Schandera Risk Foresight

Work Example

Higher Education in Conflict Zones

Industry: Education (HEIs)

Organization: International Business College Mitrovica (North Kosovo)

Period covered: 2013 - 2015

Published: 2016

Organization: SPARK International (NL)

URL: www.ibcmitrovica.eu

Background

Mitrovica in Northern Kosovo is often described as a magnifying glass of the unresolved tensions following the breakup of Yugoslavia. Divided along ethnic lines between Kosovo Albanian and Serbian communities, the city remains one of the most sensitive fault lines in the Western Balkans.

In this context, the International Business College Mitrovica (IBC-M) pursues a clear mission: to build bridges by bringing together students from both communities — learning, studying, and developing side by side. The college operates two campuses: one in the northern, predominantly Serbian part of the city, and one in the southern, Kosovo Albanian part.

IBC-M is an independent higher education institution, founded by the Dutch foundation SPARK International in March 2010. It was established with funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Swiss Development Cooperation, the UK Department for International Development, the European Commission, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Kosovo.

Initially registered in both the Netherlands and Kosovo, IBC-M was re-registered in March 2018 as an independent, non-profit educational foundation under Kosovo law. It now operates under the umbrella of the Ministry of Public Administration and is licensed by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Kosovo. Its current donor is the European Union.

IBC-M’s non-profit status allows it to function as an independent international business school under Kosovo’s Higher Education Law.

The college is accredited by both the German Accreditation Agency Evalag (Evaluationsagentur Baden-Württemberg) and the Kosovo Accreditation Agency (KAA). It offers bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes, and operates in cooperation with University College Lillebaelt (Denmark) and VIKO University of Applied Sciences (Lithuania) to award students double diplomas and degrees.

Personal note:

For me, working with IBC-M was also a return to the region and its post-conflict realities — nearly 20 years after my first direct encounter with the consequences of the Yugoslav Wars.

In 1995, as Deputy Chairman of the Young Liberals in Saxony (Germany), I coordinated a humanitarian aid mission to an orphanage in Sarajevo — a joint effort between the Young Liberals and the Liberalna Stranka BiH. I oversaw the project from fundraising through to implementation. This included leading the team safely through the Serbian siege lines surrounding Sarajevo — and back home again. The experience left a lasting impression and shaped my understanding of conflict and recovery.

Challenge

My role at IBC-M was Head of College (Rector/Director). When I assumed this responsibility in 2013, the college had just completed its initial development phase: establishing its presence within both communities and setting up the academic curricula and institutional structure. This phase also included preliminary German accreditation by Evalag (a German accreditation agency).

Despite these successes, by 2013 the college was facing significant challenges. An incoherent product and pricing policy had led to student protests and damaged the institution’s reputation and positioning — all in the context of ongoing political tension in the city and region. In addition, it became evident that the college’s ambitious financial sustainability model was difficult to realize.

Solution

During my tenure from 2013 to 2015, the IBC-M team achieved the following:

Regained trust by substantially improving the college's positioning and reputation within both communities;
Promoted market orientation among staff, including both management and faculty;
Re-structured the pricing policy and implemented effective cost-reduction measures;
Stabilized operations and management, aligning them with a realistic long-term sustainability strategy;
Secured full Evalag accreditation (Germany), following an earlier preliminary accreditation;
Established business services and networking events, linking IBC-M to business communities in Kosovo, Northern Kosovo, and Serbia;
Initiated international academic collaborations and networks, expanding the college’s regional and global outreach.