How Is Going to Business School in Europe Different in 2021?
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When the COVID-19 pandemic first disrupted business education, business schools in Europe shifted rapidly online.
Classes were delivered by professors who overnight went from delivering lectures to students at the front of a lecture hall to delivering them from kitchens, bedrooms, and home offices around the world.
Socializing became virtual, as did career networking events and company talks and presentations.
Now, over a year on from the coronavirus outbreak in Europe, vaccine rollouts give some hope that we’ll see the end of the most severe social distancing restrictions in 2021 and some students are beginning to return to campus.
But going to business school in Europe this Spring is different to how it was pre-pandemic.
Health and safety
Marta Escardó, executive director of the MBA program at IESE Business School in Barcelona, explains that strict health and safety protocols mean students have been able to be on campus since June 2020, and are currently taking classes in person.
Everyone is tested before each semester and while on campus they fill in a daily health questionnaire, which checks for any signs of COVID-19. There are also daily temperature checks. The questionnaire is linked to a QR code students use to access campus buildings.
Masks are also mandatory in all places on campus. There are longer breaks between classes to allow for disinfecting, and there are Perspex sheets between each seat.
There’s also compulsory social distancing and mask wearing at all times at INSEAD’s campus in Fontainebleau, France. Monique van Donzel is the director of the COVID-19 Joint Operations Team at the school.
“The government has allowed universities and higher education institutions to operate in person provided no more than 20 percent of the maximum capacity of campus are on campus at any one time,” she explains—each classroom can operate at 50 percent capacity max.
INSEAD also has onsite PCR tests for students, faculty, and staff. They’re required to have one test every seven days. Students’ information is linked to a badge they carry with them that provides access to campus—anyone who tests positive or is a close contact to a positive case has their badge deactivated.
Teaching during a pandemic
Katja Boytler, global director for student life at INSEAD, says that the school is opting for in person communication and learning. It’s the same at IESE. The school has the infrastructure to deliver all classes online for those that have a valid reason not to attend, but Marta explains all classes are expected to be attended in person.
Students are also taking part in group work—in line with social distancing and regulation around the number of people allowed in any one space—and companies are still coming in to present and talk to students.
A rise in cases and government restrictions mean Mannheim Business School is currently running a 100 percent online teaching model. So too are Copenhagen Business School and BI Norwegian Business School.
“It has required a lot from students in terms of being mentally stable throughout this time, and this is something students haven’t experienced before,” says Andreas Rasche, associate dean of Copenhagen’s Full-Time MBA.
Despite some schools losing the physical aspect of teaching, there are positives. “I think there is maybe a higher degree of self-awareness,” Andreas explains. “From a leadership perspective there is a positive element to this as students are being challenged.”
Nik Sachteleben, a current Master in Management student at Mannheim, says that although everything is online, learning hasn’t been impacted too heavily.
“All classes where it’s important to interact and carry out group work and discuss case studies still happen on Zoom,” he says.
Networking and socializing
Florian Stahl, the academic director for the Mannheim Master in Management Analytics makes everyone who joins an online breakout room connect with each other on LinkedIn.
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Mannheim Forum—a school-wide business forum with company guest speakers and discussions — still took place in 2021. Q Summit, a conference for entrepreneurship and innovation organized by students is still taking place too, virtually.
At IESE, the MBA program’s global leadership series usually invites guest speakers to campus. In 2021 Marta explains that by shifting the series online the school has attracted more speakers, as the logistical problems caused by travel to Barcelona have been removed.
Students have heard from the CEO of HP, as well as the person responsible for IKEA online. “We used to have maybe 10 speakers a year, now we’re having one every two weeks,” says Marta.
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At INSEAD, Katja says the school is encouraging the use of Mystery Minds, a German startup that offers randomized virtual one-on-one networking chats.
Recruiting for business school in 2021
Mannheim’s Nik says that he knows of companies reaching out to students on LinkedIn. There are also student organized conferences with the option to connect with company representatives.
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Nik also took part in a virtual workshop with a consulting firm in Germany in early March 2020. “We talked about the projects the company was working on, talked about career opportunities and internships,” he says.
“It’s really important that students, companies, and universities make the effort, and I can really see that everyone is putting in their best effort there.”
Want more insight into attending business school in a post-pandemic world? Read more on how business schools around the world have pivoted to teach the skills most essential for the post-COVID world.