It’s been twenty years since Jan Haaland’s personal commitment to CEMS began. Although he was already aware of the alliance and its importance for NHH, his active involvement started in 2005, when he was elected Rector of NHH and became a member of the Strategic Board of CEMS.
Since then, CEMS has been an integral part of his academic career and commitments in various capacities.
How did your personal engagement with CEMS begin?
It all started in 2005, when I was newly elected Rector of NHH. Even before I took office, I was invited to what in effect became the first Strategic Board meeting in October that year. The idea behind creating the Strategic Board was to ensure full commitment to CEMS from the top leadership of the member schools. That meeting and the years that followed made CEMS an important part of my academic life.
You served for many years on the Strategic Board. What stands out from that period?
I was a member of the Strategic Board from 2005 until 2013. During that time, the most important decision we made, was to start the process of globalising CEMS, i.e. moving from a European network to a global alliance. I also participated in a task force defining the CEMS Mission Statement. Both were important milestones in the development of CEMS, strengthening our shared vision and enhancing the strong position of CEMS.
How did your involvement with CEMS continue after your terms as NHH Rector?
After a couple of years outside CEMS, I very much appreciated the opportunity to return when the position as Academic Director at NHH became vacant in 2015. As a member of the Academic Committee, I have since had the pleasure of participating in many interesting and demanding task forces and sub-committees, mostly related to programme development. In addition, I would like to highlight the opportunity I had to be part of the governance task force back in 2017-18. Our mandate was to propose necessary and important revisions of the overall governance structure of CEMS, and I would claim that our recommendations have had a profound impact on the way CEMS works today. I have also participated in several CEMS Peer Reviews during my time as Academic Director, providing an excellent opportunity to learn more about how other CEMS schools operate.
What did hosting the 2024 CEMS Annual Events and Graduation in Bergen mean to you?
I had the privilege of chairing the organising committee for the Bergen Annual Events and soon realised that it was not only demanding — it was also very rewarding! After having worked closely with colleagues at NHH as well as in the CEMS Global Office on the planning and preparations over several years, the pleasure of welcoming the whole CEMS community to NHH and Bergen in December 2024 was overwhelming.
In the words of the CEMS community…
“For two decades, Jan Haaland has played an important role for the development of CEMS, both as an active member of the Strategic Board and as Academic Director. (...) CEMS Academic Committee benefitted from Jan’s skills and experience, and in particular his characteristic strengths: an enormous capacity for work, impressive attention to detail and — not least — a desire to ensure that everything that happens within the CEMS-brand is up to the highest standards possible.”
— Stig Tenold, CEMS Academic Director (former Vice Rector for Academic Affairs); Øystein Thøgersen (former Rector), and Astrid Foldal (Head of International Relations), NHH — Norwegian School of Economics.
