This unique program, designed with a strong component of “change of course” along the lines of the recently launched Manifesto “Changing the Course of Management Development: Combining Excellence with Relevance”, helps management teams of universities and business schools to stress-test and fine-tune their strategies and plans. This is achieved through a series of progressive Master Classes on key issues that management development institutions are facing, as well as extensive faculty and peer-to-peer feedback over three busy days in the picturesque Bled, Slovenia. 
Two teams joined the workshop this year: Faculty of International Relations, University of Economics, Prague from the Czech Republic and AlmaU Graduate School of Business, Kazakhstan. The exchange of experience among the teams also proved highly beneficial by exposing different perspectives on certain issues and challenges while at the same time discovering common views and understanding on a number of topics. Time was reserved every day for the teams to discuss implications for their own institutional strategies and policies with the aim to further refine them to succeed in the changing environment of management education, and also to receive feedback from 
theother participating team and faculty coaches.
The program was led by Prof. Derek Abell, Founding President of ESMT-European School of Management and Technology, Berlin and former Dean of IMEDE (now IMD), with contributions by Prof. Danica Purg, President of CEEMAN and IEDC-Bled School of Management, Slovenia and Irina Sennikova, Rector of RISEBA University of Business, Arts and Technology, Latvia.
“Measuring up to best practices, whether local or global, is not enough. The new gold standard must be to lead the way. CEEMAN institutions, with their unique experience in the world’s rising economies, can and should take the lead on the world stage,” says workshop leader Derek Abell, who is also the main author of the CEEMAN Manifesto.
Both teams provided high evaluations of the workshop, noting its relevance and high level of program content and delivery. Participants say:
“I loved the possibility to get rid of operational management for quite a long period of time and then think about strategic and long-term issues”
Pavel Hnat, Vice-Dean for Study Affairs at the Faculty of International Relations, University of Economics, Prague, Czech Republic
“All the master classes were excellent and RELEVANT to the practice of business schools. [We got] more clear vision for strategy of the Graduate School of Business of Almaty Management University and new ideas for developing”
Gulnar Kurenkeyeva, Dean of AlmaU Graduate School of Business, Kazakhstan
For more information on the workshop, please visit
www.ceeman.org/leadingtheway