CQEMBA Director's Blog

Academics and more.... Cornell-Queen's Executive MBA Residency II - Business Venturing Session

jb362@cornell.edu — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:28:00 GMT

Academics and more….

There are many reasons why working professionals in mid-career choose to join an Executive MBA program. Of course, they are looking for a rigorous academic experience that will enable them to develop and broaden their business skills, knowledge, and perspective. That the academic experience in the Cornell-Queen’s Executive MBA program takes center stage and is world class, goes without saying.

Participating in an executive MBA program is much more than just a classroom and academic experience however. For working professionals, a very valuable aspect of an executive MBA program is the opportunity to interact and network with a broad variety of managers and professionals. The ability to consider, analyze, and discuss business issues with cohorts from other industries, business functions, and backgrounds provides a second-to-none opportunity to expand one’s knowledge and connections. Moreover, the significant friendships and business relationships that develop during a program can last a lifetime. In fact, as an Executive MBA Director, watching this process happen is a favorite part of the job.

Cornell-Queen’s Residency II - Business Venturing Session

Students in the Cornell-Queen’s Executive MBA program participate in three on-campus residential sessions. Recently, our current class – the Class of 2013 – was back on campus in both Ithaca and Kingston for the second of these residencies. The Business venturing session focuses on issues and topics related to entrepreneurship, intrapreneurship, leadership, and strategy. These courses tie into the overall curriculum in an integrated way; they enable students to develop those business ideas that they may have been incubating for some time. The students are also in the midst of their first of two major projects during the program, the final deliverable for which is a fully formed business plan for a new venture.

Coming home to Cornell and Queen’s

In previous blog postings, I have discussed the program’s cutting-edge learning model that allows regionally diverse professionals to study at these two leading universities from a base in their home city or area. Currently, the program participants live and work in twenty four different cities and regions around North America. Therefore, the students appreciate the opportunity to come “home” to campus during the residencies with their cohorts and friends.

During the week in Ithaca and Kingston, our students worked hard in the classroom and networked very hard outside of it. They had opportunities to attend Cornell Hockey and Basketball games, interact and network with the campus, including the full-time residential MBA students, and the Dean. A highlight of the week was also the opportunity to visit Taughannock Falls. Ithaca is located in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of New York and sits atop some very incredible geologic formations. We wanted the students to experience one of Ithaca’s splendors in the winter as well. As they say, “Ithaca is gorges.”

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Cornell-Queen’s Executive MBA global initiatives and expansion

jb362@cornell.edu — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:39:00 GMT

Happy New Year to friends of the program and readers of this blog. It is always an exciting time in the program as the recruiting and admissions cycle goes into full gear. The fall was a very busy time for the program and kept me away for most of the fourth quarter working on major program initiatives. I am glad to be back and would like to report on some key initiatives.

One of the highlights of participating in an executive MBA program are the contacts, friends and future business partners that one develops during the program. Increasingly this network is becoming more diverse and international in scope as the world economy becomes steadily more global in focus. The Cornell – Queen’s Executive MBA program, by its very design and nature is international and diverse in both scope and focus. The program continues to pursue additional international growth initiatives. Some of the highlights include:

Executive MBA Students from Cornell, Queen’s and CEIBS (China Europe International Business School) share the “Global Business Residency”.

One of the highlights of the program are the residency sessions, which give participants an opportunity to come together and focus on specific topics and projects. In November 2011, we had the great opportunity and pleasure to welcome 54 students from the English language Executive MBA program at CEIBS to participate in a joint "global business "residency session. This endeavor enabled students from three of the world’s top business schools to explore topics of critical importance to global business practitioners. The combination of rigorous academics, cultural exchange and cross-cultural networking provided for an extraordinary experience. The program was successful beyond all expectations and we will look forward to CEIBS joining us again in 2012.

An International program becomes more so in 2012. Cornell-Queen’s Executive MBA program plans expansion into Colombia and Mexico.

The large footprint of the program currently brings together participants into boardroom learning teams in 24 cities from all corners of the United States and Canada. It has not been possible however, to refer to the program as a “North American” program – until now! Beginning with the incoming class in the summer of 2012, the program expands into Monterrey, Mexico and enables students from the entire NAFTA region to truly be part of a program that touches all of North America. As a major business hub in Mexico, we look forward to bringing the program to Monterrey.

Bogota, Colombia will be the home of our first Cornell-Queen’s location in South America. As a location for expansion within the hemisphere, the dynamic economic development in the country, a vibrant business community, talented managerial pool and national commitment to higher education made Colombia the obvious choice for the first Cornell-Queen’s site in South America. We are very much looking forward to launching the program in Colombia.

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Welcome to the Cornell-Queen’s Executive MBA Director blog

jb362@cornell.edu — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 13:50:00 GMT

As the Director of the Cornell – Queen’s Executive MBA (CQ) program I welcome you to this blog. I look forward to the opportunity to share information and insights into the CQ program and to discuss issues of general interest for Executive MBA applicants, students and alumni.