Once upon a time when HHK became CBS

By Janie Huus Tange

Finn Junge-Jensen in 1974 with IOA. Notice the water tower in the background. "Kilen" was completed on this ground in 2005 and was a realisation of Finn Junge's dream of a shared campus.

In 1987 when Finn Junge-Jensen was chosen to lead Handelshøjskolen i København toward becoming Copenhagen Business School, the school had just shy of 10,000 students and only offered programmes in Danish. For the president, the path was clear, “Growth was an imperative. In order to be able to push the business school ahead toward the global market, we would need more students and more international profiles – among both students and researchers,” explains Finn Junge-Jensen.
 
From local to global
“Having such a broad international field clearly gave us economies of scale and a competitive advantage. This was made possible, for example by increasing the population and establishing combined degrees, which provided us with a breadth no other business schools in the world had.”
 
In addition to this expanded international profile, it was also during Finn Junge’s tenure that CBS began establishing an international network.

“Establishing networks like PIM and CEMS moved us into the international league with big American schools, and European business schools like INSEAD and London School of Economics – schools we couldn’t have compared ourselves to previously. It was exciting and made us even more attractive on the local market,” says Finn Junge-Jensen enthusiastically. “It was also incredibly inspiring that we dared to look inward regarding institutional accreditation . We had international colleagues visit us to tell us more about ourselves – it was terribly stimulating, even though it took some time before anyone was able to see the value of it.”
 
Copenhagen Business School in 2014
“Today, when I visit CBS, I’m happy. It’s an institution with international researchers who obtain and disseminate exceptional results and with students from all over the world. It’s great. The fact that CBS has good students and good staff creates an attractive environment – to be in and to recruit to. That really pleases me,” concludes Finn Junge-Jensen, who celebrated his birthday with friends and family.

About Finn Junge-Jensen

Finn Junge-Jensen is an associate professor (most recently at the Department of Organization and Industrial Sociology, or IOA, which is now the Department of Organization

President of CBS from 1987 to 2009

Continues to work as an external lecturer at CBS’ Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy, or LPF

Also a member of various boards and advisory boards, including the Norwegian School of Economics and Stockholm  University Business School

Teaches board work at CBS