CEMS Club Conference Barcelona: Fall Semester 2019

The CEMS Club Conference (CCC) took place at ESADE Business School on October 4th and 5th. The CCC is an event organized each semester by the CEMS Club Support (CCS) Function of the Student Board with the aim to gather CEMS Club Presidents (CCPs) to share knowledge and best practices, network, and to learn about global issues in the CEMS Alliance.

CEMS Club Conference Barcelona - Picture

25 CEMS Club Presidents and 3 organizing members from the student board gathered in the beautiful city of Barcelona for the fall 2019/20 CCC this year. During the two-day conference, presidents and student board representatives shared best practices on event management, sustainability efforts, and club management while also discussing local and global issues impacting the world and the CCs around the world. The conference also hosted CEMS Corporate Partner Gartner who gave a workshop on understanding corporate culture and how to find the right workplace for you.

An opening remark by Chloe Leygnac (student board representative) and Maja Murko (CEMS program director at ESADE) kicked of the CCC followed by introductions of the different CEMS Clubs from around the world. The session then proceeded with information sharing and a workshop where presidents came together in teams to discuss the challenges faced within CEMS Clubs and how to overcome them. Multinational research firm, Gartner, ended the evening with a workshop exclusive for the CCC after which there was a Tapas cooking class organized for students to have a Spanish cultural dining experience.
 

The second day was about spreading information about the different initiatives taken by CEMS and the student board this for continuous improvement of the program. Academic development, the new alumni portal, and the ET19 strategy were three of the main issues discussed. This was followed by a finance workshop on how to manage funding of CEMS Clubs and elevator pitches by presidents suggesting new ideas to execute globally. The pitches had a strong focus on the integration of sporting activities and sustainability initiatives to bring the schools closer together and create a larger social impact.

The conference came to a close with the official announcement of the winners of the CEMS Club Awards (HGC (1st Place), WU (2nd place), and UCD (3rd place)). There were also several winners of best practices in different categories information of which can be found on the @cems_alliance instagram page. The night finally came to a close over a sustainable vegetarian dinner of tapas and paella by the beach.

The CEMS Club Support Function and the Student Board would like to extend their gratitude to Gartner for hosting a workshop and dinner which were a unique opportunity to interact with a CEMS Corporate Partner. They would also like to send warm regards to Maja Murko and ESADE, Barcelona for hosting a successful conference and their continuous support throughout the CCC.