The International Partnership of Business Schools (IPBS) held its annual conference on the Reims Campus from October 8-11. The 13 European Schools, members of the consortium, were present, including NEOMA BS through its historic CESEM partnership.

After two days of small committee meetings, the various stakeholders were invited to take part in two days of intensive reflection on October 10 and 11. Delphine MANCEAU set the conference in motion by thanking all the participants for their presence and by congratulating IPBS on its 40th anniversary. Alain GOUDEY, Director of Digital Transformation at NEOMA BS, added an extra dimension to the proceedings by presenting Humanroads, a new  networking resource for students.

The conference participants were then divided up according to their field of activity. A further opportunity to discuss the latest news and development prospects for each department. Deans, Programme directors, Department heads and career service managers were able to express their points of view and offer their analysis of future developments. Alain GOUDEY was also given a further opportunity to demonstrate the virtual reality cases developed within the School to a highly appreciative audience. Finally, the partners who were present spoke to some of the  students currently studying at NEOMA BS. This led to a number of discussions about work, employability and the problem of finding internships, within the context of identifying potential synergies for potential joint projects.
 
On Thursday evening, a gala dinner was held in the city of Reims. Benjamin DEVELEY, Deputy Mayor in charge of international and European relations, was present to express his joy at seeing such a delegation in the region. An excellent opportunity to showcase the wealth of the city's tourist and economic attractions.
 
On Friday, after a final session of talks, the 4-day conference concluded with the IPBS General Assembly. This was an important moment that saw the re-election of the bureau. Thus, alongside the new president Andrew Gaudes, Céline Davesne, Associate Dean for Programmes, NEOMA was named consortium vice-president.

International Partnership of Business Schools Bureau members
President: Andrew Gaudes, Dean of Brock University (Canada)
Vice-President: Céline Davesne, Associate Dean for Programmes, NEOMA BS (France)
Treasurer: M. Binden, Professor, ESB Business School (Reutlingen University – Germany)
Secretary General: Ingrid Kirschning - Dean for Global Education (Universidad de las Américas Puebla – Mexico)