The European School of Management and Technology (ESMT Berlin) is Germany’s leading international business school. Founded in 2002 by 25 of Germany’s largest companies, the school aims to exert the influence of the world’s fourth-largest economy on global business.
In the 15 years since its founding, ESMT has consistently ranked as the country’s top business school and is now worldwide No. 8 in open executive education, according to The Financial Times. At the moment, the school offers three degree master’s programs: Master’s in Management, Master’s in Business Administration and Executive MBA Program.
Represented by more than 40 different nationalities, the school’s student body has grown more globalized. ESMT President and Managing Director Jorg Rocholl, an expert on Asian business, pointed out: “We’re now seeing more students from China and India because these students see that ESMT’s unique combination of business and technology programs cater to the business demands in their home countries.”
Recognizing Asia’s growing influence on the global economy, ESMT will open an office in Shanghai, its first branch in the region. The decision has not come as a surprise given the interest of Chinese companies in setting up shop in Germany, and vice versa.
“With trade valued at more than 170 billion euros per year, Germany’s trade with China is bigger than those between Germany and France and even between Germany and the U.S. We believe that by opening this branch, we can better reflect the growing strength of this relationship,” Rocholl said.
Germany’s strong economic performance, even in the midst of the euro crisis a few years ago, has gained the admiration of various Asian governments and companies, who want to know the workings of the German economy and how it has weathered global economic shocks.
“Opening a satellite campus in Shanghai answers a real need by German companies operating in Asia that are looking for top talent from Asian countries who have experienced Western-style business education. This is why we see ourselves not only as an institution that provides top notch technical and management education but also as a cultural bridge between Asia and Europe,” Rocholl said.
