CEMS Club Conference Warsaw: Spring Semester 2020

The CEMS Club Conference (CCC) took place at SGH Warsaw School of Economics on February 14th and 15th 2020. 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.
CCC Spring 2020  Picture

24 CEMS Club Presidents and 3 organizing members from the Student Board gathered in the beautiful city of Warsaw for the Spring 2020 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 was supported by CEMS Corporate Partner zeb consulting who sponsored the winners of the CEMS Club Awards.  

Constanze Freyberger and Celina Scherbeck (Student Board Representatives) welcomed the Presidents to the conference. This was followed by an opening remark on SGH and Warsaw by Grzegorz Augustyniak (CEMS Programme Manager at SGH), Aneta Szydlowska (CEMS Corporate Relations Manager at SGH) and Hanna Siuta (President of the CEMS Club Warsaw). Then each of the 24 Presidents from around the world had the chance to introduce themselves and their CEMS Club.

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. zeb consulting then presented the awaited CEMS Club Awards, after a brief introduction to their company and their long-lasting relationship to the CEMS Alliance. Through a livestream on the @cems_alliance Instagram page students around the world had the chance to follow zeb, as they announced the final winners of the CEMS Club Awards (HSG (1st Place), NUS (2nd place), and WU (3rd place)). Congratulations to the winners, who will receive a generous sponsoring by zeb for their hard work in the last semester!

After productive discussions and informative presentations by the CEMS Global Office, the day was closed with a sustainable vegetarian dinner with traditional Polish specialties.

The second day was about spreading information about the different initiatives taken by CEMS and the Student Board regarding the continuous improvement of the program. Academic development, interactions with Corporate Partners and Alumni, and the ET20 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 possible collaborations between CEMS Clubs and how Clubs can facilitate the integration of students in their city. During a “burning issues session”, immediate concerns were addressed, including how to attract exchange students and how to optimize communication with Corporate Partners.

The CEMS Club Support Function and the Student Board would like to extend their gratitude to ZEB consulting for sponsoring the CEMS Club Awards, as well as SGH for hosting a successful conference and providing their continuous support throughout the CCC.