CEP partners with Standards to develop new programs

LAU’s Continuing Education Program forms a new partnership with Standards to provide tailored professional development workshops for companies, non-profits and individuals.

February 8, 2012

Majdalani outlines benefits of the partnership during his speech.

Dr. Halablab speaks on the role of civil society in sustainable development in his keynote address.

Dr. Safa offers background on Standards at the event.

A new partnership between LAU’s Continuing Education Program (CEP) and Standards, a Lebanese consultancy firm that specializes in innovative management and human resources solutions for high-profile employers, promises to offer new and enhanced professional development workshops for both public and corporate clients.

With the partnership, Standards will help CEP develop around nine groups of workshops to be offered in Beirut and its new centers in Tripoli and Zahle, with topics that include leadership, human resources, corporate social responsibility, sales and marketing, and business management.

“About two decades ago, talent development programs used to be an Ivy League near-monopoly,” CEP Director Michel Majdalani said during a ceremony January 24 in Beirut to launch the partnership. “Today, through the CEP at LAU, this will be within reach for many corporations in Lebanon, as well as NGOs, municipalities, governments, small and medium enterprises, and the like.”

The ceremony was moderated by Karen Boustany, an author, poet and TV host who received a degree in communication arts and political science from LAU.

“It is crucial nowadays to build a solid bridge between the academic world and the market place,” Boustany said.

Dr. Hady Safa, Standards managing director who founded the company in 2005, explained that one of the critical components of running a successful company is building a culture. Whereas companies can copy each other’s products and services, they can never copy another’s culture — which, he said, sets and drives the company’s mode of behavior.

“Both CEP and Standards saw the added value of combining the academic weight of one of the most important and prominent universities, with the hands-on, street-smart, practical experience of Standards, resulting in customized programs that fit the needs of today’s companies and individuals,” Safa said. “Joining forces, we celebrate knowledge, we celebrate experience and we celebrate credibility.”

During his remarks, LAU president Dr. Joseph Jabbra praised the new partnership as a means to reach out to communities throughout the country through collaborative and innovative programs.

“It’s not enough to be educated these days — you have to work with others, you have to collaborate, you have to cooperate, and you have to be innovative in order to serve society to the best of our abilities,” he said. “Universities would have no reason to exist unless they served society through education.”

The keynote address was delivered by Dr. Omar Halablab, general director of the Ministry of Culture, who spoke of the pivotal role civil society plays in the sustainable development of Lebanon — by filling a gap left by the state, he said.

“This collaboration helps produce skilled people,” he said. “It facilitates the training and development for all people, for people who cannot afford expensive programs.”

The Standards partnership is one of many groundbreaking projects initiated by CEP over the past few months, including the launch of a professional fitness diploma program and a satellite branch in Tripoli.

CEP also recently celebrated the launch of its second satellite office in Zahle, in partnership with the Secondary Evangelical School, with a ceremony attended by LAU officials, influential members of the local community, and Culture Minister Gaby Layyoun.

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