EFR-Business Week

During the EFR-Business Week different aspects of a central theme are treated by the means of lectures, master classes, workshops and panel discussions. Internationally renowned speakers from the business world, politics and science put forward their ideas to discover and discuss issues around the central theme. The main strength of the EFR-Business Week is the integration of theory and practice by means of making contact between students and inspiring individuals of their future working environment. In addition, the EFR-Business Week has a distinguished international reputation, making sure that it is able to offer the best speakers and attract a very large audience each year. In the past the EFR-Business Week has had the honour of welcoming the following speakers:

• Mr. Wim Kok, Former Prime Minister of the Netherlands

• Mr. Peres, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel

• Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, Former Prime Minister of Israel

• The Rt. Hon. The Lord George Robertson, Former Secretary-General of the NATO

• Mr. Romano Prodi, Former President of the European Commission

• Mr. Barroso, President of the European Commission

• Mr. Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Netherlands

• Mr. Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank

• Mr. Gerhard Schröder, Former Bundeskanzler of Germany

• Mr. Rex Tillerson, Chief Executive Officer Exxon Mobil

• Mr. Morris Tabaksblat, Former CEO Unilever and chairman Committee Corporate Governance,

• Mr. Jeroen van der Veer, Chief Executive Officer Royal Dutch Shell

• Prof. John Forbes Nash, Jr., Nobel Prize Winner in Economics 1994

• Prof. Franco Modigliani, Nobel Prize Winner in Economics 1985

• Mr. Frederik Willem de Klerk, Nobel Peace Prize Winner 1993, Former President of South-Africa,

• Mr. Michail Gorbatsjov, Former President of the Sovjet Union

• Prof. E. Maskin, Nobel Prize winner

• Mr. Jean-Claude Juncker, Prime Minister of Luxembourg and President Euro-group

• Mr. Josef Ackerman, CEO Deutsche Bank

The EFR-Business week generally consists of the following components:

Opening day
The grand opening of the EFR-Business Week takes place during the Opening Day. The Opening Day has developed into one of the largest and most significant academic events in the Netherlands. The most prominent and internationally renowned speakers will present their views and experience in a variety of ways such as lectures, interviews and panel discussions for an audience of almost 900. By using audiovisual aids speakers are given a spectacular setting in which they are able to present themselves. Furthermore, the prestigious World Leader Cycle Award and the EFR-Business Week Award are granted to its recipients during this day. Both speakers and the audience are therefore treated with an afternoon filled with inspiring speeches and discussions in a large and spectacular setting.


CEO Awards
This event was first organized in the 2008 business week by the EFR, in cooperation with IEX, the largest financial publisher in the Netherlands. The awards are granted in four categories:

•  Most innovative CEO
•  The CEO with the best market feeling
•  The most strategic CEO
•  The best employer

External Congress / Interactive workshops
On a luxurious location in the Netherlands or abroad, around one hundred students participate in the External Congress. During two days interactive workshops, master classes, corporate presentations and plenary lectures will be held for students who have reached the final stage of their studies. This way, students will be able to get acquainted with a variety of companies. In order to maintain the exclusivity of the congress, only the hundred best students will be selected to participate. The outstanding quality of these days enables participants to extend their knowledge on the subjects discussed.


Conference Day
Conference Day will be the opportunity for students to interact with speakers and debaters. It will give students a more specific perspective of the EFR-Business Week theme. The programme will give students the change to discuss the central theme with representatives of multinationals, politicians and other people of interest. They will give the students information and tools which will bring them at a higher level in their studies. During the day there will be an informal debate between a large group of students and a group of knowledgeable speakers who will discuss the theme from both political, cultural and the business perspective. The Conference Day will build upon its past with speakers as Prime-Minister of the Netherlands, Mr. Balkenende; former Minister of Financial Affairs of the Netherlands, Mr. Zalm and former Prime-Minister of Spain, Mr. Aznar.


Business Week on Location
This event of the EFR-Business Week is intended for first and second year students. The day is filled with activities on an external location at either one of the more exciting firms or organizations of the Netherlands or a location where various business and political activities come together. In previous years the Business Week on Location has taken students behind the scenes of Schiphol Airport, one of the largest airports in Europe; the port of Rotterdam and the European Space Agency. Students get a glimpse of what the business world has to offer with the intention to motivate them for their academic and professional career.

A month before the EFR-Business week is held the Eclaire special is published. The Elaire is the EFR’s full-colour faculty magazine, and is circulated to students of the Faculty of Economic Sciences at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. The Eclaire Special is a special solely focussed on the EFR-Business week, which is send to 35.000 students all over the Netherlands.


The EFR-Business week 2009 took place from March 31st until April 8th. Next year the EFR-Businessweek will take place around the same time.