A Decade of Educational Partnership—Boston University and Universidad CEU San Pablo, Madrid
Commemoration planned in Madrid for March 2016
Boston, February 22, 2016—This year marks the tenth anniversary of a successful educational partnership between Boston University’s Metropolitan College (MET) and Universidad CEU San Pablo in Madrid, Spain. Over the past decade, more than 200 students have completed the CEU–Boston University course of study, earning a bachelor’s degree from CEU and an International Business Certificate from Boston University. The schools will celebrate the milestone in Madrid this March.
MET International, the global outreach office for BU’s Metropolitan College, has forged innovative educational partnerships with outstanding academic institutions across the globe since 2001. The mutual benefits are indisputable, bringing diverse insights, customs, and traditions to MET classrooms in Boston and providing foreign partner students with exceptional preparation for the global business environment through study abroad at BU.
MET International and MET’s Department of Administrative Sciences formed the partnership with CEU in 2006, ensuring that students in CEU’s bilingual programs could increase their chances of success in the global job market by completing a study abroad experience in Boston, Mass. Intensive modules taught in English by Administrative Sciences faculty on CEU’s Madrid campus help students hone skills in presentation, teamwork, and leadership. Participants then spend a semester abroad at Boston University gaining practical expertise in specialized business areas such as international marketing management, project management, innovation, e-commerce, or finance (among others), while continuing to advance their English-language skills. Upon completion of their studies at BU and CEU, students graduate with a bachelor’s degree from CEU San Pablo and are awarded BU’s International Business Certificate (IBC).
“Our partnership with CEU is one of our most successful and creative international collaborations,” says MET Dean Tanya Zlateva. “Spearheaded by Professor Kip Becker, it was designed as an integral part of the curriculum for both CEU and Administrative Sciences. For ten years, the CEU students had the opportunity to immerse themselves in the Boston University learning experience and, through their presence, enrich our classes with an international perspective.”
Kip Becker, BU associate professor and director of international academic initiatives, says, “Aside from the benefits to students, the program engages faculty. Six Administrative Sciences faculty travel abroad to CEU to teach modules each year. In turn, the former dean of CEU’s School of Business and Economics spent a summer at BU conducting research, and an assistant professor from the School of Humanities and Communication Sciences has been teaching at BU during the past two summers, even serving as an online facilitator to one of our online courses.”
Alumni from the program have been recruited by prestigious companies such as Deloitte, El Corte Inglés, NH Hoteles, PwC, Volkswagen, Banco Santander, and Ernst and Young, among others.
“I am extremely happy to have been a part of this successful program over all these years,” says Neus Codina, director of BU’s MET International. “We have the opportunity to meet former students during the Module week and they keep amazing me with their stories of success not only in Spain but around the world. They are accomplished professionals and that is a source of pride for all of us involved in this program.”
To mark the anniversary of the program’s inception, CEU has organized a special celebration on Thursday, March 10, at 7 p.m. Hosted in CEU’s newly renovated School of Business and Economics on the Moncloa Campus in central Madrid, the event will include students, alumni, a representative of the U.S. Embassy in Spain, MET Dean Tanya Zlateva, BU faculty and administrators, CEU professors, and a broad range of friends of the program.
About Boston University’s Metropolitan College
Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized institution of higher education and research. With more than 32,500 students, it is the fourth-largest independent university in the United States. BU consists of 17 schools and colleges, along with a number of multidisciplinary centers and institutes integral to the University’s research and teaching mission.
As one of those colleges, Metropolitan College offers more than 70 part-time undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs in a flexible learning environment that supports the academic, professional, and intellectual needs of working adults. For half a century, the Metropolitan College mission has been to broaden the reach of BU—ensuring that the resources of a leading research university are accessible to the community and the world via part-time study during the evening or through innovative online and blended programs. For more information, visit bu.edu/met.
MET International forges strategic alliances with educational partners worldwide to provide programs that offer industry-leading academic models, as well as access to the Boston University experience—exclusively for students from partner institutions. Visit bu.edu/metinternational.