BI’s academic staff contributed to the public debate in many areas throughout 2014. Readjustments in the Norwegian economy resulted in a high demand for BI’s consultation expertise in 2014.
BI considers it essential for a business school to provide expertise for relevant societal issues, as well as continuously including such issues in the education. In 2014, BI’s academic staff contributed an average of ten articles or comments in Norwegian media every day.
Work on sustainability and the environment was pushed to the forefront of the agenda in 2014. All of BI’s campuses in Norway are now certified as Eco-Lighthouses. BI set ambitious goals for its work on climate and the environment in 2013, and key measures in 2014 involved actively motivating and informing BI’s employees, students, lessees and suppliers to perform their tasks in an environmentally-friendly and responsible manner. BI has cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 8 per cent since 2011.
The interest in the environment and sustainability in 2014 provided a lift for several of BI’s academic communities. The Executive Master of management programme Green Growth was new in 2013 and the number of participants increased in 2014.
In the past year, several issues associated with the sector for higher education were addressed by the Ministry of Education and Research. BI has been an active participant in debates regarding structure and financing of higher education. These processes will continue in 2015. In 2014, BI hosted both the Minister of Education and Research as a guest lecturer and the Minister of Finance as a debate participant. The Standing Committee on Education, Research and Church Affairs also visited BI in the past year.
BI Alumni is a global network of more than 68,000 alumni in more than of 80 countries, and offered 13 professional and three regional networks in Norway and 19 international networks in 2014.
The option of a business-related internship as part of the studies was expanded in both the bachelor and master programmes. Master students could apply for internships with partners such as Backe Gruppen, DNB, DNV GL, Eniro, Doctors Without Borders, Microsoft, Nordea, Norsk Hydro ASA, Opera Software, PA Consulting Group, Posten Norge AS and Telenor. Bachelor students could choose among more than 70 companies with which BI has internship agreements.
Since 2007, BI has collaborated with Save the Children in an effort to give children the right to a quality education. BI’s Christmas gift to its employees in 2014 was NOK 150,000 donated to this work. BI is also a member of the organisation Scholars at Risk, which promotes academic freedom and human rights for academics all over the world. BI renewed its commitment in the UN’s Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) in 2014.