Why did you choose to undertake the Rotman-SDA Bocconi GEMBA?
My reasons behind choosing Rotman-SDA Bocconi GEMBA were mainly driven by my desire to combine a groundbreaking and innovative learning experience with a solid global perspective provided by two of the top business schools in the world.
Over the past few years, I’ve been reflecting a lot about my career strategy and how my job and expertise will change and evolve in the future, coming to the conclusion that we are in a rapidly changing business environment like never before: to keep up the pace you must keep moving and learning.
The second reason is linked to the global nature and modular format of this program. I like to consider myself a citizen of the world and an addictive learner: having the opportunity to experience this journey with an international community is an accelerator of the experience itself. The diversity that comes from travelling, engaging with professionals from all over the world, understanding different cultures and ways of doing business pushes you out of your comfort zone while giving greater managerial confidence to approach complex settings. The modular format of the Rotman-SDA Bocconi GEMBA revealed to be the best solution for managing my work commitments and making the best use of my time.
Finally, I strongly believe that the joint expertise of the two leading business schools is the perfect match to meet my desire of broadening my mindset, refining my business skills and being able to spot and capitalize future challenges faster than I ever have.
How is this choice satisfying your needs?
So far, I couldn’t ask for more. The faculty is made up of outstanding professors and the classroom environment is extremely empowering. The Directors and program management team are highly committed to continuously supporting the class throughout every single step of this journey by offering stellar guidance that lets us really focus on learning. Every module so far has been a blended experience which balances interdisciplinary knowledge, new hands-on strategic tools for business, and a strong focus on leadership and team skills development. We could also boast the opportunity to experience memorable “learning safaris” by visiting leading companies around the world, that are intended to give us concrete insights and shape our understanding of the concepts covered in class.
Concerning networking, it’s impressive how the class was able to connect and make strong bonds since the beginning: sharing, forming trust and helping one another towards deliverables and goals is allowing us to develop new ways of thinking and, why not…even offering potential business opportunities, career advice, personal growth, or simply new knowledge. We all have diversified backgrounds and roles, we come from 26 different countries and from several industries with various seniorities and generations, but everyone is striving for excellence and we all share the same vision and passion for learning and business challenges. That’s key to getting the most from the program.
What are your expectations for the upcoming international modules?
Keep fostering my network inside and outside the program by leveraging all the hands-on opportunities, keep learning and I can’t wait to translate into action all the insights learned so far to positively influence my job and my life.
Your program in 3 words/adjectives.
I would say:
#NextGlobalLeaders which is the hashtag we voted on as a class to represent our team in this transformative path together. It fully represents our strong team spirit and our commitment to always keep looking ahead.
Challenge as this program is an intense lifetime experience, powerful enough to completely change our personal and professional lives from now on.
Energy since GEMBA is for people who are willing to go the extra mile, to go above and beyond the expectations and make a bigger effort to have a real impact.
Giulia Burani
- Italian
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