Gimme Some Leuven
Feidhlim Boyle
Issue date: 4/27/01 Section: Features
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Over spring break, 25 JGSM students along with Harriet Peters and Professor Jan Katz traveled to Belgium for an intensive one-week residential course called "Doing Business in Europe". We were based in Leuven, a small Dutch-speaking college town about twenty miles east of Brussels, home to the oldest catholic university in the world, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, founded in 1425. From this illustrious past, the University has developed into one of the premier universities in Europe, including a business school founded in 1898.
The “Doing Business in Europe” course consisted of a number of lectures each morning and visits to manufacturing plants and companies throughout Belgium in the afternoon. Classes covered European corporate governance, developments in the economies of Eastern Europe and aspects of Internet commerce regulation in Europe. Professor De Grouse, a Belgian MP, addressed the under-valuation of the Euro and elucidated the European Central Bank's goal of less than 2% inflation to lead to price stability. He also pointed to the notion of the framing of perceptions as a way to explain the 20% decline in the Euro relative to the U.S. dollar. A lecture on the EU's macro policies pointed to the relative immobility of labor within Europe despite the EU's elimination of barriers. Professor Blanpain's discussion of the political necessity of further EU enlargement despite its economic problems was also very interesting. As a leading Belgian member of the international football body, his insight into the Bosman football transfer fee case was fascinating. In this way, mornings were passed with the much-anticipated lunch buffet of smoked salmon, prosciutto, shrimp and other delectables setting the stage for an afternoon bus ride and company tour.
The company tours of Belgian businesses provided the opportunity to take in the towns of Bruges and Ghent, and the bus rides to and from the plants were a chance to catch up on needed sleep. Professor Vanthienen, Director of the Leuven Graduate School of Business Studies, described to us the close relationship between Cornell and KU Leuven and the number of students and faculty that have been enriched by spending time at the other institution. Our first plant tour was Leuven's own Interbrew, the makers of Stella Artois beer. The modern brewery was massive, as it would have to be to supply the Belgians, who per capita consume one hundred and fifty liters of beer annually. Yes, before you ask, US Stella is the same as in Europe. Tuesday's tour of Janssen Pharmaceutical, a division of Johnson & Johnson, enlightened us with a discussion on global currency management and their uses of derivatives. The third tour was the LVD Group, where the second-generation CEO of this family-owned company gave us an informative talk touching on many aspects of business in Europe from corporate strategy to labor relations. The fourth tour, of Barco, was an eerie flashback to the core classes of last year. Barco is alive and well in Belgium, and treated the group to a showing of their display and projection systems. A clip from Gladiator provided the fodder for an awesome display of BARCO's newest entertainment systems. As Harriet Peters pointed out: "All professors and corporate representatives commented on the high level of interest and involvement of the students. Serious, meaningful questions prompted dialogue and discussion."
The “Doing Business in Europe” course consisted of a number of lectures each morning and visits to manufacturing plants and companies throughout Belgium in the afternoon. Classes covered European corporate governance, developments in the economies of Eastern Europe and aspects of Internet commerce regulation in Europe. Professor De Grouse, a Belgian MP, addressed the under-valuation of the Euro and elucidated the European Central Bank's goal of less than 2% inflation to lead to price stability. He also pointed to the notion of the framing of perceptions as a way to explain the 20% decline in the Euro relative to the U.S. dollar. A lecture on the EU's macro policies pointed to the relative immobility of labor within Europe despite the EU's elimination of barriers. Professor Blanpain's discussion of the political necessity of further EU enlargement despite its economic problems was also very interesting. As a leading Belgian member of the international football body, his insight into the Bosman football transfer fee case was fascinating. In this way, mornings were passed with the much-anticipated lunch buffet of smoked salmon, prosciutto, shrimp and other delectables setting the stage for an afternoon bus ride and company tour.
The company tours of Belgian businesses provided the opportunity to take in the towns of Bruges and Ghent, and the bus rides to and from the plants were a chance to catch up on needed sleep. Professor Vanthienen, Director of the Leuven Graduate School of Business Studies, described to us the close relationship between Cornell and KU Leuven and the number of students and faculty that have been enriched by spending time at the other institution. Our first plant tour was Leuven's own Interbrew, the makers of Stella Artois beer. The modern brewery was massive, as it would have to be to supply the Belgians, who per capita consume one hundred and fifty liters of beer annually. Yes, before you ask, US Stella is the same as in Europe. Tuesday's tour of Janssen Pharmaceutical, a division of Johnson & Johnson, enlightened us with a discussion on global currency management and their uses of derivatives. The third tour was the LVD Group, where the second-generation CEO of this family-owned company gave us an informative talk touching on many aspects of business in Europe from corporate strategy to labor relations. The fourth tour, of Barco, was an eerie flashback to the core classes of last year. Barco is alive and well in Belgium, and treated the group to a showing of their display and projection systems. A clip from Gladiator provided the fodder for an awesome display of BARCO's newest entertainment systems. As Harriet Peters pointed out: "All professors and corporate representatives commented on the high level of interest and involvement of the students. Serious, meaningful questions prompted dialogue and discussion."