In addition to traditional lessons, the International Part-time MBA training program includes in-company classes held at the most advanced and innovative companies. Thanks to this format, we have the extraordinary opportunity to get in touch directly with managers and executives of leading multinational companies and learn from their experience.

On Friday the 17th of May, we attended an interesting in-company class at the Accenture Customer Innovation Network, an interactive environment where it is possible to imagine, explore, discover and develop the frontier of new digital services.

Luigi Solbiati, Accenture’s Managing Director, welcomed us students, and – together with Alessandro Cisco, Technology Strategy Managing Director – introduced us to the innovative concepts of the platform economy and market dynamics. The platform economy is a new business model that uses technology to connect people, organizations and resources in an interactive ecosystem, in which incredible amounts of value can be created and exchanged.

Subsequently, Alessio Oriolo, Management Consultant, explained the role of innovation in global business and the relationship between innovation and competition.
Finally, we were able to understand how companies use the famous new design thinking approach, agile methods and data analytics, to drive innovation in projects and value for customers.

After the preliminary presentations, we had the opportunity – taking both the consultant’s and the client’s point of view – to explore the spaces of the new innovation center, where the great challenges awaiting companies are solved, and where current business models and the consumer experience are reinvented.

In the Connected Home, we were free to interact with an environment that reproduces a typical day in the life of a consumer. The smart mirror recognizes facial traits and gathers a series of information on our state of health, so as to enable the virtual assistant to elaborate ad hoc personal care suggestions.
The fridge is equipped with a digital wall that reminds you of which products to buy and suggests meals depending on the food it contains, while the oven, through a screen, provides cooking suggestions.
All the functionalities of the house are linked together and managed by artificial intelligence, with the scope to provide personalized services and satisfy our needs in advance.

In the Smart Boutique, we understood how the shopping experience is personalized around the consumer, through the systematic collection of information. Data and information processing of consumer information takes the lead role in the purchasing experience, administered by Customer Relationship Management systems.

The Envision Room is dedicated to the automotive sector and to the personalization of the treatment reserved for the customer when visiting a vehicle manufacturer’s website or a physical dealer.

In the White Room, we immersed ourselves in an experience in the world of Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality. Some of us even had the chance to wear a headset and enjoy the experience of a virtual supermarket.
Finally, Alessandra Solazzi, Accenture’s Talent Acquisition Director, introduced us to the recruiting strategy, and the way in which Accenture connects talents to great innovation opportunities. If you think about it, this may also be a way for – why not? – being noticed by a potential employer. So my personal suggestion is to keep your resume constantly updated with the advanced tools offered by MIP and to be fully prepared for these events!

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