A new breed of international managers will be produced by a ground-breaking European master's degree that includes a year in Oxford.

Management students can now study for a year in Oxford, plus two years in other European countries, to gain a British MSc, a French Diplome de Grande Ecole plus a German Diplomkaufmann.

The unique example of European educational co-operation was celebrated by some 130 people, who gathered to celebrate the validation by City University, London, of the ESCP-EAP European School of Management's three-country master's programme.

It is the first time that three European educational authorities have validated an integrated cross-border programme.

A celebratory lunch at Drapers Hall, in the City of London, was attended by senior representatives from business and education from the UK, France, Germany and Spain, as well as representatives from both institutions and from ESCP-EAP's student and alumni body, and 20 journalists from all four countries.

Professor Jean-Louis Scaringella, Dean of ESCP-EAP, European School of Management said: "It is a major step forward - a pioneering contribution to a genuinely European model of higher education."

Prof Scaringella said the agreement was the foundation for long-term partnership and should lead to co-operative research, joint programmes and exchanges.

The British qualification will be a European MSc in management.