A new experience in executive education

Yangos Hadjiyannis, CEO of CIM-Cyprus Business School, and Allison Wheeler-Héau, Director of Open Programmes at Cambridge Judge Business School (CJBS), explain how a new, exciting collaboration between the two institutions came about and what professionals in Cyprus and the broader region seeking further specialised development can expect from this prestigious pairing.

Your collaboration is considered a milestone for Cyprus’ education sector How did it come about?

Yangos Hadjiyannis: We are extremely proud and happy to have established our collaboration with the Cambridge Judge Business School. This long and difficult project took several years to materialise and it does, indeed, represent a milestone in Cyprus’ business education, since it is the first time that a university of the calibre of the University of Cambridge has entered any kind of collaboration with a Cypriot Institution of Higher Education. In 2019, our Board took a strategic decision to seek collaboration with one of the world’s leading Business Schools with regard to our Executive Education programmes. We approached a couple of them and held discussions but, in reality, my heart was committed to the CJBS at the University of Cambridge due to my affiliation with it as an alumnus. Initially, there was some reluctance on the part of CJBS, given Cyprus’ very small market but, after we gave a thorough presentation of the prospect of the island acting as the regional hub for the Eastern Mediterranean, we were able to reach agreement. I would use three keywords to characterise this collaboration: vision, commitment and resilience. From the outset, we had a clear vision of establishing CIM as the partner for groundbreaking Executive Education programmes in Cyprus and the region. We were committed to achieving our goal through a clear plan and building on our strong reputation as Cyprus’ leading Business School, and we were resilient during all the challenges we faced during the negotiations, enabling us to reach a successful conclusion. The first programme, on ‘Transformational Leadership’, will take place in December at the Four Seasons Hotel in Limassol. We have ambitious plans for the future but, in line with our long-held philosophy, we are taking careful steps and looking to the long term.

I would like to express our gratitude to the British High Commission to Cyprus for its wholehearted support for this project and its importance to business education in Cyprus, which also further enhances Cyprus-UK relations.

Which specific individuals and groups are the CJBS programmes aimed at and which programmes will be available through CIM?

Allison Wheeler-Héau: As a general rule, participants who join our Open programmes at the Cambridge Judge Business School are mid- to senior-level executives. They come from all over the world and wish to enrich their knowledge, interact with expert Faculty from the Business School and the wider University, and build their professional network. Their organisations represent a multitude of activity sectors and may be smaller entities as well as larger FTSE 100 companies. For our longer, residential flagship programmes, we have a stringent selection process, ensuring that participants are a homogenous group in terms of their seniority and objectives. On a typical three-week Advanced Leadership programme (for Managing Director and C-suite executives), we would usually welcome 12-15 nationalities. Our class sizes are deliberately kept small – no more than 30 people is a must – to ensure high exchange and debate.

Our collaboration with CIM will start with ‘Transformational Leadership’, one of our most popular shorter programmes. This highly rated programme is led by a seasoned Academic Programme Director, Professor Andreas Richter and, as the title suggests, it is designed to help individuals bring about change and have an impact on their organisation and their teams. We decided with Yangos that the collaboration should begin with a programme that represents a broad, popular topic and this seems to be a good fit. With CIM, we will hopefully be able to roll out more popular programmes from our portfolio in Cyprus, subject to this first one achieving high acclaim! We are delighted to start what we hope will be a long-term collaboration that benefits the region and its people.

In addition to Cypriots and others based in Cyprus, companies and individuals from the neighbouring region will also be able to participate in CJBS programmes through CIM. Can you tell us more about this aspect of the cooperation?

Y.H.: CJBS sees Cyprus as the regional hub for its Executive Education programmes and, in association with CIM, it can provide an ideal setup for attracting executives from the neighbouring region. Particular emphasis will be placed initially on Israel, Lebanon and Greece, with which Cyprus has very strong business ties. The idea is that, rather than having to go to the UK, executives from the region can easily travel to Limassol for a couple of days to attend the CJBS Executive Education programme. In this way they save on costs and time and can network with executives who face similar challenges. We have chosen one of Cyprus’ finest Hotels as the venue so that foreign participants have all the amenities and comfort they need to enjoy the programme to the maximum.

Admissions are handled directly by CJBS and the programme will be delivered by the same Cambridge team, so it is an equivalent experience in every way. Participants will also receive a Certificate of Attendance.

What role does technology play in making ongoing professional development possible, including through programmes such as those now being offered through your collaboration?

A.W-H.: Technology is playing an increasingly important part in our Open programmes, particularly since the pandemic when we had to pivot our programmes to a ‘live-online’ (synchronous) format. This worked well and we continue to run programmes in this format, enabling executives to sample a ‘Cambridge’ experience from across the globe. We also offer fully online programmes which have the same appeal. A ‘blended’ approach is very popular, since people do like coming to Cambridge and discovering the city as well as meeting the Faculty and their peers in person. We are introducing new technologies to a few programmes across the Open and Custom programmes, including immersive VR and Cambridge-developed simulations. Technology is evolving so fast and we need to keep pace, but we believe that it should underpin the programme only if it adds value to the learning experience.

What more can be done by the state and the private sector to continue to promote Cyprus as a regional educational hub?

Y.H.: Higher education in Cyprus has seen immense growth in the past 10 years and it now represents one of the fundamental pillars of the economy. However, Executive Education is still underdeveloped in Cyprus and this collaboration aims to provide a unique offering to Cypriot and international executives. With the Cyprus economy attracting more and more international companies, it is essential to provide opportunities for reskilling and upskilling at the highest level. The CIM-CJBS Executive Education collaboration is aligned perfectly with the Government’s goals to enhance the skills of the labour force and we are very appreciative of the fact that the Government fully supports our collaboration.

What do you consider to be the main benefits of ongoing professional development?

A.W-H.: Lifelong learning feeds the curious mind. We believe that. in the ever-changing world around us, one can never stand still. People need to evolve, along with their organisations, so learning new skills, updating professional skills and simply exchanging views and ideas with peers in a lively classroom with expert Faculty is a way of challenging previous ways of doing things. Stepping away from the treadmill and immersing oneself in a city like Cambridge, which is so conducive to learning, is a marvellous way to refresh one’s thinking, be energised and, importantly, devote time to oneself! Participating in (not simply attending) a stellar Executive Education programme is also a great opportunity to expand one’s professional network – what better way to test ideas and get feedback! To develop and empower a team, as well as to retain talent via ongoing professional development, seems to be a win-win situation to us. Similarly, our Faculty revel in great debate and lively classes, which keep them on their toes and enhance their research.

(Thanks to Serious Black Coffee, where the photo was taken)

This Special Feature first appeared in the June edition of GOLD magazine. Click here to view it.