THEME OVERVIEW

Corporate Universities are at a crossroads. Currently, these educational structures give employees access to learning, to manage people skills and career paths guidance. The Corporate Universities enable individuals to optimise the value chain and to align skills with business strategies. Not only must they pursue those goals, but also work at a new one: Corporate Citzenship or/and Corporate Social Responsibility. Some Corporate Universities offer products and services whose aimis to further develop Corporate Responsibility: programs on aid for education and research, protection of the natural environment, reducing energy consumption, reducing the emission of greenhouse gases, supporting sustainable development, creating access to technology for underprivileged populations, etc.

A lot of multinational companies are now strongly involved in Corporate Citizenship, but they often set apart their efforts in this field rather than link them with their learning policy. However, they know that simply giving money is not enough for them to be seen as good Corporate Citizens. They also know a person is not born a corporate citizen, but becomes one through education.

In alignment with Society’s expected role from multinational
companies, the GlobalCCU Forum allowed the Corporate University professionals to anticipate and act to help the workforce as a whole, and primarily the leaders and managers, to develop Corporate Citizenship through action learning. It is not only a question of fashion or of image. It is a question of ethic and responsibility in the long term. It is also a question of corporate growth.

How does a Corporate University actively
supporting Corporate Responsibility reinforce
the company’s core strategy and drives
its corporate growth?

It was the main topic of the 2008 GlobalCCU Forum.

Annick Renaud-Coulon

LEARNING GOALS

At the end of the Forum, each delegate was able to answer the following questions:

Why connect Corporate Education and Corporate Citizenship, Corporate Social Responsibility, and /or Sustainable Development in my Company? What are the challenges?

What does my Company already do in this field?

Is my Company ready to raise the ceiling?

How does this approach of linking Corporate Education/
Learning and Corporate Responsibility/Citizenship align
with the identity, the vision, the business strategies and
the projects of my Company?

Is the leadership involved in these Education/Citizenship
responsibilities?

How can I encourage effective collaboration with the
leadership of my Company?

How can I sell the Corporate Responsibility/Corporate
Learning connection to the Senior Executives?

How could I review the strategic positioning of my
Corporate University to pave a way forward?

What can the GlobalCCU network offer to enhance my
performance and opportunities for the business growth
of my Company?