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Johnson Welcomes First Colombia-based Managers to Innovative Executive MBA Program

Bogotá-based students will earn a Cornell MBA, learning in real time alongside peers from across the U.S. and Canada

Johnson Welcomes First Colombia-based Managers to Innovative Executive MBA Program

Cornell University’s Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management will be welcoming the first class of Latin-American-based managers and executives to its Cornell-Queen’s Executive MBA Program (CQEMBA), beginning in Bogotá in July 2012.

Colombia was selected as the first country outside the U.S. and Canada in the CQEMBA program for a number of reasons, said Sunny Donenfeld, Johnson’s associate dean for administration, who is responsible for the school’s Latin American initiatives.

“The economy is doing very well, and there is strong demand for MBA education for rising managers and executives,” Donenfeld said.  “In Colombia, there is also a unique appreciation for master’s-level education.  We have key alumni here who are helping us expand the program.”

The CQEMBA employs advanced videoconferencing technology to link live with Cornell professors and other boardrooms in the United States, Canada, and Latin America.  Students engage in real-time classroom lectures and discussions, replicating the connectedness and energy of global business.  Classes are delivered in English, and participants earn an MBA degree in 16 months.

“Students in Colombia will earn the same MBA degree as their counterparts in the Ithaca, New York-based MBA program,” Donenfeld said. “And they will have the opportunity to connect with and learn from their peers and rising executives in North American cities such as New York, Houston, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Toronto, and many others.”

The enthusiastic response to offering the Cornell MBA in Colombia prompted Johnson to explore other Latin American markets for team-learning sites. The school will add Monterey, Mexico, to the CQEMBA program in summer 2012, as well.

“This program will contribute to training managers who will advance the economic development of Colombia, Mexico, and other Latin American countries,” Donenfeld said.