Why business students are getting to grips with geopolitics
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
As a young man growing up in Iran, Nima Salami began speaking out against the regime’s oppressive policies. “But those actions put my family and me at risk, forcing us to flee Iran in search of a better life,” he says.
Like many refugees, they travelled through several countries and, because Salami’s mother suffers from chronic diseases, she had to undergo a complete re-diagnosis each time she entered a new country before she could receive treatment.
When they settled finally in the Netherlands, Salami set himself a goal: to develop a patient-centric health information system that could help people in his mother’s situation — giving all refugees a secure and portable way to verify their medical conditions.
“I had a first degree in computer science, but realised technical knowledge alone wouldn’t be enough to scale the company to its full potential,” says Salami, who enrolled on the Master in Management (MiM) at Rotterdam School of Management (RSM). “The programme offered me the perfect blend of academic rigour, practical experience and a focus on social impact — it was transformative,” he says.
In a year when many university campuses have been hotbeds of protest against conflict and climate crisis, many students have been left feeling powerless and anxious. But others, like Salami, are seeking ways to have an impact and several business schools are offering courses preparing MiM students to manage in a world where peace, human rights and sustainability are increasingly to the fore.
Neoma, in northern France, for example, has just introduced a geopolitics course to the first year of its MiM, taught jointly by professors at the school and at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations. The module aims to help future managers anticipate threats and crises. One session, for instance, is devoted to doing business in wartime, another on mitigating geopolitical risk.
“Geopolitics used to be reserved for strategists and diplomats, but it’s become an essential skill now in a world where the lines between politics and business are increasingly blurred,” says MiM director Imen Mejri. “A serious geopolitical understanding is indispensable for anyone closely or remotely linked to the international arena.”
As part of its core curriculum, Vlerick Business School, in Belgium, runs two courses preparing students for geopolitical and macro challenges. “Fickle geopolitics affects corporate strategy, its implementation and long-run decision-making,” says David Veredas, professor of sustainable finance. “Any MiM student who aspires to become a corporate leader needs to understand the mega trends that drive geopolitics.
“The main skills are reflective thinking and a joy of reading,” Veredas adds. “Future corporate leaders need to stay ahead of the curve and consider the big picture, and that requires time to reflect and to read.”
Nova School of Business and Economics, in Portugal, has introduced modules on international migration and what it calls “wicked global leadership”. “It’s the capacity of leaders to tackle wicked problems — problems so complex that they resist understanding, let alone resolution,” explains Professor Milton de Sousa.
“To tackle wickedness, leaders need to immerse themselves in the context directly while engaging with stakeholders at multiple levels in the search for shared understanding and practical solutions,” he adds. “I want MiM students to grasp the skills of paradoxical thinking, complexity leadership, and humble inquiry.”
International migration is another growing phenomenon that shapes the world in which firms operate, says Cátia Batista, professor of economics at Nova. “It’s important to understand how people make international migration decisions when you are a manager recruiting global talent. It’s just as important to know how migration affects economies in both destination and origin countries, as well as public opinion.”
At HEC Paris, Charles Autheman teaches MiM students an elective on human rights. “Besides the moral case, there are legal and economic arguments for upholding human rights, as well a business responsibility, because corporate decisions in one place can be related to human rights violations in another place,” he says.
MiM participants also learn from peers brought to Paris by the HEC Imagine scheme for students from conflict zones. Lima Safi left Afghanistan when the Taliban regained control in 2021. “The new regime meant I lost my job, and continuing my education or career seemed impossible,” she says.
“Leaving my homeland meant I might never see my family again, but I took that risk because I believe education is paramount. I was able to share my story with fellow students at HEC to help them understand how fortunate they are to have access to education . . . because life can be extremely difficult for many people around the world.”
Other schools are using project work to give MiM students exposure to geopolitical challenges.
Edhec, in France, has launched its first batch of “global impact projects” to give masters students experience of dealing with food scarcity, education inequalities, health disparities, climate actions and water access. Over the course of this summer and autumn, 20 students have travelled to Cameroon, Tanzania, Jordan, Hawaii, Philippines and India to work alongside non-profit organisations.
Student Arthur Thouvenin has been working with parents, teachers and school principals in the Himachal Pradesh region of India to improve learning conditions for elementary, middle and high school students.
“I was looking for an experience that would take me far away from my daily routine and open my eyes to how other people live and work,” he says. “Some days, it’s difficult to measure our impact or whether we are getting closer to our end goal, but I’m learning that patience is key to communicating and understanding each other.”
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