Our International Experience

The graduates were praised on the dedication and hard work over the 3.5 years, combining studies with professional work and managing family lives. They received this internationally recognised management qualification through hard work and dedication. Some students received the MBA with honours and benefited to commit immediately to the workplace with what they had learned during their studies.

On November the 28th 2009 Russian OUBS MBA graduates were welcomed at the British embassy in Moscow. At the ceremony, the graduates were joined by Kris De Clercq, associate lecturer in financial strategies and issues in international finance and investments, Rector Sergue Shchennikov of IIM LINK, Denise Kirkpatrick Pro-Vice Chancellor of The Open University, Dr Laurie Bristow Deputy head of Mission of the British Embassy and Carmel McMahon Associate Dean international OUBS.

Link Institute Russia

Kris De Clercq received an award from the UK Open University for innovation in finance learning and teaching which was handed out by Vice-chancellor Professor Gourley in June 2009.

The Vice-chancellor Professor Gourley gave the opening address to the OU awards which recognised the outstanding achievements of individuals, teams and projects in the university.

The Vice-Chancellor presented the awards to individuals and teams across the University community that have demonstrated exceptional vision and energy in addressing the needs of students. Amongst this year's winners were Kris De Clercq of the OU Business School, Linda Green Social Sciences, Nigel Warburton from the Arts, Region 13 Mathematics school team and Alfred Mercer who engages with the applied mathematics courses.

A frequent speaker on a broad range of international platforms and issues as well as a contributor to publications around the world, Professor Gourley has also received recognition for her work in the form of fellowships and awards as well as honorary degrees from universities on four continents.

Professor Brenda Gourley has been Vice-Chancellor of The Open University since 2002. She shares with The Open University a social justice agenda and a belief in education as a tool to tackle growing inequalities in the global society.

Kris De Clercq welcomed the new graduates of the Open University Business school at the Ethiopian MBA Ceremony held in Addis Ababa.
The ceremony was organised by the Ministry of Education of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia in collaboration with the British Council.
The event was broadcasted on Ethiopian national television and attracted substantial press coverage welcoming the academic achievement of the regional state president, airforce commander and general, finance directors and government officials on the completion of their MBA.

The awards were handed out by Carmel McMahon associate dean international, Demeke Mekonnen education minister of Ethiopia, Jack Neasham regional manager OUBS Worldwide and Kris De Clercq associate lecturer finance MBA & MSc.

The education minister stated that the MBA program has played a key role in the human resource development of Ethiopia. Many high level government officials, university lecturers, entrepreneurs and businessmen have graduated from this university.

All partners and lecturers of FinanceXplained gained broad international experience by teaching finance and accounting subjects to diverse student bodies all over the world. Here, Dr. Johannes Hofinger is working with a group of students at one of the leading MBA institutions in Eastern Europe (AMBA accredited International Management Institute LINK). Other places include Vienna, Zurich, Frankfurt, and Bucharest.

Students come from many different academic and professional backgrounds. Representatives of large multinational firms to self-employed entrepreneurs, and public servants of international organizations such as the UN and the IAEO participated in the seminars.

At Finance Xplained we are committed helping executives and executive teams to fully get to grips with financial topics, jargon, and logic. Equipped with this knowledge, the result can be found back in the corporate performance.

Maureen Whitehead-Lausman has been a leading tutor teaching senior government officials and employees of leading private companies to obtain an international MBA, and to equip them with skills which will be of use as Ethiopia develops.

The Government of Ethiopia began the Ethiopian Management Development Programme (MDP) in 1996. Using OU course material and teaching and learning methodologies, a network of 13 local and regional colleges and Universities across Ethiopia presented for a local qualification the Certificate and Diploma in Management. It is estimated by the British Council that over 2000 students successfully graduated from the Programme.

The MBA Program provided the following benefits: More than 260 MBA graduates, including the Prime Minister and nearly 2,000 MDP graduates which has strengthened national management capability.

Aligned with the Airbus 2020 vision consisting of the four pillars: Innovation, Integration, Internationalisation and Engagement, Airbus developed and introduced the Junior Manager Programme (Ju’MP).

Kris Blommaert has served in 2011 and 2012 on this partnership between Airbus, AirBusiness Academy (ABA) and Open University Business School (OUBS) as a tutor for the academic part as well as a coach for the project work.

Brian Chaloner, Main Coordinator of the Ju’MP Programme commented:
“Kris brought a rigorous and pragmatic approach to the teaching of ‘Management: Perspectives and Practice’. He was key in enabling students to apply academic learning to their day-to-day work, as well as, and perhaps more importantly, encouraging them to learn from their daily practice to build autonomous and sustainable learning loops.”

Kris De Clercq has been appointed critical reader for the redevelopment and launch of a new Global MBA. His focus is on Corporate Finance and the relationship of finance to the other activities of an organisation.

The topics covered are to: appreciate the financial strategy issues which affect organisations, understand the relevance of finance and accounting both within the organisation and to stakeholders, be aware of the financing choices available to organisations, and how financial structure should be determined. Be able to make investment decisions, both for projects and for companies.

The internationally recognised Open University MBA qualification is designed for practising managers aspiring to higher positions. The emphasis is on strategic analysis, interdisciplinary skills, intellectual stimulation and independent judgement.

The School is accredited internationally by the European Foundation for Management Development, through its EQUIS programme; by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB); and the MBA is accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA). It is one of only 21 business schools worldwide to have achieved all three accreditations.

Finance Xplained delivered a learning and development programme to pharma managers in Tehran providing them with a clear understanding of the key aspects of financial management and how it relates to their business performance.

Topics included: business in the 21st century and the positioning of the pharma sector, globalisation, mergers, acquisitions and strategic alliances, the emergence and impact of IFRS, the stock exchange and shareholder value, understanding the annual report & accounts, factors influencing performance in the pharma sector, measuring Economic Value Added, understanding cost behaviour, and Capital Investment Appraisal.

Kris De Clercq lectures Finance at the Donau-Universität Krems in the MSc EU Regulatory Affairs. Participants receive a thorough in depth training in all aspects of EU regulatory affairs covering both the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors.

Danube University Krems is the university for continuing education. Serving 7,000 students and with 14,000 graduates from more than 80 countries, it is one of the leading universities offering advanced education courses in Europe. Founded in 1994, it combines many years of experience in postgraduate university education with innovation and the highest quality standards in research and teaching.

In 2012 Kris De Clercq was selected as a «Role model lecturer» for his work in coaching and teaching students internationally. He is a specialist in international finance, having worked for 20 years at a senior level in the Finance and Banking industry in the UK, Luxembourg and Belgium for Asset Managers, Global Clearers/Custodians and Retail Banks. Kris has taught financial strategy across Europe as well as in Russia and Ethiopia.

In 2008, he was awarded the prestigious Open University Teaching Award, in recognition of his work in developing an innovative approach to the teaching of financial strategy.

Kris De Clercq tutored the Open University MBA students in Bucharest and guided them in their 6 month study of learning Corporate Financial strategies. The workshops and tutorials were held at the Grand Marriott in Bucharest.

Topics covered: financial strategy issues that affect organisations, the relevance of finance and accounting, financial analysis and interpretation, investment and financing decisions, financing choices and financial structure, financial risk assessment (credit, interest and foreign exchange risk), hedging strategies, and measuring financial performance in a global context.

CODECS Romania

Лучший тьютор Открытого Университета Великобритании преподает в Москве

В Открытом Университете Великобритании лучшим тьютором 2008/09 был признан Крис де Клерк, ведущий в Москве англоязычную программу MBA The Open University Business School.

Крис де Клерк был удостоен премии OU Teaching Award 2008/09, которую ежегодно вручают лучшим тьюторам по признанию одного из самых уважаемых в Великобритании университетов — The Open University.

Последние несколько лет Крис де Клерк работал над развитием инновационных подходов в преподавании финансовой стратегии. Он живет в Бельгии и преподает на программах Открытого университета почти по всей Европе.