The creators and teachers of the new MBA study program “Customs Process Management” at an international conference
On May 25-26, 2023, the creators of the new MBA study programme “Customs Process Management” (Enrika Naujokė, Monika Bielskienė, Milda Stravinskė, assoc. prof. Dr. Erika Besusparienė) and teachers (prof. dr. Vesa Niskanen, lect. Kristina Gesevičienė, Lect. .Anthony Buckley) participated in the 8th European Customs Practitioners‘ Conference, which took place in Vilnius. This year’s conference was attended by representatives of business and higher institutions from Lithuania and other countries – Germany, Greece, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Bulgaria, Israel, etc.
In the 8th European Customs Practitioners‘ Conference were discussed various topics related to trade preferences and agreements, supply chain challenges 24/7, legal maneuvers, customs IT systems and automation. A lot of attention was paid to customs in the context of sustainability, here the committee chairperson of the MBA study programme “Customs Process Management” assoc. prof. dr. Erika Besusparienė, together with Monika Bielskiene, who contributed to the creation of the MBA study program, moderated the session “Green cross-border trade – what should importers and exporters think of and prepare for?”. In this session, Arne Mielken (United Kingdom) provided insights in his presentation that processes are already underway and international trade is moving towards sustainability along with the European Green Deal. He thus provided various insights on the fight against goods that affect the environment through multilateral environmental agreements, the dissemination of experience, and building the status of a reliable trader – Green AEO. In this part, Anna Gayk (Germany) presented the EU platform Access2Markets, which allows you to get various information about third countries (tariffs, taxes, trade barriers, etc.). Meanwhile, Dr. Christian Struck (Germany) shared good practice in the case of Wacker Chemie AG, which implements sustainable production processes in the chemical and semiconductor industries, calculates and analyzes its carbon footprint, and currently implements technologies and aims to reduce CO2 emissions, and prepare for the introduced carbon border adjustment mechanism.
The afternoon of the second day was devoted to a workshop on the topic “Increasing competencies in the field of customs”. This workshop was organized by the Customs Knowledge Institute (CKI) community and its chair of CKI management council Kevin Shakespeare (United Kingdom). VDU is also a member of CKI. In an interactive workshop, the chair of CKI management council and the lecturer of the MBA study programme “Customs Process Management” Anthony Buckley presented insights on the structure of knowledge (promotion of training, sharing of knowledge, building of knowledge, updating of knowledge, awards for sharing of knowledge) and invited the conference participants to express their point of view on this issue. The committee chairperson of the MBA study programme “Customs Process Management” assoc. prof. dr. Erika Besusparienė presented the problematic situation to the conference participants – different persons work in the customs field (import/export managers; financial specialists); The EU customs competence framework includes many different competences; The EU Customs Vision 2040 foresees many new changes; in 2030 many jobs will increasingly use technology, and workers will need to maintain creativity. Conference participants identified the main challenges related to new regulations and changes in IT systems; identified key competencies to know customs and trade regulations, and to have interdisciplinary knowledge (customs+taxes+supply chains); and benefits such as an expanded professional network, new career prospects and higher compensation.
The 8th European Customs Practitioners‘ Conference was useful not only in raising the qualifications of teachers, but also once again confirmed the relevance and compliance of the newly created MBA study programme “Customs Process Management” with market needs.
MBA study program creators Enrika Naujokė, Milda Stravinskė, Monika Bielskienė
MBA study program teachers and creators (Vesa Niskanen, Kristina Gesevičienė, Erika Besusparienė, Enrika Naujokė)
Session “Green cross-border trade – what should importers and exporters think of and prepare for?” (Arne Mielken, Christian Struck, Erika Besusparienė)
Presentation of the MBA study programme “Customs Process Management” in the session “Let’s make connections!”
Closing moment of the conference
