About us
We are building an international network school where we look towards the future and beyond borders, where inspiration and the exchange of value lead to success.
Mission
The mission of SBE is to educate and train undergraduates, graduates and professionals to function effectively and responsibly in careers in international business and economics, and to generate ideas that advance scientific economics and management knowledge and practice. Through these objectives SBE aims to add value to the society to which it belongs.
To achieve this mission, SBE:
- provides inspiring international programmes in economics and business for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students by creating an active and personal learning environment;
- conducts excellent, internationally visible scientific research in economics and business, leading to innovative solutions to economic and business problems;
- fosters a learning community by offering and further developing intercultural learning experiences, with a strong emphasis on academic, analytical and communication skills and the skills to evaluate business and economics problems in their broader societal context through student-centred, small-group, problem-based learning;
- enables students to critically reflect on the societal impact of decisions in the business and economics domain and makes employees aware of the (societal) impact of their own behaviour;
- attracts highly motivated students with a strong intellectual capacity, originating from a broad spectrum of diverse cultural backgrounds;
- attracts, develops and retains outstanding academic school members who are passionate teachers and researchers, along with professional support staff who are motivated and committed to their tasks;
- creates an environment which enhances the motivation and performance of the staff and school and which provides incentives for achieving the objectives of SBE;
- facilitates its students’ and school’s international learning experience by maintaining and expanding a network of distinctive international academic and business partners in the interest of enriching programmes and facilitating knowledge generation and exchange.
Fast Facts
- Founded in 1983, we are the youngest, fastest-growing economics and business faculty in the Netherlands
- SBE is one of only 1% of business schools worldwide to be triple-crown accredited (EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA)
- Almost all bachelor’s and master’s programmes are taught entirely in English, and virtually all bachelor’s programmes include a compulsory semester abroad
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SBE has an international network of nearly 147 exchange partners around the world, welcoming approximately 740 exchange students and sending 750 SBE students abroad each year
Core values
In addition to its mission, SBE has a number of core values:
- forward thinking: we look towards the future, beyond conventions and beyond borders. Making progress is all about forward thinking.
- value exchange: in everything we do, we are determined to add value to our international network and community. In return, we are enriched by and appreciate the value that we receive from others.
- inspiring: we strive to inspire our community and partners all over the world, not through what we say, but through our actions. Challenging people inspires people.
Honorary Doctorates
Amy C. Edmondson
2014
Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management, Harvard Business School
M. Hashem Pesaran
2013
Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of Cambridge,
John Elliot Distinguished Chair in Economics, University of Southern California,
Director, Center for Applied Financial Economics, USC
John Y. Campbell
2009
Morton L. and Carole S. Olshan Professor of Economics, Harvard University
William J. Baumol
1996
Harold Price Professor of Entrepreneurship, New York University
Academic Director, Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Europe award
Hans-Werner Sinn
2008
President of the Ifo Institute for Economic Research (Munich, Germany)
Jacques Drèze
2003
Former President of the European Economic Association and the Econometric Society
Wim Duisenberg
2002
Former President of the European Central Bank, Dutch Minister of Finance and President of the Central Bank of the Netherlands
The School of Business and Economics created the Europe Award on the ten-year anniversary of the Maastricht Treaty in 2002. It has since been awarded four times.
Internationalisation
One of SBE’s key drivers is the development of an international learning environment. Our number of international students has increased systematically over the years: of the 4200 students presently enrolled, more than 60% come from abroad, representing more than 60 different nationalities.
This diversity is an integral part of the UM-wide International Classroom project. We believe that working in tutorial groups with students of different origins, different cultural backgrounds, and thus distinct contributions to offer the group, is of great value to the learning process. Exploring problems from different perspectives and backgrounds generates a unique added value. The aim of this project is thus to create an educational climate in which students can learn from one another and gain experience in different social and cultural skills.
At the same time, SBE’s international working environment has grown rapidly over years: over 45% of our academic and administrative staff now come from abroad. Researchers are encouraged to take sabbatical leaves abroad and participate in international conferences, and visiting professors are regularly welcomed in Maastricht.
In 2010, the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO) awarded the BSc and MSc in International Business with the Distinctive Quality Feature for Internationalisation. This confirms SBE’s ambition and explicit vision on internationalisation as well as its impressive international reputation.