What is a CEMSie and what does it mean to be one? Former CEMS Club London President, Guilherme Capinha Lopes, shares his experience of studying at LSE during his exchange term from his home school of  NOVA Business School, Portugal and access to a truly global network. Read Guilherme’s blog to find out why ‘Once a CEMSie, always a CEMSie’.

The CEMS programme, and the CEMS community, are special. From an academic point of view, you will find that the CEMS Master’s in International Management programme is a multinational alliance of 33 world-renowned universities, 70 corporate partners and 8 social partners that aim to deliver a supranational Master’s.

However, once you get to know CEMS, you will find that being a ‘CEMSie’ is about much more than just the master’s programmes involved.

Allow me to share with you four points that, over the last two years, have left a mark on me and made me realise how unique this programme and community really are.

1. A genuinely, organically strong global network

Many programmes claim to have a strong network of students or alumni to reach out to. However, these can often turn out to be little more than loose spider webs of connections, with low rates of response when one actually attempts to reach out. CEMS is different – By having the opportunity to study at both a home school and spending a semester abroad at a host school, you create connections with people from all over the world, all pursuing the same academic – and often also professional – goals that you are.

The majority of CEMSies will enter the consulting, technology and financial services worlds, leading to a future professional network that spans the superior echelon of these worlds. From talking to alumni who graduated five to ten years ago, there are quite often situations where you can find a fellow CEMSie to connect with, whether within your firm or outside of it.

2. A worldwide sense of camaraderie

I must highlight how strongly the CEMSie identity permeates into the student culture. Via CEMS, I personally had the opportunity to study at both Portugal’s Nova School of Business and Economics and at LSE, and I often found myself wanting to connect with students from outside of Europe. This is really an amazing detail that sets the CEMS network apart: The rate of response and engagement amongst the CEMS network, especially Alumni, is extremely high.

For example: A CEMSie from the National University of Singapore can reach out to another that they have never met from the other side of the world, say from Cornell University, and the chances of getting a valuable and personalised response are enormous. This kind of shared identity is commonplace throughout our community, with students visiting each other’s local communities and being welcomed with open arms. I have never seen a student community so united in purpose and identity.

3. United in purpose – The CEMS Global Values

CEMS students are often similar, not just in professional goals, but in their values in life as well. At every graduation, the CEMS global values statement is read out to remind all those present of what being a CEMSie really means, and the commitment to global citizenship that we make. These are:

• The pursuit of excellence with the highest ethical standards, integrity, and humility.
• Professional responsibility and accountability in relation to society and the environment.
• Drawing upon the value of cultural diversity with respect and empathy.

Not just empty words, I can genuinely say I have seen in every CEMS student I have ever encountered.

I have never seen a student community so united in purpose and identity.

4. Student representation – CEMS Clubs and the CEMS Student Board

Like any strong, widespread and passionate community, there are community representatives ensuring that students’ views are fed back into the loop, and constant improvements are made to the master’s programme itself based on feedback.

At the local level, we have CEMS Clubs, local student organisations that ensure that a CEMSie going on exchange will always find themselves being welcomed to their new home. CEMS Clubs engage in not only in social activities to tie the cohort together, but also prepare events with CEMS corporate partners and alumni. They are a key element of the CEMS experience, and we at CEMS Club London were honoured to have the opportunity to help welcome the worldwide CEMS community this past December when LSE hosted the CEMS Graduation here in London.

At the global level, we have the Student Board Representatives, of which there is one per university. These 33 representatives work together to establish initiatives that span the entire CEMS alliance, and act as key conduits for their respective cohorts to ensure the programme is constantly updated, improved and stays at the cutting edge of international management education.

With these local and global representatives looking out for the interests of all CEMSies – past, current and future – not to mention alumni chapters spread across every continent, the saying ‘Once a CEMSie, always a CEMSie’ could not hold truer.

Author: Guilherme Capinha Lopes
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guilhermecapinhalopes/

Learn more about the Global Master’s in Management programme