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The Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) believes that economics is highly relevant to the quality of life. To live up to that conviction, we have to take care of people. Investing in our staff and students, binding people together and being

involved in society are the key elements of ESE’s principle of “inspiring each other”. With our education programmes we help to create an international EUR-campus where students from diverse cultures and societies interact,

learning from each other and enriching each others’ experiences. We encourage the activities

of our research schools, to the benefit of our researchers. And we share the fruits of our interests, experiences and learning with

society. In this respect we strongly agree that a university should be “a place of light, of liberty

and of learning” (Benjamin Disraeli, 1873).

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A. Erasmus Centre for Strategic PhilanthropyOn March 31st, the Erasmus School of Economics, the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, and the Adessium Foundation, initiated the Erasmus Centre for Strategic Philanthropy (ESCP). ECSP is a research and education centre which aims to make a positive contribution to increasing the quality, effectiveness and impact of the philanthropic sector. ECSP’s flagship theme is “Doing Good Done Better”. Using a scientific approach, ECSP looks at philanthropic foundations and their effect on society. The results of research activities are used to improve the sector.

1. Involving society

The Erasmus School of Economics finds its core business in research and education; however, involvement in society is an important issue for us as well. We are always looking at the social relevance of our research and we try to use our expertise to benefit society. The full potential of our School can only be achieved if the needs of society are at the centre of our activities. In this respect, ESE is of the opinion that universities should not only respond to society’s needs, but must also contribute to its evolution.

Can you measure the social impact of activities of non profit organisations?

Many companies would like to have a positive impact on society, so Corporate

Social Responsibility (CSR) takes high priority in their operations. Non-profit

organisations, moreover, focus entirely on making a contribution to society. In

her PhD thesis "Social performance of organisations: from output measurement

to impact measurement", Karen Maas has developed a method that makes it

possible to conduct a full social impact measurement.

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An important contribution to the well-being of society and the environment

In the Netherlands alone philanthropic organisations invest an annual 4-5 billion

euros in projects and programmes. Many of these organisations provide a clear

account of how much money goes to which specific causes, and the direct results

are also often easy to identify and demonstrate. But the long-term effect of the

support is not always clear. The centre will produce new scientific insights and

carry out research into the impact and functioning of the philanthropic sector,

while also enhancing the knowledge, insight and skills of existing and aspiring

philanthropists and philanthropic organisations. Students are educated in

different aspects of strategic philanthropy.

The effects of charitable direct mail requests on donations

On January 22nd, Merel Van Diepen defended her PhD thesis, entitled "Dynamics

and Competition in Charitable Giving". In her thesis, she studies the effects of

charitable direct mail requests on donations, as public opinion appears to become

more and more dominated by negative aspects. She examines whether society’s

current opinions translate to actual donating behaviour and provides socially relevant

insights to charities to guide their mailing strategies and help increase their revenues.

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B. Relation with the greater Rotterdam areaIn accordance with the School’s Rotterdam roots, the relationships with the city of Rotterdam, the industrial and port areas and the region are of vital importance to ESE. Several initiatives, educational cooperation and specific post-graduate master programmes are well-established in the Rotterdam area. The combined efforts of ESE and various educational institutions in the Rotterdam area, for example Delft University of Technology, further the reputation of one of the world’s largest ports.

Connecting with the entrepreneurs in the region

On November 18th, ESE co-hosted the Rotterdam Entrepreneurial Breakfast. The

breakfast is an annual event, held with the aim of improving the relationship and

network opportunities between the city and the entrepreneurs in the region.

Improving knowledge aspects around the port and maritime industry

On December 14th, the new interdisciplinary research and education programme

‘Smart Port’ was initiated. The project is a joint initiative of ESE together with

the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Erasmus School of

Law and Erasmus Faculty of Social Sciences. ‘Smart Port’ aims to combine different

knowledge aspects around the port and maritime industry in such a way that it

can offer a complete overview of the subject.

Robust and innovative centre for entrepreneurship education

The Holland Programme on Entrepreneurship (HOPE) is one of the six regional

“Centres for Entrepreneurship”. These Centres of Entrepreneurship are centres

where universities and business meet and collaborate. The project was initiated

in order to build up a strong structure for stimulating entrepreneurship in the

province of South Holland. Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), Delft University

of Technology (TU Delft) and Leiden University aspire to develop a robust and

innovative centre for entrepreneurship. The Erasmus School of Economics

(Department of Applied Economics) is one of the partners in this programme.

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Involving society

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Postgraduate master in the field of regional, port and transport economics accredited

The inter-faculty company Regional Economics, Port and Transport Economics

(RHV B.V.) plays an important role in fulfilling the needs as regards to conducting

research, advisory services, training and education in the field of Regional, Port

and Transport Economics. The post-initial MSc Master City Developer (accredited in

2009) focuses on employing an integrated approach in the development of urban

areas. The programme responds to the need for professionals who are able to

use a variety of disciplines when directing the process of urban development and

revitalisation at a strategic level.

Mayor Aboutaleb opens Erasmus Recruitment Days

On February 5th, Rotterdam’s new Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb opened the Erasmus

Recruitment Days 2009. It is the largest on-campus recruitment event in the

Benelux. Eight students of EFR (Economic Faculty Association Rotterdam) and

STAR (study association Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University)

worked full-time from August onwards to organise the event, where students

of ESE can become acquainted with the business community at large. There are

presentations and workshops for students, focused on giving them a good picture

of future career possibilities in the business world. For companies the Recruitment

Days are an excellent opportunity to meet talented and ambitious students.

Mayor Aboutaleb’s visit to our School

The new Mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb, visited our School on April

22nd. ESE organised a warm welcome and took the opportunity to discuss several

themes important for both the city of Rotterdam and ESE:

1. What is the best way to raise the average level of education in Rotterdam?

2. How can we create incentives that help to raise the performance of employees?

3. How can we develop the efficiency of logistic systems with regard to the

Rotterdam region?

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Preventing the brain drain from Suriname

For the past few years, the Erasmus School of Economics has cooperated with

the Anton de Kom University of Suriname in Paramaribo (AdeKUS). In order to

decrease the “brain drain” from Suriname, ESE provides students from the AdeKUS

with the education necessary in order to become Faculty at that university after

their graduation. Furthermore, ESE works towards increasing the number of PhD

students at AdeKUS. Three ESE-alumni, Madesta Lede, Denice Bodeutsch and Tina

Dulam, have been appointed as Faculty at AdeKUS as of February 2009.

How to help consumers online to make pension decisions?

In recent years, the range of available pension and related income-provision

products has expanded significantly, and this trend is likely to continue. It is well-

recognised that choosing a pension product is an extremely complex task for

individual consumers. Netspar has recently approved a € 500,000 grant to Professor

Benedict Dellaert and Dr. Bas Donkers for research on how individuals can best be

aided online in making pension decisions.

Temporary migration, integration and the role of policies

As transportation and communication costs decline and the income gap between

sending and receiving countries remains large, migration pressure in Europe is

likely to increase in the near future. Temporary and return migration will become

an even more widespread phenomenon. This TEMPO research project will extend

the frontier of knowledge on this important issue in several directions. The TEMPO

project team consists of economists from twelve European research institutions

and is coordinated by Professor Giovanni Facchini.

Involving society

C. Involvement in public issuesThe Erasmus School of Economics attaches great importance to transferring knowledge to society and its effective use of academic knowledge in society. Some of the ways that ESE achieves this include cooperating with the business community and providing programmes for, and in cooperation with, the cream of the business community and the non-profit sector. This cooperation results in a win-win situation for the School and the business community at large.

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Membership of the “Wetenschappelijke Commissie Wijkaanpak”

Professor Justus Veenman has been appointed by the Minister of Housing, Special

Planning and the Environment, as a member of the ‘Wetenschappelijke commissie

Wijkaanpak’ This committee will judge evaluation studies and effect measurements

on the methodic-technical design, the quality of the execution and the effect on

policy of the studies. Professor Veenman has been appointed to this committee

because of his expertise and experience in the field of integration questions.

Compulsory brain scans for job applicants

"Forget about palmistry! MRI scans for candidates for top jobs such as bank

directors could soon become part of the job application package", said Professor

Willem Verbeke. He is confident that brain scans will replace job interviews within

five years. “In a brain scan one can see what people notice spontaneously, such as

sales personnel interacting with customers”, Professor Verbeke said.

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D. Cooperation with the financial sector in the NetherlandsThe Erasmus School of Economics and the financial sector in the Netherlands cooperate in several ways in order to increase the understanding of the fundamentals of financial economics. The ESE helps to educate a new generation of financial experts. Furthermore we focus on connecting the expertise of the Erasmus School of Economics with the expertise of policymakers, professionals, representatives from the financial sector. In addition the financial sector provides us with valuable data for fundamental research in for instance risk management. So for us, this cooperation results in a win-win situation for the School and for the financial community at large.

Urgent need for experts in financial risk management

The financial sector and universities in the Netherlands have taken the joint

initiative to establish a number of high-profile programmes in finance at the MSc,

MPhil, and PhD level. The Duisenberg School of Finance provides education and

research opportunities in different areas of finance to a group of talented and

motivated students and professionals. Professor Casper de Vries coordinates the

MSc programme in Risk Management, thereby guaranteeing the programme's

academic content. The programme offers high-quality education in risk

management and gives particular attention to applied techniques in relation to

current risk management problems. The Duisenberg School of Finance, together

with the renowned Tinbergen Institute, offers a dedicated two-year MPhil

programme in Finance, followed by three-year PhD positions in Finance.

Crashes and systemic crises in financial markets: implications for banks,

investors and macroeconomic policy-makers

Systemic crises in the banking sector or in the institutional investment sector may

have substantial and unexpected spill over to the real economy. The recent sub-

prime crisis, originating from the US mortgage market, is a typical example in this

respect by threatening economic growth worldwide through the instability in the

banking system. The fourth annual Tinbergen Institute Conference was held in

Rotterdam on March 13-14. The conference brought together leading researchers

on crashes and systemic crises in financial markets to discuss recent developments

in this area.

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Engaging alumni and staff

12 2. Engaging alumni and staff

The Erasmus School of Economics is keen to establish and maintain positive relationships between its alumni and the School. Well-informed and committed ambassadors can enhance the School’s reputation and well-being. We encourage alumni to contribute in whatever way they can and have a range of activities suited for alumni at different stages of their careers. Networking opportunities, access to the intellectual life of our School and opportunities to meet fellow alumni and students can all be opportunities to bond with ESE and the EUR. The actions, decisions and attitude of our Faculty make the difference and therefore ESE is very keen to show its appreciation for their contributions. Furthermore, we give our Faculty and students opportunities to grow; we promote intellectual and social gatherings, and have the philosophy that involvement starts at the top.

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Alumni Day combined with EFR-Business Week

The second ESE Alumni Day took place on March 31st and was attended by 130

visitors. The Alumni Day is combined with the Opening Day of the EFR Business

Week. Prominent keynote speakers were Jean-Claude Juncker, the Prime Minister

and Finance Minister of Luxembourg, Peter van Uhm, Chief of the Netherlands

Defence Staff, Josef Ackermann, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee

of Deutsche Bank and Bert Heemskerk, Chairman of Rabobank Group.

Alumni Day combined with the Dies Natalis of the EUR

The third ESE Alumni Day took place on November 6th. This day was combined

with the Dies Natalis of the EUR, where this year’s focus was on the Erasmus School

of Economics, the oldest School of the EUR. The focus of the Dies Natalis was on

the honorary award ceremony of Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman.

Glass World Globe for our newest MSc alumni

On September 2, the first ESE graduation present was awarded to MSc student

Linda Bosman by Professor Ivo Arnold, Vice dean of ESE since September 2009.

ESE’s graduation present consists of a glass world globe with ESE engraving, and a

free two-year membership to the Erasmus Alumni Network. The globe symbolises

ESE’s mission to prepare its students for careers all over the world.

A. Activities for our alumni The Erasmus School of Economics intends to strengthen relationships amongst its alumni and also between the School and its alumni. Graduates from all the School’s disciplines can benefit from staying actively connected to other graduates. That way, best practices and latest developments in the field are shared in an organic manner. ESE is very conscious of the fact that its alumni directly reflect the excellent quality of its students. For this reason, ESE has recently launched its new alumni website. In addition, in order to reach a wider audience, the School will closely cooperate with the Erasmus Alumni Association (EAV). There are also several independent alumni associations affiliated with the School which all hold their own activities.

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NVAO grants accreditation to Tinbergen Institute's MPhil programme

The Dutch-Flemish Accreditation Organisation (NVAO), together with the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), has accredited TI’s

MPhil programme. In the report the qualifications ‘good’ and ‘excellent’ have

been awarded to all aspects of the programme, including the structure of the

programme and the quality of the lecturers. The committee states that these high

qualifications are “(very) rare exceptions”.

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B. News of our research institutesThe Erasmus School of Economics is associated with two of the world’s leading research institutes. All research programmes on which ESE focuses have their research embedded within the Tinbergen Institute (TI) and/or the Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM). TI is one of Europe’s leading graduate schools in economics and finance. ERIM is a joint institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) and the Erasmus School of Economics.

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Networking and meeting activities for ESE alumni

ESE and the Erasmus Alumni Association (EAV) have joined forces in order to offer

a better and more (inter)active alumni association. All students that graduate

after September 1st 2009 will receive a two year free membership to the EAV. The

EAV will organise networking and meeting activities so that new alumni can learn

from the experience of more experienced alumni. In addition, the Alumni website

has been updated and offers several communities for alumni to join.

The De Wit Foundation supports study, research and consulting activities of ESE

In 2009 the Society Trust Foundation of the Erasmus University Rotterdam received

the amount of € 140,000 from emeritus Professor De Wit, chairman of the De Wit

Foundation. The Foundation is now a designated fund within the Society Trust

Foundation of the Erasmus University Rotterdam. The De Wit Foundation will

focus on supporting ESE in general and on the stimulation of study, research and

consulting in the field of risk management and financial markets in particular. ESE

is very pleased with the start and goal of this specific foundation.

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Decennial jubilee for ERIM

On October 29th, ERIM celebrated its decennial jubilee by holding a conference

titled ‘Dual impact of management research’. This theme was discussed by several

renowned speakers. The conference featured a distinguished and varied line-up

of speakers who reflected on developments over the past ten years, and described

future challenges. The day ended with a so called “walking dinner”.

ERIM selected for prestigious graduate programme

ERIM has recently been selected to take part in the first Graduate Programme,

developed by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)

to stimulate excellence in doctoral research programmes. The programme

provides a block grant for further development of the most successful doctoral

programmes at Dutch research institutes, so that they may serve as models for

other institutions that want to improve their doctoral education. The jury dubbed

ERIM “the strongest institution in its domain, also internationally” and further

concluded: “The doctoral education and supervision provided by ERIM is of

extremely high quality”.

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C. Interaction between and welfare of our staff The staff of the Erasmus School of Economics is our most valuable asset. The well-being and health of our people is essential to achieving our goals. We recognise that investment in a caring and supportive working environment, will contribute to the welfare of all employees, can facilitate their development towards their full potential and can encourage improved performance and involvement in our community. In this respect ESE aims to provide an inspiring setting in which all staff adds flavour to the learning process.

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ESE-bility Day in support of professional skills

Once a year ESE organises an afternoon for its entire staff, with the aim of offering

them a useful and ready-to-apply set of tools to further enhance their professional

skills. On October 28th, the second edition of the ESE-bility Day took place in the

historic building of the now called “Van Nelle Ontwerpfabriek” in Rotterdam. The

factory, built in 1925-1931 for the refining and packing processes of coffee, tea

and tobacco, is today a UNESCO World Heritage Centre. This year’s central theme

of the ESE-bility day focused on competencies. In the university setting this means

that how we do things is as important as what we do.

Introductory period for newcomers

For all new staff members, the introductory period consists of the first four months

of employment at the School. This period is intended for making a new employee

feel welcome at ESE and helping him/her get oriented inside the organisation. The

new employee is paired with a mentor, so that (s)he has an initial contact point for

specific questions. There are induction meetings where information is provided

about the past and future of the School and about the education and research

programmes of ESE.

Erasmus Vitality Project

A healthy lifestyle serves as an important base for optimal performance both at

work and at home. In order to stimulate a healthy lifestyle, ESE offers its employees

the opportunity to participate in the Erasmus Vitality Project. Each year in the

fall, the project organises a sports afternoon. On this day, all the university units

engage in friendly sport competitions against each other. This serves as a healthy

start of the academic year for everyone. ESE participated this year with a team of

thirteen people of eight different nationalities. After heavy battles (on horseback,

with hockey sticks and finally in a relay race), the trophy was ultimately awarded

to the Faculty of Social Science. After coming first in 2008, the ESE-team ranked

4th this year.

ESE and emergency management

In the middle of 2009 it was predicted that the EUR, with its large student

population and many young staff members, was vulnerable to the impact of the

New Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic. ESE prepared a plan of action to ensure the

continuity of its crucial operational processes in the event of an outbreak of the

virus. Luckily the flu activity remained low on our campus. ESE is committed to

ensuring the safety and general welfare of those in its building and to maintaining

a safe campus. Consequently in 2009 all procedures were checked and routine

training was conducted.

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www.ese.eur.nl/annual_report

The digital version of our annual report can be found

on our website: www.ese.eur.nl/annual_report. Here

you can find more information on several subjects as

well as photo impressions and film clips. Additional

information, photo impressions and film clips are

indicated by .

ESE's ambitions

ESE's inspirationESE's visibility

ESE's today

ESE's road to 2013

Annualreport 2009

P.O. Box 1738 | NL-3000 DR Rotterdam | T +31 (010) 408 13 70 | F +31 (010) 408 91 45 | E info@ese.eur.nl

ESE's inspiration

Ann

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ESE's ambitions

Ann

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ESE's today

Ann

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ESE's visibility

Ann

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ESE's road to 2013

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