 |
|
|
  |
|
|
 |
|
Global OneMBA® Executive Program Graduates Inaugural Class
OneMBA participants from UNC Kenan-Flagler spent time in both Washington and Chapel Hill for the “local” portion of the Program. They worked with their worldwide class from four other leading business schools (see below) via virtual teaming and through four global residencies in the United States; The Netherlands and Poland; Brazil and Mexico; and Shanghai and Hong Kong. The 28 executives in the UNC contingent were a geographically diverse group, stretching as far north as Canada, as far west as California, as far south as Florida and as far east as Germany. Of the entire global OneMBA class, 66 percent live and work outside the United States and Canada. Graduates spent time in the Program learning and honing the skills they will apply in their global careers. “OneMBA provides much more value than the ‘immersion trips’ often seen in programs of its type. Participants from each university integrate and learn from and with their counterparts around the world on virtual teams,” said Kevin Scanlon, practice leader at BusinessEdge Solutions in New York. “Global virtual teaming is how businesses are getting work done today, and it’s an important benefit of the Program,” said David Ravenscraft, OneMBA associate dean, whose initial vision was key to the creation of the Program. Pete Stroud, managing director, central district, Canadian operations, for FedEx, partnered with classmate Alfredo Gonzalez of Monterrey Tech on a strategy project. “In the global teams, which change every trimester, not only was it important to understand the basics of team dynamics, but there were the added intricacies of cultural differences and remoteness. We experienced a firsthand appreciation of the challenges that managing globally creates,” Stroud said. Graduates say the business connections and network they have established with their worldwide classmates have created friendships and professional bonds that will endure beyond their time in the Program. “In one case, one of my classmates restructured his department at the same time I did. By sharing our approaches and experiences, we both benefited,” said Stefan Hoffmann, engineering director at Siemens Power Generation in Germany. ______________________________ Executives in the OneMBA Program enroll at UNC Kenan-Flagler or at one of its OneMBA partners:
|
he
77 executives of the inaugural global OneMBA® class celebrated the
completion of their Program at The Chinese University of Hong Kong
in May 2004, after having begun the pioneering Program together in
Washington, D.C., in fall 2002.