Managing an organization today requires looking beyond conventional industry boundaries and traditional competitive and financial forces. Geopolitical shifts, demographic change, artificial intelligence, and the energy transition are redefining the context in which organizations operate, compete, and create value—as well as responsibilities they hold. Businesses and third-sector organizations are influenced by these transformations, while their own decisions help determine how those transformations unfold.

This relationship was the starting point for Changing Scenarios Week, held from 14 to 18 September 2026, immediately after Opening Week, for the 52nd Full-time MBA cohort at SDA Bocconi School of Management. The course invited students to broaden their perspective on management from the outset, considering how changes across society, technology and institutions will shape their decisions as future leaders.

At a time of rapid and uncertain change, understanding this wider context requires connecting different fields of knowledge, questioning familiar assumptions and recognizing the consequences of organizational choices. These capabilities are relevant across sectors, wherever managers must commit resources and set a direction without knowing exactly what lies ahead.

The week brought together academic, business and institutional perspectives on these challenges. Contributions spanned demographic and generational change, the growing weight of finance relative to the real economy, healthcare innovation, AI and cybersecurity. Discussions also explored China–US technological competition, climate change, the green transition and the future of cities, a perspective that deserves greater attention in management education. Together, these contributions encouraged students to examine how developments across different fields interact and what those connections mean for organizations.

Connecting ideas and action

The teaching approach made these wider perspectives part of an active learning process. Led by Francesco Giavazzi and Olga Annushkina, the course alternated keynote contributions and discussion with practical group work. Students could engage with speakers, exchange interpretations and apply scenario planning tools to the questions emerging throughout the week.

The pedagogical approach introduced by Annushkina provided students with a structured process for translating broad transformations into specific strategic decisions. Working in teams, students framed a question for a chosen organization, investigated the forces shaping its environment and distinguished significant trends from critical uncertainties. They then developed alternative scenarios and considered the decisions each would require, alongside the signals that might indicate how the context was evolving.

This interplay between external perspectives and practical application was central to the course. The talks supplied ideas and questions; the group work required students to assess their relevance, test assumptions and explain the implications for action. The final presentations brought these elements together through concrete organizational choices.

A foundation for the months ahead

Positioning Changing Scenarios Week at the beginning of the MBA is a relevant pedagogical choice. Students arrive ready to reconsider established perspectives and engage with unfamiliar ideas. Introducing these questions early creates reference points they can return to as they develop more specialized knowledge throughout the program.

As students study business disciplines and acquire new tools and methodologies, the issues explored during the week remain part of that learning. An investment decision can be examined in light of geopolitical uncertainty and sustainability challenges; an organizational strategy can be tested against demographic shifts; a technology choice can be assessed alongside questions of resilience and sustainability.

This breadth is a distinctive feature of our Full-time MBA and reflects SDA Bocconi’s attention to strategy, geopolitics, technology and sustainability. Opening the program with Changing Scenarios Week establishes a foundation for the months ahead: understanding the wider context in which organizations act and recognizing the role managers play in shaping their future.