Some clips of Flight of the Conchords. "Business Time" and "Jenny" are partcularly great. Two very talented and funny Kiwis!

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

The Cambridge Institute, Switzerland

When is an Institute not an Institute?
When it's in Switzerland!
The word Institute is protected in the UK and cannot be used in the name of a company. It is therefore somewhat ironic that language schools abroad abuse the use of the word Institute and try to come over as some kind of semi-official government organisation.
Although the word Institute can be defined as an educational establishment, it also has the connotation of being also somewhat official and respectable.
So why The Cambridge Institute? Apart from offering Cambridge exam courses, the connection ends there and you are left with the distinct impression of sharp practice, of using a name designed to deceive. These places have absolutely no connection with Cambridge University. There are a number of them dotted around the world in various countries and they are all private money making organisations.
So you or I or any Tom Wolfgang or Norbert can start up our very own Cambridge Institute and there is nothing anyone (especially Cambridge University) can do about it and if the punters think that we are linked to that noble Institution then so much the better and may the Swiss Francs roll in quicker than ever before.

These are The Cambridge Institutes in Switzerland (and what a cunning stunt to pull)

The Cambridge Institute, Zurich
Löwenstrasse 40
8001 Zürich
Switzerland

The Cambridge Institute, Fribourg
Bd de Pérolles 18a
1700 Fribourg
Switzerland

The Cambridge Institute, Bern
Seilerstr. 22
3011 Bern
Switzerland

The Cambridge Institute, Basel
Weisse Gasse 6
Postfach
4001 Basel
Switzerland

The Cambridge Institute, Lucerne
Tribschenstrasse 9
Postfach 4843
6002 Luzern
Switzerland

Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Val Ferret, Switzerland

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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

OK, I guess it must be a terrible school, because only terrible schools have any kind of marketing strategy. .. I bet they don't even teach English, despite the EDUQUA certification.

Inspector Mchammered of the Lard said...

The above comment is more than a tad disingenuous.
The above comment probably comes from the Cambridge Institute, Switzerland as EDUQUA is a Swiss certification and little known elsewhere.
The Inspector is however still of the opinion that the use of the word Institute in your "marketing strategy" is somewhat misleading.
He would also have had more respect for you if the posting hadn't been "anonymous".

Anonymous said...

Totally agree with your comments. There's a CI in Vienna. Know for a fact that students mix it up with the "real" cambridge. Went there for an interview once, the "DOS" didn't know what a CELTA was (but still called herself a Director of Studies).

Anonymous said...

Heard Cambridge Institute even had Uni of Cambridge over a barrel for a while as registered cambridge.ch

Aso heard they are closing their Fribourg branch where a friend of mine was working