Membership Guidelines

Institutions interested in becoming a member should send an email to contact@pimnetwork.org.
Download Membership Guidelines Document here Membership Guidelines

PIM serves as a benchmark for co-operation in international business education. The consortium focuses on student exchange at the graduate level but also develops expertise in alternative forms of exchange and partnerships among members. The guiding principles for new members are:

1. Excellence in facilitating and implementing International Business Student Exchange;
2. Exchanging students with strong consideration toward achieving a regional balance of partners worldwide;
3. Membership selection based on strong student demand for particular schools/universities and regions. In those countries where there is high student demand, membership will be considered for more than one high quality school.

Membership Criteria

Criteria for considering new members in general are:

1. A range of graduate-level elective courses offered in English;
2. Outstanding faculty, and assurance that exchange students will be able to study with that faculty;
3. Excellence in support services for international exchange students;
4. Top-level leadership commitment to PIM (e.g. Dean, President, Rector);
5. Willingness for flexibility to respond to school specific needs regarding academic calendar etc.;
6. Relationships with companies in the region, with government, and regulatory bodies relevant to business;
7. Strength of reputation within the academic and business communities.

Procedure for new members:

1. The Membership Committee searches proactively for members, considers suggestions by PIM members or accepts applications by schools with outstanding record willing to meet the membership requirements. It develops profiles of possible candidates and, upon consultation with the PIM Chairpersons, makes a first choice based on the principles of excellence, regional balance, and student demand.
2. There will be on average one PIM candidate school per year.
3. The Membership Committee chooses and contacts the school/s and sets up a personal meeting with the leadership of the school.
4. The Membership Committee presents its choice at the following PIM Meeting. Then the PIM members vote on whether or not the schools should become a PIM candidate and be invited to negotiate and establish exchange agreements with PIM members according to the membership guidelines.
5. After no more than three years the candidate school/s, represented by its leadership (e.g. Dean, Vice-President, Rector, Vice-Rector, Associate Dean), present/s specific information about their school and the results of their effort to comply to PIM 20% rule at the annual PIM Meeting.
6. At the same meeting a vote will be held among all PIM members on whether or not the school/s may become a member of PIM.

Membership Commitment

PIM Members:

1. have regular exchange agreements with 20% of PIM members;
2. promote PIM actively to their student body (e.g. fairs, website, interviews);
3. participate in the annual PIM Meeting;
4. submit an annual report of PIM activity to the Membership Committee by September 1st each year;
5. pay annual dues.

The annual report of PIM activities consists of the annual numbers for:

1. graduate exchange within the PIM Network;
2. alternative forms of student exchange and
3. one page with qualitative information (description of alternative forms of student exchange with PIM members, interesting recent changes in the respective university system, innovations of PIM exchanges, measures for active promotion of PIM at the respective school, ideas, problems with student exchange)

The Membership Committee monitors the reports and offers assistance if any problems are identified or addressed by the schools themselves over a period not to exceed two years. The school should also make its own proposals for solutions. After two years of unresolved problems with student exchange, the Chairpersons get involved to influence improvement, and if unsuccessful, recommend or require resignation.

Membership Ends

1. by resignation;
2. by two successive years of not attending the annual meeting without discussion with and permission by the Membership Committee and PIM Chairpersons;
3. after three years of failing to comply to the 20% rule without discussing the reason with the Membership Committee and PIM Chairpersons and agreeing on a plan of corrective action;
4. when not annually reporting PIM-related activities without discussion with and permission granted by the Membership Committee and Chairpersons;
5. when failing to meet the financial obligations of membership.