered entirely in English at GISMA. Focusing on international business, corporate finance, innovation management and entrepreneurship, the courses will be awarded by Kingston University, allowing students in Hanover to acquire internationally recognised degrees from an AACSB-accredited Business School.

The first available programme will be the Master's degree in International Business Management, due to commence next May. This postgraduate qualification will address such topics as a critical understanding of general management as well as international business and strategy – giving candidates the practical skills needed to succeed in a variety of business roles in management or consultancy.

Kingston University has been offering undergraduate and postgraduate courses since the 1940s. Director of Academic Affairs at GISMA Dr Elisabeth Grindel-Denby said the institution was honoured to be able to work with an institution that had such an established legacy of higher education in the United Kingdom. "This partnership gives us the opportunity to bring programmes to Hanover that will help our postgraduate students develop the right skills to pursue successful careers," she said. "A British degree, combined with the access to the German labour market, will allow them to make the most of their learning experience and future work opportunities."

Kingston Business School is accredited by AACSB International – the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The first programme to be launched by the new partnership, the MSc in International Business Management, is also accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and has EPAS accreditation from the European Foundation for Management Development. Kingston Business School has held both EPAS and AMBA accreditation on this programme for almost ten years and a mere five per cent of business schools globally achieve AACSB accreditation, which was secured in 2016.

Associate Professor Dr Fatima Annan-Diab – who heads up Kingston Business School's Department of Strategy, Marketing and Innovation – said the new collaboration with GISMA reflected Kingston University's ongoing drive to enhance its international presence. "The collaboration is an exciting opportunity for students to develop an understanding of strategic management in global firms, and for our School to further engage with business education on an international level," she added. "Our goal is to equip all students with the skills needed to succeed in an increasingly competitive global economy."

Managing Director at GISMA Business School Dr Thorsten Thiel said: "Working with international partners we are creating learning opportunities that can truly equip postgraduate students with the skills to excel in international business. The positive response to these collaborations indicates that we are going in the right direction, growing our reputation for the benefits of our students."