The mentoring programme has mutual benefits, says Alumni Relations Manager Jennifer Ritfeld. “Alumni can enhance their own leadership and coaching skills as well as discover new ideas from RSM students. All it takes is the willingness to volunteer a little time,” she says. “The programme helps to establish a warm and dynamic bond between the RSM student community and RSM alumni.”

Mentoring has been described as a process that sits somewhere between coaching and facilitating a person to grow, and advising. Through meetings, video chats, or phone calls with their mentors, students are supported through the challenges of study and career choices. For alumni, mentoring through the RSM-MentorMe programme also offers an extended network of international young and talented people from a variety of backgrounds, and an opportunity to give back to the school.

“Mentors can talk about their own experiences, describe their daily practices or what it’s like to work in their companies, as well as enabling the mentees to find their own solutions and make their own choices, move out of their comfort zone, and to have an attitude that enables them to achieve more in life.

“Mentors can ‘open the eyes’ of their mentees, challenge them and make sure that they really learn from the mentoring relationship,” said Jennifer Ritfeld. Guidelines and suggestions for mentoring sessions are available for those willing to try, she added.

Mentors can find out more and register now for the session that begins in October 2013 at http://rsm.mentorme.nl. Students can also register now for the October-February mentoring period.

The pilot scheme involves matching bachelor and master students to RSM alumni who graduated from RSM master and bachelor programmes in the past. Mentors included those who studied international management, entrepreneurship, finance and investment, global business, innovation, marketing management, strategic management, supply chain management and business administration.

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is ranked amongst Europe’s top 10 business schools for education and amongst the top three for research. Based in the international port city of Rotterdam - a vital nexus of business, logistics and trade - it provides ground-breaking research and education furthering excellence in all aspects of management. RSM’s primary focus is on developing business leaders with international careers who carry innovative ideas into a sustainable future thanks to a first-class range of bachelor, masters, MBA, PhD and executive programmes. RSM’s executive education and alumni support services are also offered from its office in the Amsterdam Zuidas business district. www.rsm.nl

For more information on RSM or on this release, please contact Marianne Schouten, Media & Public Relations Manager for RSM, on +31 10 408 2877 or by email at mschouten@remove-this.rsm.nl.

As well as these and other features, you’ll find news (including a profusion of new international accolades for the school), more inspiring alumni, and a feature on the re-opening of our new-look campus at the start of its Centennial celebrations in September. We also look ahead to the autumn Leadership Summit, and include a wide variety of forthcoming events and a full calendar of life-long learning opportunities. Happy reading – and happy holidays!

All RSM alumni should receive a free copy by mail. Make sure you receive yours by staying connected. Keep your details updated on the alumni database; see here for more details.

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is ranked amongst Europe’s top 10 business schools for education and amongst the top three for research. Based in the international port city of Rotterdam - a vital nexus of business, logistics and trade - it provides ground-breaking research and education furthering excellence in all aspects of management. RSM’s primary focus is on developing business leaders with international careers who carry innovative ideas into a sustainable future thanks to a first-class range of bachelor, masters, MBA, PhD and executive programmes. RSM’s executive education and alumni support services are also offered from its office in the Amsterdam Zuidas business district. www.rsm.nl

For more information on RSM or on this release, please contact Marianne Schouten, Media & Public Relations Manager for RSM, on +31 10 408 2877 or by email at mschouten@remove-this.rsm.nl.

With the ‘I WILL Keep RSM Running Strong!’ motto, the annual RSM-wide team effort strengthened the RSM community. At the 2013 ABN AMRO Marathon Rotterdam, 35 RSM participants ran five kilometres on Saturday 13 April. The following day, 107 RSM runners participated in the 10km run and an impressive number of 27 RSM runners completed the full marathon.

The fastest RSM runner to complete the marathon was Peter van den Berg, an MScBA in Strategic Management alumnus. He ran the 42.2 km in 3:36:09. Daniel Schlee, an RSM bachelor student, was the quickest RSM runner in the 10km run, which he completed in 38 minutes and 27 seconds. The fastest RSM runner in the 5km run was faculty member Henk de Vries, who reached the 5 km finish line in 22:49 minutes.

“The pain I feel right now is crazy,” says Daniel Vargas Fernandez, MBA student and co-leader of RSM’s chapter of the global Net Impact community, who participated in the marathon. “The only part of my body that doesn’t hurt is my heart, which is full of pride and love. I am grateful that my MBA at RSM is allowing me to do so many cool things besides just studying at the university, such as the Nespresso challenge and now the marathon. I just love it!”

In total, 8327 runners completed the marathon in Rotterdam. The 10km run was completed by 9714 runners, and 1563 completed the 5km run. It was the 33^rd time the Marathon Rotterdam took place.

All runners were offered a closing dinner in the presence of RSM’s Dean Steef van de Velde on Tuesday 16 April. Unfortunately, Van de Velde and the Director of the Erasmus Sports Centre weren’t able to participate in this year’s marathon due to business obligations abroad.

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is ranked amongst Europe’s top 10 business schools for education and amongst the top three for research. Based in the international port city of Rotterdam - a vital nexus of business, logistics and trade - it provides ground-breaking research and education furthering excellence in all aspects of management. RSM’s primary focus is on developing business leaders with international careers who carry innovative ideas into a sustainable future thanks to a first-class range of bachelor, masters, MBA, PhD and executive programmes. RSM’s executive education and alumni support services are also offered from its office in the Amsterdam Zuidas business district.

For more information on RSM or on this release, please contact Marianne Schouten, Media & Public Relations Manager for RSM, on +31 (0) 10 408 2877 or by email at mschouten@remove-this.rsm.nl.

The articles in this management-inspiring issue of RSM Insight:

• A profile of SCOPE, RSM’s internationally recognised Centre of Expertise for International Business and Sustainable Development, and an interview with its highly respected Scientific Director, Prof. Rob van Tulder.
• The value of cross-industry innovation for businesses, and the three critical factors essential for success in technology-driven projects.
• How private label supermarket brands are causing multi-national FMCG companies to rethink and reinvent their in-store marketing and branding strategies.
• Why fair rules along with the effective empowerment of employees and other management techniques needs to be harmonised if leaders want to help improve Organisational Citizenship Behaviour within their companies.
• What effect do ‘blockholders’ – relational investors such as labour institutions –have on the corporate governance policies of publicly traded companies in Europe that do not follow the Anglo-Saxon model of institutional share ownership?
• When management buy-outs of listed firms are mounted, should third-party investors be involved? If so, can senior managers expect them to bring more to the deal than just their private equity backing?

RSM Insight is available for free download as a pdf here. All issues of RSM Insight are available here.

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is ranked amongst Europe’s top 10 business schools for education and amongst the top three for research. Based in the international port city of Rotterdam - a vital nexus of business, logistics and trade - it provides ground-breaking research and education furthering excellence in all aspects of management. RSM’s primary focus is on developing business leaders with international careers who carry innovative ideas into a sustainable future thanks to a first-class range of bachelor, masters, MBA, PhD and executive programmes. RSM’s executive education and alumni support services are also offered from its office in the Amsterdam Zuidas business district.

For more information on RSM or on this release, please contact Marianne Schouten, Media & Public Relations Manager for RSM, on +31 10 408 2877 or by email at mschouten@remove-this.rsm.nl.

The campaign takes place around the time of the anniversary of the Kyoto Protocol. The international agreement, which came into force in February 2005, is aimed at reducing the global emissions of greenhouse gases, which cause climate change. Forty per cent of the Netherlands’ total heat consumption is used in its built environment. People all over the Netherlands have been asked to turn down their central heating and wear warm sweaters.

Across the whole EUR campus, including RSM, the central heating has been turned down by one degree Celsius, using seven per cent less energy than on an average winter day. The university is also reducing its CO₂ emissions by seven per cent.

“Practices like this illustrate that individuals can make a difference in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,” says Joey Johannsen, Sustainability Co-ordinator at RSM. “The cumulative gain is worth the effort.”

Johannsen says this collective effort requires less energy from the power plant. “It’s a cost savings with less impact on the environment overall. It’s a win-win situation.”

Steef van der Velde, Dean at RSM, sent out a message to encourage RSM’s students, faculty and staff to take part in the campaign by wearing warm clothes on 8 February. RSM also used social media channels, such as Facebook and Twitter, to reach students’ attention.

“There is a huge potential for saving energy,” says Van der Velde. “I’m wearing my RSM sweater today.”

Kyoto Protocol’s anniversary was also recognised in Canada, where Sweater Day was held on 7 February.

Sustainability at RSM

RSM ranked fifth amongst 82 business schools worldwide in January 2013 in Bloomberg Businessweek. MBA graduates from the Class of 2012 expressed their business school experiences in an online survey conducted by the magazine. All other MBAs in Bloomberg Businessweek’s top 10 specialty ranking for sustainability are programmes at US-based business schools.

RSM aims to reduce its environmental footprint with school-wide initiative Sustainable RSM, which all students can join. In addition to optional electives, RSM’s MBA programmes integrate sustainability into every functional business area of the curriculum.

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is ranked amongst Europe’s top 10 business schools for education and amongst the top three for research. Based in the international port city of Rotterdam - a vital nexus of business, logistics and trade - it provides ground-breaking research and education furthering excellence in all aspects of management. RSM’s primary focus is on developing business leaders with international careers who carry innovative ideas into a sustainable future thanks to a first-class range of bachelor, masters, MBA, PhD and executive programmes. RSM’s executive education and alumni support services are also offered from its office in the Amsterdam Zuidas business district. www.rsm.nl 

For more information on RSM or on this release, please contact Marianne Schouten, Media & Public Relations Manager for RSM, on +31 10 408 2877 or by email at mschouten@rsm.nl. 

RSM’s MBA programmes are the only ones outside of the USA to reach the top 10, classifying them as the highest European MBAs for sustainable business programmes in Bloomberg Businessweek’s 2012 ranking.

“This outcome reinforces what we breathe and believe at RSM. Sustainability is an integral part of our business school as a whole and our MBA programmes in particular,” says Dianne Bevelander, Associate Dean of MBA programmes at RSM. Sustainability is one of the RSM’s four core values, which also include innovation, critical thinking and spirit.

“We believe in integrating environmental, social and governance issues into our curriculum and have always taught stakeholder management. This part of the ranking is based on student input. This is great confirmation that we truly implement this philosophy in everything we do at RSM,” adds Bevelander.

Sustainable RSM

RSM’s growing school-wide initiative Sustainable RSM aims to reduce the school’s environmental footprint. Students gain the skills that economists and business leaders seek in order to meet the needs of the new world economy, including how to exploit these opportunities to bring about greater returns for business.

Bloomberg Businessweek’s entire MBA ranking of the 82 ranked schools in each of the nine specialty areas, such as diversity and e-business, will be published over the next few weeks.

In Bloomberg Businessweek’s overall business school ranking in 2012, RSM has entered the top 20. Each business school is ranked on how it fares on each element of Bloomberg Businessweek’s ranking methodology, which is based on student and employer surveys, and intellectual capital measure. The weighted total of all three elements are represented in the results of the 2012 rank.

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is ranked amongst Europe’s top 10 business schools for education and amongst the top three for research. RSM provides ground-breaking research and education furthering excellence in all aspects of management and is based in the international port city of Rotterdam - a vital nexus of business, logistics and trade. RSM’s primary focus is on developing business leaders with international careers who carry their innovative mindset into a sustainable future thanks to a first-class range of bachelor, master, MBA, PhD and executive programmes. RSM’s executive education and alumni support services are also offered from its office in the Amsterdam Zuidas business district. www.rsm.nl

For more information on RSM or on this release, please contact Marianne Schouten, Media & Public Relations Manager for RSM, on +31 10 408 2877 or by email at mschouten@remove-this.rsm.nl.

AACSB Accreditation is the hallmark of excellence in business education, and has been earned by less than five per cent of the world's business programmes. Today, there are more than 650 business schools in 45 countries and territories that maintain AACSB accreditation.

Founded in 1916, AACSB International is an association of more than 1,300 educational institutions, businesses, and other organisations across 81 countries and territories. It’s the longest serving global accrediting body for business schools offering undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees in business and accounting. AACSB's mission is to advance quality management education worldwide through accreditation, thought leadership and value-added services.

As the premier accreditation body for institutions offering undergraduate, master's, and doctorate degrees in business and accounting, AACSB International also conducts a wide array of conferences and seminar programmes at locations throughout the world. The association’s global headquarters are located in Tampa, Florida, USA, and its Asia Pacific headquarters are in Singapore.

“It takes a great deal of commitment and determination to earn and maintain AACSB Accreditation,” said Robert D. Reid, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB International. “Business schools must not only meet specific standards of excellence, but their deans, faculty and professional staff must make a commitment to continuous improvement to ensure that the institution will continue to deliver the highest quality of education to students.”

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is ranked amongst Europe’s top 10 business schools for education and amongst the top three for research. RSM provides ground-breaking research and education furthering excellence in all aspects of management and is based in the international port city of Rotterdam - a vital nexus of business, logistics and trade. RSM’s primary focus is on developing business leaders with international careers who carry their innovative mindset into a sustainable future thanks to a first-class range of bachelor, master, MBA, PhD and executive programmes. RSM’s executive education and alumni support services are also offered from its office in the Amsterdam Zuidas business district. www.rsm.nl

For more information on RSM or on this release, please contact Marianne Schouten, Media & Public Relations Manager for RSM, on +31 10 408 2877 or by email at mschouten@remove-this.rsm.nl.

Prof. Whiteman is the Director of the Erasmus Centre for Corporate Eco-Transformation and holds the ECORYS/NEI Sustainability and Climate Change Chair at RSM. As one of the world’s most prominent scholars in the area of sustainability, climate change and management, she has taken part in many such events.     

Gail Whiteman: ‘A different sort of conference’

But in her official opening of ‘Our Moving Borders’ Prof. Whiteman said “This is a different sort of conference.” In addition to the hands-on aspects of the conference, which included some 175  participants engaging in work groups focused on solving various ‘earth based’ dilemmas that need urgent attention,  the day included the ‘moving borders’ enabled by social media:  students from universities in Egypt, Afghanistan, and the EU tweeted questions and observations during the opening and closing plenaries.  

VIP Panel Theme

The VIP Panels (opening and closing plenaries) addressed the following main theme:

“The challenges of our time require breaking down barriers between corporations, governments, NGOs and citizens to create new perspectives and scale-up action. This is not just another conference. We need to move forward boldly in collaborative action. What gives us the courage to act? What is our vision for the world after the end of the Mayan Calendar? What can we do together now to meet these goals?”

Moving Hearts as well as Borders

In its form, the conference ‘moved borders’ from the very start; the soulful notes of a live cello helped move the conference attendees into the Erasmus Forumzaal, where they were welcomed by Prof. dr. ing Teun Hardjono, RSM Professor and CEO of the CSR Academy, who noted that the Earth Charter can function as a moral compass in a world where ethical dilemmas abound.  He was followed by Julie Scott of the CSR Academy, who led the audience in a brief meditation before the opening plenary was introduced by Gail Whiteman.   

As the first plenary panel member to be introduced, Pauline van der Meer Mohr, President of the EUR Executive Board, said “You won’t get  a traditional welcome speech from me – instead I will read a story...a true story, one of my favourites.”  She read ‘Are There Any Questions?’ by Robert Fulghum. The story addresses the meaning of life.

Opening VIP Panel Plenary       

After President Van der Meer Mohr’s moving welcome, Agnes Dinkelman of the CSR Academy presented a tulip bulb – representing the ongoing growth of the Earth Charter – to panel member Ruud Lubbers, former Prime Minister of the Netherlands and one of the original drafters of the Earth Charter.  Mr. Lubbers was followed by Peter Bakker, President of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and former CEO of TNT, who said: “If we want to change the world, we need to get into action. This is not incremental change; only through radical transformation are we going to make it.”

Adding international perspective to the opening plenary panel were Richard Yeboah of the African Young Professional Network, who encouraged the audience to take responsibility as both professionals and citizens;  and Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the Netherlands Buddhi Athauda, who – inspired by Pauline van der Meer Mohr – shared a story on the Sri Lankan way of living which is sustainable in its essence.

The audience broke into eight working groups after the opening plenary. Topics varied from ‘Lessons Identified: military, business & NGOs’, to ‘How can young professionals contribute to a changing Africa?’.

Closing VIP Panel Plenary

The audience reconvened after 90 minutes spent in their working groups, ready to hear from keynote speakers and international participants in the closing plenary:  various speakers via video from Cairo’s Heliopolis University, Twitter contributions from Afghanistan, Alexandra van Huffelen (Alderman City of Rotterdam), Alide Roerink (Earth Charter International), Lucas Simons (NewForesight), and Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp (Earth Charter International). Guus Balkema, RSM MSc Alumnus and  Director of Business Development and Organisation for CSR Academy, invited audience members to stay engaged by connecting in January 2013 at a follow-up meeting.

A day of renewal, not the end of the world

Prof. Whiteman thanked the panel and described the end of the Mayan Calendar as a sort of ‘reset’ button. “This coming Friday (21 December 2012) is the date the Mayans thought the world would start again – and I think it is definitely a day of renewal.  On Friday I’m going to be thinking about what a day of renewal means, and what we are going to do in 2013. I wish you success and joy and sustainability next year.”

The day’s events wrapped with a performance from the Dutch choir Zingen Voor Je Leven, comprised of those who are living with cancer. In introducing the group, Agnes Dinkelman of CSR said that they represented what the day’s events, and the Earth Charter, stand for:  quality of life.

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is ranked amongst Europe’s top 10 business schools for education and amongst the top three for research. RSM provides ground-breaking research and education furthering excellence in all aspects of management and is based in the international port city of Rotterdam - a vital nexus of business, logistics and trade. RSM’s primary focus is on developing business leaders with international careers who carry their innovative mindset into a sustainable future thanks to a first-class range of bachelor, master, MBA, PhD and executive programmes. RSM’s executive education and alumni support services are also offered from its office in the Amsterdam Zuidas business district. www.rsm.nl

For more information on RSM or on this release, please contact Marianne Schouten, Media & Public Relations Manager for RSM, on +31 10 408 2877 or by email at mschouten@remove-this.rsm.nl. 

During the last year and a half, Europe’s leading business schools have been working with the European Commission and Senior Executive Women to produce a Call to Action (05 December 2011) Selection Criteria Guidelines and a growing list of now more than 8000 Board Ready Women (07 March 2012 and 19 June 2012).  This list of 8000 Board Ready Women is currently being migrated into the Global Board Ready Women searchable database.

The "Global Board Ready Women" searchable database list and forum will be administered by the Financial Times Non-Executive Directors’ Club on the global business platform, LinkedIn. The Group consists of women who already serve on a board or who are ready to take on a new mandate.  All women listed in the Global Board Ready Women (GBRW) searchable database are suitable to be considered for publicly listed company board-level positions and meet a clear set of criteria as developed and defined over the last year and a half by the organization members of the European Business Schools/Women on Board initiative (see below).

In addition, the European Business Schools/Women on Board initiative has arranged for each of the individuals selected for the Global Board Ready Women (GBRW) searchable database to be linked with BoardEx ‘s Profiles and to access BoardEx’s database of more than 500,000 corporations and companies.

Lesley Stephenson, Publisher of the FT Non Executive Directors’ Club and member of the European Business Schools/Women on Board initiative commented that the “Global Board Ready Women group launched today will provide executive search firms, companies and investors and those looking to make board appointments with a list of board qualified women. Women in the Group can ensure that their profiles and experience are kept up to date while companies and recruiters can easily search and identify those candidates whose experience most closely match their requirements and contact them directly.”

Sherry Coutu, herself Member of the Advisory Board of LinkedIn commented, "I'm extremely pleased to be part of this initiative to identify and promote the profiles of the board-ready women in the quest for a more transparent and balanced corporate governance. LinkedIn is the perfect platform for this Global Board Ready Women searchable database".

European Commission Vice President Reding commented, “I am confident that the establishment of this Global Board Ready Women (GBRW) searchable data base by the European Business Schools/Women on Board initiative will remove the last barriers to creating a true global corporate governance for the 21st century and a level-playing field for all stakeholders enabling Europe’s publicly quoted corporations and executive search firms to access all talent, regardless of gender and make board appointments with a list of board-qualified women.”

GBRW Selection Criteria
Every application to this closed group is formally assessed and reviewed and only those women who meet the criteria below are accepted.  Those participating Business Schools and Professional organizations have applied the same criteria for their participating Alumnae and Members.

All women on the list must have at least 5 years’ experience in 1 or more of the following roles:

• Chair and/or NED of listed/private corporations
• CEO, COO, CFO or other C-suite exec/director level in listed/private corporations
• Family member and controlling shareholder of boards of large family companies
• Director of government agencies
• Director of non-profit orgs
• Institutional investment community senior professional
• Professional firms senior partner serving boards and their committees as clients
• University Professor, Dean, Faculty
• Entrepreneur

A list of business schools and other professional groups supporting this initiative is here: http://www.uploadlibrary.com/nonexecs/GBRW.Groups.list.amended.pdf

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is ranked amongst Europe’s top 10 business schools for education and amongst the top three for research. RSM provides ground-breaking research and education furthering excellence in all aspects of management and is based in the international port city of Rotterdam - a vital nexus of business, logistics and trade. RSM’s primary focus is on developing business leaders with international careers who carry their innovative mindset into a sustainable future thanks to a first-class range of bachelor, master, MBA, PhD and executive programmes. RSM’s executive education and alumni support services are also offered from its office in the Amsterdam Zuidas business district. www.rsm.nl

For more information on RSM or on this release, please contact Marianne Schouten, Media & Public Relations Manager for RSM, on +31 10 408 2877 or by email at mschouten@remove-this.rsm.nl.

Members of the European Business School / Women On Boards Initiative

Business Schools

Bocconi
Cambridge Judge Business School
EADA
EDHEC Business School
EFMD – European Federation of Management Development
ESMT
ESSEC business school
HR College of Commerce and Economics
IAUW – International Association of University Women
IESE
IFPM Female Board Pool at the University of St.Gallen
IMD
INSEAD
Kellogg School of Management
London Business School
Oxford
Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM)
Sabanci University
Skema
University of Mumbai

Professional Organisations

American Chamber of Commerce France and Spain
Bellisario Foundation
BoardEx
Business and Industry Advisory Council
Canadian Women in Communications
Deutscher Juristinnenbund e.V.
EPWN (European Professional Women’s Network)
Forte Foundation – Major Corporations and Business Schools
The Financial Times Non-Executive Directors' Club
G16+
GTWN - The Global Telecom Women’s Network
GGI – Geneva Group International
IFA Institut Francais des Administrateurs
International Corporate Women Directors
TIAW - The International Alliance for Women
WiTT - Women in Telecoms and Technology
WCD - Women Corporate Directors
Women’s Forum of New York

Corporate Women

Lady Barbara Judge
Bridget Cosgrave
Lori Gonnu
Cristina Vicini
Lesley Stephenson
Brigitte Boone
Candace Johnson
Audrey Mandela
Diane Morgan
Irene Navitividad
Anne Negre
Indu Shahani
Susan Ness
Marina Niforos
Ingrid Silver
Susan Stautberg
Myla Villanueva

RSM’s English-taught BSc International Business Administration (BScIBA) programme also gets a high ranking from the Keuzegids Universiteiten, which is published by Centrum Hoger Onderwijs Informatie (CHOI, or the Centre for Higher Education Information). BScIBA students awarded their programme 66/100, only two points behind a similar programme at Maastricht University – scoring well ahead of three similar business bachelor programmes at other Dutch universities.

The number of RSM students graduating within four years is the highest of all bachelor business administration courses in the Netherlands, and earns RSM’s BScBA the definition of a ‘safe choice’. BScBA students at RSM appreciate the programme’s practical character and how it prepares them for jobs and careers – for example through Skills courses and the Strategic Business Plan project, and gave their highest score for the amount and quality of contact they get with RSM faculty and for the quality of communications between the school and students, despite the large number of students  on the programme.

The Keuzegids is very positive about job perspectives for BScIBA graduates. Almost all graduates – 98% –found employment. Salaries average €3,040 per month and also rank in the top categories.

The Keuzegids ranking compares Bachelor courses in Dutch universities based on assessments from students and experts. Students assess the content of courses, the quality of teachers, scientific development, practical focus, study burden, quality of information, and facilities.

Method
Keuzegids editors prepare the ranking based on the results of the 2012 National Student Survey, using 2011 and 2010 survey results if 2012 sample sizes were too small. Expert assessments are based on reports and accreditation decisions of NVAO, the Dutch university accreditation organisation, plus information from the Central Register of Higher Education Courses (CROHO) and survey results from the 2011 University Monitor by VSNU/IVA. The Keuzegids Universiteiten 2013 (in Dutch) can be ordered from www.keuzegids.org

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is ranked in the top 10 of European Business Schools in terms of courses and in the top three in terms of research. RSM offers ground-breaking scientific research and education, promoting excellence in all aspects of management. It is located in the port city of Rotterdam, a vibrant international business, trade and logistics hub. RSM primarily focuses on the development of business leaders and international careers. With the students’ innovative competence, they can contribute to a sustainable future through a wide range of dynamic Bachelor, Master, MBA, PhD and Executive courses. RSM also offers Executive courses and alumni services from its Amsterdam Zuidas office.www.rsm.nl

For more information on RSM or on this press release, please contact Marianne Schouten, Media & Public Relations Manager on +31 408 2877 or by email at mschouten@rsm.nl.