ISM University of Management and Economics is to offer a course called Microeconomics of Competitiveness: Firms, Clusters, and Economic Development. This course was developed by Professor Michael Porter of the prestigious Harvard Business School. Mr Porter is one of the world’s top experts on strategic management. This is the first programme to be offered in Lithuania by the prestigious business school.
“The fact that our students will have an opportunity to study according to a programme developed by the business school is a great achievement for both our university and the entire system of higher education in Lithuania. We expect that the programme will be of interest to our students and business and public sector representatives, including politicians. We hope that in cooperation with Harvard Business School we will contribute to the education of our future political and economic leaders and help Lithuania make much needed economic progress”, Nerijus Pačėsa, rector of ISM University of Management and Economics, said.
The course will be part of the Executive Master of Management programme at ISM and will commence in the autumn semester of 2013. There are also plans to offer the course on competitiveness developed by Professor Porter from Harvard Business School as a separate training programme for representatives of the business, education and public sectors.
The course on competitiveness and economic development will focus on the analysis of various competitiveness factors characteristic of countries, regions, firms, and business clusters. In addition, a lot of attention will be paid to economic efficiency and the way it is influenced by traditional corporate practices and the business environment, including the business policy promoted by the government. As is often the case with Harvard studies, the case method will be widely used for the purpose of this course. Course participants will analyse real situations faced by real companies and the success stories of the top economies in Europe, America and Asia, including the competitive trends characteristic of developing and advanced economies. With the help of videoconferencing equipment, students will be able to participate in the lectures and case discussions held at Harvard University in real time.
The studies will help students and business representatives who want to become better versed in economics and politics gain additional practical knowledge in the area. The course will be extremely useful for public sector representatives and policy experts. Employees of public institutions will be offered an opportunity to analyse different aspects of national competitiveness, compare national and regional competitive potential, and discuss innovative solutions to develop competitiveness.
Virginija Poškutė, vice dean for Academic Affairs of ISM Executive School, will act as the leader of this course: Microeconomics of Competitiveness: Firms, Clusters, and Economic Development. Ms Poškutė, together with Associate Professor Maik Huettinger from ISM University, went to Harvard Business School on an internship where they were introduced to the content, teaching methods, and requirements of the course by the developer of the programme, Professor Porter.
“Harvard Business School chooses partners they trust to teach their courses. They usually choose the best business university in a particular country with a strong faculty base and abundant research experience. Harvard Business School has chosen ISM University as it considers us to be the most suitable university in Eastern Europe to teach this programme developed by this prestigious school. In the future we plan to strengthen our cooperation with universities in the United States even further and offer even more joint programmes”, Mr Pačėsa said.