Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair Applauds Laureate's Student Focus at Campus Eiffel in Paris

BALTIMORE, April 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Tony Blair, former prime minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, provided insights on leadership and the future of global business and politics to more than 400 students, faculty and business leaders during a visit to Laureate's Campus Eiffel in Paris today. Campus Eiffel, opened in 2013, is Laureate's newest campus in France and provides state-of-the-art facilities for Laureate International Universities students.

In his remarks, Mr. Blair spoke about the increasingly interconnected world, the fast pace of change and the need for governments to be more innovative and collaborative.

"The world is changing at a rapid pace and it is more important than ever for people to be creative, innovative and flexible," said Mr. Blair.  "I believe quality, accessible education, is the key to ensuring economic sustainability and success." 

The Laureate network in France includes four respected institutions of higher education:

• ECE Paris — Ecole d'Ingenieurs, founded in 1919 and recently recognized among the top 10 engineering private schools in France by l'Usine Nouvelle.
• ESCE — Ecole Superieure du Commerce Exterieur, France's first institution to focus exclusively on international business and ranked by Le Point as one of the top 20 business schools delivering the highest-ranking grade de master in the country.
• EBS Paris — European Business School, a Grande Ecole of Business and also recently recognized among the top business schools in the country by Challenges.
• IFG — Institut Français de Gestion, a leader in graduate and working adult business programs.

Combined, these institutions serve nearly 7,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

With today's visit to Campus Eiffel, Mr. Blair has now spoken at eight universities in the Laureate system. The others are Universidade Anhembi Morumbi in Sao Paulo, Brazil; Universidad Peruana de Ciencias in Lima, Peru; BiTS University of Applied Sciences in Iserlohn, Germany; Universidad Europea in Madrid, Spain; Istanbul Bilgi University in Turkey; Universidad del Valle de Mexico in Coyoacan, Mexico, and Centro Universitario Ritter dos Reis in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

"We are so proud of Laureate's institutions in France, which are among the top in the country in their respective fields of study," said Douglas L. Becker, chairman and chief executive officer of Laureate Education, Inc. "We are thrilled that Mr. Blair had the opportunity to visit this beautiful campus and share his experiences and ideas. He always inspires our students to work hard and use their education to benefit not only themselves but also their communities."  

About Laureate Education, Inc.
Laureate Education is the world's leading higher education provider. Laureate's more than 75 universities educate over 800,000 students in 29 countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Laureate's universities offer undergraduate, master's and doctoral degree programs in fields such as architecture, business, engineering, hospitality management, law and medicine. In 2014, the Laureate network is celebrating its 15^th anniversary. William J. Clinton, former President of the United States, is Honorary Chancellor of the Laureate International Universities network. To learn more, visit www.laureate.net.

SOURCE Laureate Education, Inc.