NEW! INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL SEMESTER OR YEAR (30-60 ECTS)

NEW! INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL SEMESTER OR YEAR (30-60 ECTS) AUTUMN 2015 - SPRING 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS HOWEST 3 HOWEST UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES 3 WHAT IS... 4 INTERNATIONAL SEMESTERS, WHAT ARE THEY? 4 INTERNATIONAL SEMESTER PROGRAMMES IN AUTUMN 4 INTERNATIONAL SEMESTER PROGRAMMES IN SPRING 4 IS THIS THE COURSE I M LOOKING FOR? 5 COURSE CONCEPT 5 COURSE OVERVIEW 6 ORIENTATION WEEK 10 PREREQUISITES 11 ACADEMIC RECOGNITION 12 PRACTICAL INFORMATION 14 TIMING AND LOCATION 14 TUITION FEE AND ACCOMMODATION 15 APPLICATION AND DEADLINE 15 CONTACT 16 HOWEST HOWEST UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES Howest is a dynamic university of applied sciences, focused on innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. Our core values serve - empower - care stimulate an open, pluralistic and international outlook on education, research and service to society. Howest is a member of Ghent University Association, which provides high-quality higher education to about 1/3 of Flanders student population. We offer 24 degree programmes in Architecture, Healthcare, Business and Management, Industrial Sciences and Technology, Education and Social Sciences, on four campuses in the historical cities of Bruges and Kortrijk, in the province of West Flanders, Belgium. Over the years, Howest has built a solid reputation in application-oriented scientific research, services and continuous education, working with distinguished academic, social profit organisations and enterprises as partners in Europe, and all over the world. Our students and staff are given plenty of opportunities to go global, thanks to regional, national and international networks, scholarships and exchange programmes. Howest has coordinated highly successful national and international projects, and is an active partner in many others. We constantly develop our course offer in English in order to position Howest as an attractive academic choice for students from abroad, who are looking for an open, vibrant, cosmopolitan and friendly destination.we warmly welcome students from our Erasmus and overseas partner institutions for an exchange period. HOWEST HAS BUILT A SOLID REPUTATION Studying in Bruges or Kortrijk means having several tourist attractions within easy reach: the Belgian coast, the Flemish & Belgian historical cities Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent... And in a couple of hours the train will take you to European cities like Paris, London, Amsterdam, Cologne. Bruges by Jan Darthet Kortrijk by David Samyn 3

WHAT IS... INTERNATIONAL SEMESTERS, WHAT ARE THEY? A Howest International Semester programme is a coherent package of course units which a Howest Bachelor programme can offer fully in English, as an option for semester exchange, to incoming students from its partner universities abroad, and as a study abroad option to other international students. Many of those English-taught course units are also followed by local Howest students, whereas the rest of the course units of their BA programme are offered in Dutch. INTERNATIONAL SEMESTER PROGRAMMES IN AUTUMN: FROM SEPTEMBER TO THE END OF JANUARY International Business Management I (Howest Bruges) Applied Computer Sciences (Howest Bruges) Applied Health & Lifestyle Sciences (Howest Bruges) NEW Digital Creative Projects in New Media & IT (Howest Kortrijk) Digital Creative Projects in Tourism (Howest Kortrijk) Digital Creative Projects in Journalism (Howest Kortrijk) Realisation in Product Design (Howest Kortrijk) INTERNATIONAL SEMESTER PROGRAMMES IN SPRING: FROM FEBRUARY TO THE END OF JUNE International Business Management II (Howest Bruges) Applied Computer Sciences (Howest Bruges) Digital Creative Projects Communication (Howest Kortrijk) Digital Creative Projects in Product Design (Howest Kortrijk) Digital Creative Projects in Occupational Therapy (Howest Kortrijk) NEW IS THIS THE COURSE I M LOOKING FOR? The international semesters International Business Management are aimed at both bachelor students and graduates. Since there is the possibility for an individual itinerary, the international semesters are interesting for students of different study programmes, especially commercial sciences, business and management, but also other fi elds of study such as computer sciences. This semester will surely add value to your degree and your career opportunities as your team working and communication skills will improve. COURSE CONCEPT Both International Business Management (IBM) semesters (Autumn and Spring) are modular semesters. All modules concern Business Management topics, covering different specialisations. In case a student attends both programmes and stays a full year, the modules which can be chosen in Spring will differ. During the Autumn semester, emphasis will be on lectures as well as on learning-by-doing. The spring semester is more project based. Students will work on different projects, mostly in international teams. The aim is to integrate students from abroad with Belgian students and stimulate teamwork and international communication and co-operation. During the semester company visits are arranged, so that students will learn about the Belgian corporate culture. Both IBM semester programmes offer a choice out of 9 modules from which 6 modules can be selected by the student, with a maximum of 30 ECTS per semester. Selecting courses from different International Semesters is only possible if both programmes are organised on the same campus ánd if their schedules allow it. Schedules are only available shortly before the start of the semester. IF YOU WANT TO STAND OUT CREATVITY 4 5 IS THE KEY

COURSE OVERVIEW INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT I - AUTUMN COURSE UNITS HTC n-tc SL INTRODUCTION 3 ECTS CULTURAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC INTRODUCTION TO BELGIUM SURVIVAL COURSE DUTCH 10 65 75 In this module you will learn about Belgian and Flemish culture and socio-economic data, all in comparison to the socio-economic data of your home country. This module includes a survival course Dutch and visits to several important cities in Belgium. INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS 3 ECTS INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION 20 55 75 In the context of globalisation, cross-cultural communication has become very important. However, effective cross-cultural communication and cooperation is still quite a challenge. This course looks at the barriers that arise when people from different cultures and social groups connect, and what you can do to lower those barriers. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SKILLS 9 ECTS PROJECT ENTREPRENEURSHIP 24 51 75 It is essential for business students to able to write a business plan in an intercultural and multidisciplinary team. In this course students will develop entrepreneurial skills and learn about economic and cultural differences in a business context. CRM 20 55 75 Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a business strategy to select and manage the most valuable customer relationships. It requires a customer-centric business philosophy and culture to support effective marketing, sales, and service processes. CRM & e-commerce applications can enable effective customer relationship management, provided that an enterprise has the right leadership, strategy and culture. GLOBAL BUSINESS 20 55 75 This course is a study on global trends, accelerating global challenges and the position of Europe in the globalised world. It includes recent economic and fi nancial developments and some of the key differences between social and business culture in Western countries and emerging economies. 1 MODULE TO BE SELECTED OUT OF FOLLOWING 2 OPTIONS (EACH MODULE = 3 ECTS) ACCOUNTING 3 ECTS (*) MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING 24 51 75 Management accounting is a course with a strong focus on the legal and technical aspects of accounting in a national and international context. Topics such as fusions, acquisitions and liquidations are also discussed. MATHEMATICS 3 ECTS (*) INTEGRAL CALCULUS 10 65 75 In this course you will learn more about defi nite integrals and areas, the Fundamental Theorems of Calculus, substitution, integration by parts, other methods of integration, computation of volumes, arc length, average of a function and applications (to physics, engineering, and probability). COURSE OVERVIEW INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT I - AUTUMN COURSE UNITS HTC n-tc SL 2 MODULES TO BE SELECTED FROM THE FOLLOWING 4 OPTIONS (EACH MODULE = 6 ECTS) MARKETING 6 ECTS (*) EXPORT MARKETING 30 45 75 In this course the students will analyse cases and become aware of specifi c aspects of international marketing and export management, such as important international organisations, Incoterms, import and export documents and the international marketing mix. PROJECT EXPORT MARKETING 10 65 75 This project is the practical application of Export Marketing. By writing an export plan students will determine the opportunities and the challenges for an existing company with intentions to expand internationally. FINANCE 6 ECTS (*) INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL TOPICS 20 55 75 In the current situation of fi nancial turbulence it is not easy to keep up with all evolutions in the sector. In this course, recent fi nancial topics and the dependency of the international markets are discussed. FORECASTING AND BUDGETING 20 55 75 Based on historic data about sales, students will learn to establish a short term prognosis -quantitatively and qualitatively- of the corporate activity for the upcoming year. The coordination of business units is also discussed. INTERPERSONAL SKILLS 6 ECTS (*) SELF-MANAGEMENT 10 65 75 In this course you will learn the skills to tackle some very important challenges in your future professional life, such as: managing your time, optimizing your productivity, improving your planning, prioritizing You will get aware of your strengths and weaknesses (personal SWOT). CHANGE MANAGEMENT 20 55 75 When the rate of external change exceeds the rate of internal change, an organisation is in trouble. Companies thus cannot afford a status quo, although implementing change in a company is not an easy task. You will achieve the competences needed to establish changes in your future professional environment. CHINESE 6 ECTS (*) CHINESE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE 60 90 150 Nowadays, there is an increasing need and interest in Chinese culture and language. It is useful to know about the language when coming to China for travel or business. The Howest Confucius Institute offers (elementary intermediary advanced) Chinese language courses for students. The course also involves a small tailor-made practical project. 6 7

8 COURSE OVERVIEW INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT I - SPRING COURSE UNITS HTC n-tc SL INTRODUCTION 3 ECTS (THIS MODULE CANNOT BE CHOSEN BY STUDENTS STAYING A FULL YEAR) CULTURAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC INTRODUCTION TO BELGIUM 10 65 75 SURVIVAL COURSE DUTCH In this module you will learn about Belgian and Flemish culture and socio-economic data, all in comparison to the socio-economic data of your home country. This module includes a survival course Dutch and visits to several important cities in Belgium. BUSINESS GAME 3 ECTS BUSINESS GAME 20 55 75 During a full week, students will play an international business game in heterogeneous teams. The game consists of different rounds with increasing degree of diffi culty in the team decisions. 1 MODULE TO BE SELECTED FROM THE FOLLOWING 2 OPTIONS (EACH MODULE = 3 ECTS) BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE 3 ECTS (*) BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE 40 35 75 Business Intelligence is the transfers of data into knowledge. The objective of BI is to integrate all relevant information from various operational sources and to analyse this information for decision making purposes. MATHEMATICS 3 ECTS (*) INTEGRAL CALCULUS 10 65 75 In this course you will learn more about defi nite integrals and areas, the Fundamental Theorems of Calculus, substitution, integration by parts, other methods of integration, computation of volumes, arc length, average of a function and applications (to physics, engineering, and probability). HTC = Hours of Teaching and Coaching n-htc = non-teaching or Coaching Hours SL = Study Load (*) optional module INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT I - SPRING COURSE OVERVIEW COURSE UNITS HTC n-tc SL 4 MODULES TO BE SELECTED FROM THE FOLLOWING 5 OPTIONS (EACH MODULE = 6 ECTS) ONLINE COMMUNICATION 6 ECTS (*) SOCIAL MEDIA 20 55 75 We use social media privately all the time well so do companies. In this course you will learn why social media are so important in a business context. Companies usually also have a strategy about the use of social media. This will be the main topic. WEB-AUDIT 20 55 75 E- and M-commerce is continuously gaining importance. It is thus of great importance for online/mobile selling that the website of a company is attractive to consumers. There are some general principles which companies can apply. Furthermore, there is some legislation to respect when putting a website online. You have to assess if a website lives up to the relevant EU Directives and marketing techniques. You will write an advisory report for a specifi c company. SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION 6 ECTS (*) CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 30 45 75 Economic development is a must for the human welfare. However, economic growth can equally be seen as a threat to our planet. In this course, it is discussed whether or not economic growth can coincide with the protection of our planet and its limited resources. INNOVATION MANAGEMENT 20 55 75 (Eco-)Innovation is a global trend. Companies will make the difference, not (only) by keeping costs low, but by keeping on renewing products, processes etc. You will learn why innovation is so important, how it can be triggered in a company, and which are the necessary ingredients in the innovation process. Furthermore, the topic of managing innovation is also covered. LOGISTICS 6 ECTS (*) SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT 30 45 75 A company can economize by optimizing the fl ow of goods, i.e. from raw materials to the fi nished product. The objective of Supply Chain Management is to obtain insight in an optimal fl ow of goods by managing the demand from customers, the offer of suppliers as well as all production and transport phases as a whole for certain product groups. BUSINESS PROCESSES 30 45 75 Business processes are the corner stone of a company and thus, it is essential that they be optimized. In this course you will learn the various principles to analyse and improve business processes and safeguard the overall quality. RESEARCH PROJECT 6 ECTS (*) RESEARCH PROJECT & IMPLEMENTATION 20 130 150 The research module is aimed at preparing students to write a fi nal thesis. You will learn to select a relevant research topic in the fi eld of social economy, and get some tips and tricks about writing a thesis. The focus is partly on desk research, partly on fi eld research. CHINESE 6 ECTS (*) CHINESE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE 60 90 150 Nowadays, there is an increasing need and interest in Chinese culture and language. It is useful to know about the language when coming to China for travel or business. The Howest Confucius Institute offers (elementary intermediary advanced) Chinese language courses for students. The course also involves a small tailor-made practical project.

ORIENTATION WEEK PREREQUISITES We organise a fulltime orientation week before the start of the actual lessons. We warmly recommend all incoming students to attend it, since it will offer you the opportunity to: get to know the other incoming students and the locals through fun team building & other activities get to know Howest and the campus(es) where you will spend your semester/year explore the Howest cities Bruges & Kortrijk together with our local students and dive into student life discover some Belgian cultural treasures through student-friendly sightseeing trips to our most beautiful art cities like Ghent, Antwerp, Brussels, get loads of practical tips from our students while getting installed in your student room Howest does not charge a participation fee for the orientation week, but students do need to pay for their own expenses, such as a couple of train trips (with a Go Pass this comes down to max. 5,1/train journey), some entrance fees (at student & group fares) and your own food & drinks. Everything in the low-cost way, and without any obligation as to participate in the paying activities. Minimum 2 successfully completed semesters in a Bachelor Business programme or an equivalent of 60 ECTS. This will need to be confirmed by means of an official certificate, a survey of completed courses, or a signed letter from the sending university. The English proficiency level we expect from incoming students is the B2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Foreign Languages (CEFR), in reading, writing, speaking and understanding skills. We expect applying students to provide proof of their proficiency in English in one of the following ways: A signed confirmation letter from the sending university, stating that the applicant s language skills reach the B2 level and thus are sufficient to attend courses, participate in different types of classroom and examination activities. (Only valid for exchange students) The results of a (free) online language test which can be related to the CEFR B2 level, such as Dialang, Testpodium or the Erasmus online language test. The online test should have been taken under the supervision of the sending institution. The result sheet needs to be stamped and signed by a staff member of the sending institution. (only valid for exchange students) An official certificate or score report referring to the European Framework or from one of the recognised language tests, e.g. TOEFL: paper based 550/internet based 79/computer based 213 or IETLS: 5.5, no partial results below 5. The following applicants are not required to document their language skills for study at Howest: applicants from countries having English as their national language; applicants attending a full-time degree programme at their home institution taught in English. 10 FUN TEAM BUILDING! Howest reserves the right to contact the sending university to verify the information on language proficiency, or to contact the applicant for a telephone or Skype conversation in English. 11

PREREQUISITES All Howest and exchange students should bring their own laptop, with all necessary and offi cially licensed software. The course overview above mentions the specifi c software (if any) necessary for the course unit. Howest applies a very strict policy on the use of legal software. Non-exchange students can only attend the international semester as a Postgraduate course and need to have completed at least a full Bachelor degree programme at the time they start the international semester course at Howest. ACADEMIC RECOGNITION This international semester is an integrated part of the Howest Bachelor courses in Kortrijk. Howest fully applies the ECTS grading system and awards credits for the successfully achieved course units. After concluding the semester, all students receive an offi cial ECTS transcript of records and Certifi cate. 12 13

PRACTICAL INFORMATION TIMING AND LOCATION Both semesters take place in Bruges. Our Autumn semester runs from September 14th 2015 until January 30th 2016. The first week is the fulltime Orientation Week. The actual lessons start on September 21st. From 02/11/2015 07/11/2015 there is one week of Autumn Holiday. Winter holidays are from 21/12/2015 till 02/01/2016. The examination period starts immediately afterwards. In the last week of the semester (25/01-30/01) there are still exams, but also feedback sessions for students. Exchange students can be offered the opportunity to do early resit exams during that last week. The regular Howest resit exams are scheduled between 15/08 and 10/09/2016. The Spring semester runs from February 8th until July 2nd 2016. Classes start on 8 February, but all newly arriving incoming students are expected on Monday February 1st, for our fulltime Orientation Week. From 28/03/2016-09/04/2016 there is a twoweek Easter Holiday. The examination period starts in the last week of May. The last week of the semester (27/06-02/07) there are feedback sessions for students. Exchange students can be offered the opportunity to do early resit exams during that week. The regular Howest resit exams are scheduled between 15/08 and 10/09/2016. You fi nd our academic calendar in English at www.howest.be/english. Address of the campus Howest Brugge: Campus Rijselstraat 5, 8200 Brugge (Sint-Michiels), Belgium Howest s campuses are cashless. You will need to activate the Maestro function of your bank card before departure from your country. You fi nd more detailed info on this in our Practical information section on the website. ACCOMMODATION STIP Howest, our students services, will help you fi nd suitable accommodation. As soon as your application has been approved by Howest, STIP will contact you by e-mail, explain the different housing options and propose you the best match for your wishes and budget. A student room in Bruges will cost you between 230 and 350 per month; a studio fl at between 400 and 600. The sooner you apply, the higher your chances to get a room which comes up to all your expectations. APPLICATION AND DEADLINE The application deadlines are: June 20th for study in Autumn Semester. For nationals from outside the European Economic Area we strongly recommend to apply at least one month earlier: by May 20th! November 30th for study in Spring Semester. For nationals from outside the European Economic Area we strongly recommend to apply at least one month earlier: by October 31st! We strive for a well-balanced composition of the international semester groups in terms of nationalities of the participants, because of our hands-on approach with quite some team assignments and projects. This will be taken into account during the selections. All applications are subject to approval by the Howest IBM team. Send your Howest Application Form to international.office@howest.be. You can download it at howest.be/application. Please also send your proposal of Learning Agreement. TUITION FEE For exchange students sent by our Erasmus and overseas partner institutions this course is tuition free. Non-exchange students pay a tuition fee of 1000. The fee does not include course or other materials, nor the cost for cultural visits or study excursions (transport, entrance fees ). Those have to be paid on location. Howest has cashless campuses. Payments have to be made through a bank card. Do not forget to activate the Maestro function on it before you leave your country. 14 15

CONTACT For more information about the CONTENT of the programme contact Ellen Taylor, the international coordinator of the Bachelors of Business Management & Network Economy. Rijselstraat 5 8200 Kortrijk - Belgium Tel +32 (0)50 38 12 77 ellen.taylor@howest.be For more information about your APPLICATION contact Sophie Dewitte of Howest International Offi ce. Marksesteenweg 58 8500 Kortrijk - Belgium Tel +32 (0)56 24 12 90 Fax +32 (0)56 24 12 92 international.office@howest.be Visit our website for more information about Howest: howest.be/english For information about your stay at Howest read our Practical information package for incoming students on howest.be/practicalinfopackage.