Roanne Barker, a second year Rhodes Investec Business School (RIBS) MBA student, has been awarded a 2010 full scholarship for the European Summer School for the Advanced Management (ESSAM) programme.

The ESSAM programme, which is organised by a consortium of nine business schools from around the world, is structured so that MBA students from different countries can work together on projects and explore the future in an international environment.

The programme is hosted by The Aarhus School of Business, University of Aarhus, Denmark and enrols 100 MBA students from approximately 30 countries into an intense two-week study programme.

“I am delighted that Roanne was awarded this scholarship on her own accord. It confirms the quality of the offering from our business school,” says Professor Owen Skae, head of RIBS.

The programme centres around three major components which combine to offer the participants the big picture; Europe and Management, the electives and the consulting projects. The teaching process is a mix of lectures, group work, presentations, discussions and individual study.

“I applied to ESSAM for my foreign elective as they offer students from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to meet and share their working experiences. One of the best aspects of the RIBS MBA process has been the opportunity to meet and work with the foreign students from Africa.

“On a personal and business level I have learnt from their experiences and hope to do the same with the people I will be meeting at ESSAM. I also believe people will be interested to learn about “business the African way,” said Roanne.