Global EMBA: first residential module outside IESE
A trip to the heart of innovation
Is there any better way of understanding our world than going to the heart of technological innovation? Members of the first Global EMBA course met up once again, but this time a long way from IESE, in Silicon Valley. Students, teachers and program directors traveled to the cradle of the microchip to gain first-hand knowledge from the stars of the technological revolution
Resumen
Members of the first Global EMBA course passed the Progam’s halfway point in Palo Alto (California), making history once again. This experience, completing the first residential module away from IESE exceeded all expectations, both for students and for teachers and program directors alike.
"When we were preparing the program, we felt that the only way of gaining proper access to a real-life situation such as Silicon Valley and its companies was to organize one of the modules there. This offered the possibility of seeing one of the most important financial environments in the world at first hand", remarked Professor Francisco Iniesta, Associate Academic Director of the Global EMBA.
Members of the course were happy to take advantage of this opportunity. "It was a rare chance to get to hear leading technology experts from companies such as Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Apple, Hewlett Packard and Intel speak about the strategies of their companies and the future of technology", said Global EMBA student Stephen Hickson, vice president of business development for Latin American Pay TV Service, based in Atlanta.
One program
Every minute of the timetable was packed in order to provide room for all the activities planned: classes, teamwork sessions and time for individual study offered participants the opportunity for closer contact between students and their teachers. For Professor Jordi Gual, "one of the most outstanding elements of our stay in Silicon Valley was the possibility of spending ten days together with our students".
In addition to Professor Gual, the teaching sessions were led by IESE professors Juan Roure, Josep Valor, Jordi Gual, Paddy Miller and Brian Subirana. The module included contributions from other teachers from Stanford and Berkeley Universities, and it was completed with visits to companies based in the Californian valley.
Teaching “in situ”
"The classes given in Silicon Valley were specially prepared to reflect an economic environment like that of California", Jordi Gual pointed out. "In addition, the fact that we were actually in the US gave us the opportunity to invite teachers or experts to illustrate and add to our explanations of the subjects studied. For example, my subject –”Markets, Competition and Government”– included contributions from an economist who defended the position of the American government in the Microsoft Case".
For Wendy Erikson, Executive Director of the Program, "the teachers played a fundamental role in the success of this international field trip, not only because of the quality of the teaching sessions but also as a consequence of their local knowledge –part of their training was completed at US universities– and the contacts they provided".
The activities planned for Global EMBA participants were mutually complementary, as Roland Poschner, one of the program students, explained: "The speakers transmitted their views, experiences and theories about Silicon Valley and the companies they were involved in. This together with the company visits was an excellent complement to the classes which provided you with a much more complete picture".
The success of this module benefited greatly from the attitude of the students themselves, who have brought a large amount of professional experience to the Program, experience which helped to raise the level of discussion and contributed greatly to the success of this module. "They maintained very high and exacting standards", pointed out Jordi Gual.
The stay in Palo Alto also provided the opportunity for a meeting of former IESE Alumni –around forty of them– who paid a visit to the Global EMBA team.
A very positive experience
Wendy Erikson sees the experience, as well as the program’s general development, as very positive. "All the participants now know each other very well and there is a real team atmosphere. It was because of this that after one of the periods of distance learning they were very keen to see each other again."
The level of student identification and involvement in the Program is also very high: "One of the course members, an executive working for Apple in Spain, helped to arrange a visit to his company’s central headquarters, where we were received by one of the company’s top managers", relates Wendy Erikson.
As with all the program modules, after the residential module comes the on-line work relating to the matters dealt with during classes. For Professor Gual, actually working with students on-line was a new experience: "It takes some getting used to, but it works. You can’t conduct classes as you would in the classroom, but it is useful in helping students to define things more clearly".
Next stop: Shanghai
After a further module i n Barcelona, this experience will be repeated from 8 July onwards with the same cast but in another part of the world: China. Shanghai is the home of the CEIBS (China Europe Business School), a school with which IESE has close links. The CEIBS will be the location for the Program’s second international field trip and is an ideal place for studying the emerging economies.
While the first Global EMBA students look forward to the final part of the Program –they graduate at the end of September– the second group have already started their course, completing their first module in Barcelona at the beginning of June. |
  
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