NEWS: Carsten Vikkelsøe Appointed as the IBA’s New Rector

Carsten Vikkelsøe brings solid experience from the education sector – and has worked for the Region of Southern Denmark as well as having been self-employed with his own IT company.

Decisive, strategic, and strongly focused on relationships and collaboration are some of the words that describe IBA International Business Academy Kolding’s (the IBA’s) new Rector. He is also someone who takes responsibility.

“With Carsten, we have gained an experienced leader and colleague who knows the education sector and the challenges we are facing. Carsten is inclusive and able to forge partnerships with the business community. And, not least, contribute to strengthening the future of the IBA,” says Brian Stein, Chair of the IBA’s Board of Directors, who has led the thorough recruitment process conducted this autumn.

Carsten Vikkelsøe has been looking forward to his first day at work:

“I’m excited to take the lead at the IBA. To drive the next phase of the IBA’s impressive development and to help shape what it means to be a practice-oriented, digital, and innovative business academy.”

To Carsten, it is an academy that dares to think in new and different ways in order to manage the education reform and grow in a challenging market. An academy that is in tune with the companies’ needs for skills. And, not least, one that builds bridges to upper secondary education.

“We must nurture our pipelines. So, I will visit every upper secondary institutions in our recruitment area. They should have my number so we can ensure a close dialogue and a strong cooperation going forward,” says Carsten Vikkelsøe, who brings 13 years of experience from UCL University College – five of which were in executive management.

He sees it as a great advantage that the IBA is an international and smaller academy, as it makes the organisation more agile. He intends to use this opportunity to position the IBA a digital frontrunner:

“I want small and medium-sized enterprises in our region to be able to say that when students come from the IBA, they have a digital mindset and approach to work.”

He believes this is a defining competence, whether the student is to become a trainee in a bank or manage e-commerce in a private company. Because he/she must be able to drive digitalisation and at the same time use those skills to work more efficiently on a personal level.

In the coming period, Carsten Vikkelsøe is looking forward to meeting staff, students, businesses and partners in Kolding and the surrounding area.