Author: Veronica Rafaniello

A Smiling Mind for future leaders

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It all started with some of us being curious to know more about who everybody is are beyond busy classes and aperitivo time, when you chit-chat with people, randomly passing from one to the other sometimes with small talk, at other times with meaningful conversations that nonetheless stay private. It all started with us needing some real space and some time to bring a small audience together, to be able to speak freely and have some space to share. Back then, the MBA program was starting to be very condensed and most of the time it required so much attention and work in and out of the class that sticking together on a personal basis was a need felt by many. Bringing thoughts and doubts, freely speaking about who we are, why we are doing the Master, what brought some of us to move from faraway continents to Italy and where we are heading to are all topics MBA students would want to put on the table to start an exchange with the people they are seated next to the entire day.

The Smiling Mind Talks came to life out of this malaise as an informal project created by my classmate Victor, an immunologist with a research background all around Europe. At the beginning of the year, right after the first intense weeks of lectures, he proposed that we should have the chance to express ourselves in a direct and open way through our personal stories. Once a week, on a voluntary basis, two of our classmates could make a small chalk-talk or presentation following a rather free format, where they would tell us about themselves, their passions or projects. At the beginning, the number of participants was narrowed down to a few, but as time passed, and people asked to be listed for their talk, the buzz spread amongst us and the audience grew from week to week, until Smiling Mind bloomed into a long-awaited, rather crowded event of the week, anticipated by much joy, beers and food for all.

Thanks to Smiling Mind, I learnt about my Turkish friend Demet and the fears and thrills of her entrepreneurial project. Demet moved from New York to start working on a long-desired plan revolving around women’s empowerment in disenfranchised rural communities, that will enable an ancient form of handcraftsmanship – jewellery filigree – to become known to the broader public. I also had the chance to get closer to Felipe, a business analyst who embarked on the MBA adventure from Chile with his inseparable wife Carolina, with whom he has literally climbed mountains all around the world. Felipe comes from a sporty family and is also a runner, and some years ago he was involved in a major accident. Hearing his story of recovery and resilience created a beautiful energy amongst all of us. The day I did my talk, I myself felt very nervous: I was going to share something private about my life, past experience and future expectations; but the reassuring gaze in my classmates’ eyes made me feel at ease as I concluded towards a feedback session where comments and encouragements made me understand how a moment of spontaneous deep connection can make us improve as human beings and feel more engaged.

In the past weeks we have learned from the innovation course that in order to make a radical change, you need a shift in the meaning of things. In an age where words like mindfulness are often overused and misinterpreted, an activity like the Smiling Mind talks really have an impact on the way we learn, from top-down to team-based interactions that help us create a sense of community stemming from experience-based practices, where we can learn from each other how to become future leaders.

About the author
 Marianna Trimarchi
I am a candidate of the International Full Time MBA at MIP. I have a background in academia as a PhD in Communication and Strategic Analysis and a career as content producer in the Media Industry.I have worked for the Italian Television as author and assistant producer for cultural programs as well as for other media outlets as journalist. I am passionate about understanding complex phenomena particularly related to internationalization and global development from a multidisciplinary perspective.

 

 

 

Politecnico di Milano wins the Italian CFA Research Challenge

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With the equity research report on Ferrari, the students of Politecnico di Milano defeat Università Cattolica and Università Politecnica delle Marche and are getting ready for the EMEA Regional phase. The Global Final will be held on April 22nd

 

Politecnico di Milano wins the Italian final of the CFA Research Challenge 2020, a world finance competition organized by the CFA Institute and promoted in Italy by FactSet, Fidelity International, Kaplan Schweser and PwC Italia.
The event took place remotely on Thursday, March 5th, following the provisions issued by the Ministry of Health in agreement with the President of the Lombardy Region, and involved nine universities, 43 students and over 30 professionals. The Italian phase, coordinated by CFA Society Italy, was attended by the teams representing the following universities: Università Cattolica di Milano, SDA Bocconi, Politecnico di Milano, Ca’ Foscari di Venezia, Università Carlo Cattaneo LIUC, Libera Università di Bolzano, Università di Pavia, Università Politecnica delle Marche and Università di Napoli Federico II.

Students Marco Aurélio De Oliveira Jesus, Luca Marconi, Matteo Muzio, Giovanni Pintus and Beatrice Sartori, under the guidance of faculty advisors Marco Giorgino and Laura Grassi and mentor CFA Alberto Mari, presented their investment case on Ferrari to a jury of six financial experts: Christian Alessandrini (PwC Italy), Alberto Chiandetti, CFA (Fidelity International), Gabriele Montalbetti, CFA, CIPM (Consultinvest), Marco Greco (Value Track), Pinuccia Parini (Family Strategy) and Carla Scarano (Anima SGR). The second and third place were awarded to Università Cattolica and Università Politecnica delle Marche respectively.

Politecnico di Milano will continue directly to the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Regional Final, which will be held on April 1st and 2nd, 2020. An evidence of the high quality of our students and the professionals who assist them, back in 2016, 2014 and 2011 Italy was successful in winning the EMEA regional final.
The Global Finals will take place on April 22nd 2020, bringing together the winners from EMEA, Americas and Asia Pacific.

“We are really happy with the result, which rewards every single effort made during these 4 months. The teamwork and the experience gained are, together with the victory, the biggest prize“. These are the first words expressed by the winning team of Politecnico di Milano. “We would like to thank CFA Society Italy for the organization of the challenge and in particular Mr. Quarto di Palo, Ferrari‘s Investor Relations team for the support and availability, our highly esteemed CFA mentor, Alberto Mari, who dedicated time, energy and above all never stopped believing in us, Prof. Marco Giorgino and Prof. Laura Grassi of Politecnico di Milano for giving us the opportunity to participate in this fantastic experience“.

“This year the company was certainly very challenging, a symbol of our country. We are very happy that our students’ work has been appreciated by the judges“, commented Marco Giorgino and Laura Grassi, respectively, professors of Financial Markets and Institutions and Investment Banking at the Politecnico di Milano. “Being the reigning champions and winning the Italian finals for many years now has generated some pressure and expectations, but this motivates students to give their best. Now, however, a new challenge awaits us and the goal will be to proudly represent our Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering and the Politecnico di Milano at EMEA level“.

“CFA Society Italy, in its many years of activity, has built an intense relationship with Italian universities to promote the principles of integrity and professional excellence among the younger generations“. Giuseppe Quarto di Palo, CFA, Director of CFA Society Italy and coordinator of the CFA Research Challenge in Italy, said: “We are happy to be able to offer universities and their talents the opportunity to compete in a realistic competition, aimed at reproducing the experience of an equity research department of asset management companies or investment houses. We also offer scholarships to the best students to access the CFA Program, in order to obtain a globally recognized certification in the financial industry“.

“This initiative makes it possible to achieve some important objectives in the field of education and academics. First, it is to bring students closer to the labor market by combining academic knowledge with the techniques and tools used by professionals in the financial sector. The second objective is to highlight our Italian university excellence at European and Global level“, commented Giancarlo Sandrin, CFA, President, CFA Society Italy. “This project could not exist without the valuable contribution of the association’s volunteers and the partners who supported the initiative like FactSet, Fidelity International, Kaplan Schweser, PwC Italia and Ferrari, the Maranello-based company being researched by students“.

“FactSet is extremely pleased to have supported CFA Research Challenge in Italy for the fifth year in a row by offering our analytical platform to students, professors and mentors“, mentioned Dorin Agache, Account Manager & Academic Sales at FactSet. “One of our main goals is to bridge the gap between the university and the labor market by enabling all participants to have access to the tools and market data needed to fully simulate the profession of financial analysts. Our warmest congratulations first go to Politecnico di Milano, which will continue the competition towards the EMEA title, but also to all the other universities that invest time and resources to improve the quality of teaching and believe in the development value of this extraordinary initiative organized by CFA Institute.”

 

 

Coronavirus and online learning: the word to our students

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Davide, Massimiliano and Sergey tell about their experience with lessons via web, which are currently substituting those previously scheduled for the classroom: «A positive solution, that allowed us to also take part in complex activities like group work»

The Coronavirus has had an impact not only on productive activities and commercial establishments, but as we know also led to a temporary suspension of educational activities, including of course those of MIP. That which at first seemed like a hard to overcome obstacle, instead turned out to be an opportunity, highlighting the school’s great responsiveness and its digital DNA: indeed, numerous lessons nonetheless took place (and are taking place) regularly online. Not only those originally slated to be held via web but also many of those that were set to be held in the classroom, so as to guarantee as much as possible the continuation of activity, limiting the inconvenience for students.

Theory and practice: the lesson is via web

Davide is enrolled in the Master in Supply Chain Management programme: on Tuesday, 25 February his agenda included a classroom lesson on the negotiation of contracts with Professor Ronchi. A lesson that was also to have included group work with other 25 students, in which negotiations were to be simulated. The day before – Monday, 24 February – an e-mail informed him that the lesson (which he thought was cancelled) would be held all the same, but in a digital mode: the e-mail had a link to a virtual meeting room on the digital platform.
«It’s a tool that we were already familiar with –says Davide – and which can also be accessed via smartphone or tablet, and this made everything easy. The teaching part went smoothly, we followed the slides prepared by the professor as if we were in the classroom. Once it was time for group work, other private meeting rooms were opened to discuss – by voice or on chat – with colleagues in the same group and with other groups separately, to then all be joined up again at the end of the lesson for the debriefing». A successful experience, then? «Everything was organized very quickly, for this we must thank the course leaders. There were no particular problems with the professor’s lesson, it was like being in the classroom; it was stranger to carry out group work over a device, but we quickly got used to it and, even if all the dynamics you experience in person can’t be replicated via web, the experience was positive, especially because it allowed us to not lose the lesson».

Students also meet online

Massimiliano, enrolled in the Master in Energy Management programme, also had a similar experience. Also in his case – and with the same timing – starting from Tuesday, 25 February, different lessons were moved online: «Normal teaching, but also external testimonials from professionals in the sector who shared their experience. I must say that in the beginning I was a bit sceptical on the effectiveness of this method, but I quickly changed my mind: a microphone was sufficient to speak with the professor and participate actively in the discussion. Considering the rapidity with which the school had to implement this system, it proved to be a very valid solution».
In Massimiliano’s case, then, the stop to lessons could have led to a further complication: in those very days, his course had foreseen the delivery of a group project on energy efficiency. «We had to analyse the energy situation of a company starting from its audit, map out measures and propose new ones, obviously considering economic aspects. In short, a very complex assignment. Thanks to this method, each group managed to complete the work in time for the deadline».

For Sergey, a student from Russia, the emergency could have caused even more serious problems. Indeed, Sergey came to Milan the day before the cancellation of lessons, to attend an MBA Bootcamp on Global Management; news of the measure reached him as just as he arrived in our city. «For me the timing was really bad. However, if the Bootcamp had simply been cancelled, it would have been much worse, with all the time and effort put into participating. It’s truly fantastic that MIP gave us the possibility of studying online. Of course I was very sorry to not be able to meet the students from the other countries in person, but current technologies give us the opportunity to respect the schedule and follow education programmes even in the event of an emergency: I had to follow the lessons via smartphone – I didn’t bring my laptop with me to Milan – but I appreciated them a lot. Moreover, the events of the following day showed that it was a responsible decision, that had to be taken».

FT Online MBA Ranking: International Flex MBA by the School of Management of Politecnico di Milano a world top ten online Master

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The only Italian programme in the Financial Times ranking and a European top 4

Federico Frattini, MIP Dean: “In an explosive period for the debate on digital transformation within education processes and online learning, Italy has as a global reference point in our School. An excellent ‘distance’ acknowledgement”.

The International Flex MBA offered by Politecnico di Milano’s School of Management is the only Italian distance learning programme to be included among the ten best in the world, and it is in 4th place for European Schools. This is confirmed by the Financial Times, which today has published its Online MBA 2020 Ranking on the performance of the most outstanding distance learning Masters in Business Administration.

“In a moment of lively debate on the need to approach education from a distance, where innovative, flexible and inclusive models are a choice and not the answer to an emergency, the School of Management of Politecnico di Milano is once again showing its role as a trailblazer presenting excellent results in this field”. These are the words of Federico Frattini and Vittorio Chiesa, recently appointed as Dean and President of MIP, respectively. MIP designs and teaches Masters and other courses on behalf of the School of Management.

They then continue: “Our educational offer is now very largely available through smart learning. The International Flex MBA is taught via our platform specifically designed in partnership with Microsoft. This full English version of our Flex MBA was the first smart learning MBA launched in Italy in 2014, and is one of our School’s major success stories; as of today, nearly 500 students have taken the Italian and International versions. In 2016, AMBA (the Association of MBAs) listed our Flex MBA among the most innovative MBAs in the world and, in 2017, it was the first such course in Italy to receive the EFMD EOOCS certification for online programmes of excellence. Last year, the programme was placed in 7th place in the QS Distance/Online MBA Rankings 2019“.

In greater detail, the International Flex MBA was evaluated highly in the FT Online MBA 2020 Ranking for the superb way in which course colleagues, School faculty and staff are all able to interact online through the platform designed specially for this type of Master. The programme was also acknowledged for its impact on the participants’ level of pay (average, they receive a 40% increase within three years from graduation), and on their career prospects, for the excellent cost-benefit ratio, as well as for the high percentage of women (47%) and international members on the School’s Board (65%) and its policies concerning corporate social responsibility“.

Frattini and Chiesa conclude by saying: “These are superb results, achieved through our efforts to continuously improve the programme and extend the international dimension of the curriculum. Today, the excellent level of MIP Graduate School of Business is there for all to see in its development of digital solutions supporting the education process and the value of our online offer. Our objective is to find the optimal balance between ready and easy access to all course material and outstanding teaching and personalised learning experience”.

Coronavirus: teaching moves online

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MIP is ensuring that lessons run smoothly and responding to the emergency by moving teaching activities online. “We are further extending our experience in digital learning for the benefit of our students, to reduce inconvenience”, explain President Vittorio Chiesa and Dean Federico Frattini

The evolution of the situation linked to the Coronavirus in Lombardy has led to the adoption of some precautionary measures to contain the contagion, including the postponement of a week of university activities in the region, which obviously includes the Politecnico di Milano. “We have, of course, complied with the provisions which have been introduced, but are trying as far as possible to meet the students’ needs by ensuring the continuation of their education and avoiding any inconvenience“, said President Vittorio Chiesa, “First of all, MIP decided to confirm the remote lessons which had been scheduled to take place online from the start and, secondly, where possible, to use the same teaching method for those activities that had originally been planned to take place face-to-face.”

Activities move online

From 25th to 29th February, therefore, individual assessments and activities planned at outside companies were suspended. “I would urge students, however, not to cancel all the other lessons from their agendas. As participants in our courses know, a substantial part of MIP’s training has always taken place online on the D-Hub platform, which works in tandem with FLEXA, our personalised and continuous learning platform. Many of our courses, therefore, will be delivered online, even those initially planned using another methodology“, says Dean Federico Frattini. Then again, Frattini explains, “at MIP we have always been strong supporters of digital learning, and in recent years we have gained a great deal of experience in this area. In such a situation, we want to continue to offer our students a service with a high standard of quality, as we wait for the resumption of the regular running of the lessons.”

Our goal is to limit disruption

MIP’s focus on the potential of digital learning in recent years had, of course, been generated by completely different types of appraisals: “We wanted to respond to the need for greater flexibility and personalisation, also in order to meet the needs of our students, both in terms of their work and their family commitments. And all this can be done without renouncing the effectiveness of the education we offer. We have worked hard for all these years so that our students are guaranteed high standards; we now feel a duty to use this know-how to continue to provide education and minimise the inconvenience caused by these extraordinary measures,” Frattini continues. Moreover, the Rector of the Politecnico, Ferruccio Resta, in his communiqué to students and colleagues on 27 February, announced the decision to start the semester via remote learning.

Temporary precautions

The School immediately adopted precautionary measures in line with the provisions of the Ordinance signed by the Minister of Health and the President of the Lombardy Region and in staying in line with the approach of the Politecnico.
It is also monitoring the evolution of the situation through the official bodies, in order to guarantee its students and their families safety and peace of mind, both with regard to their stay in Italy and the smooth running of the teaching activities.
Should the situation return to normal and indications by the health units and territorial authorities lead to the suspension of these measures, lessons and activities will once again be carried out in the usual manner. However, MIP is also leaving open another possibility: “Anyone who so wishes, in the face of specific needs, will be able to continue to enjoy the content via distance-learning” concludes Frattini.

The challenge of circularity in extended supply chains

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Awareness around the environmental impact of products and processes and moving towards the sustainable use of natural resources is increasing in Europe. As such, the circular economy paradigm is obtaining even more success.

Based on this, the H2020 FENIX project, of which the Politecnico di Milano is a partner, aims to develop a new set of business models and industrial strategies with a view to facilitating circular products and services.

Three pilot plants will be established thanks to the development of sustainable processes for the combined treatment of different types of e-waste (e.g. printed circuit boards):

1) A modular, multi-material, reconfigurable pilot plant producing metallic powders for additive manufacturing processes
2) A modular, multi-material, reconfigurable pilot plant producing 3D printed gems
3) A modular, multi-material, reconfigurable pilot plant producing advanced filaments for 3D printing processes

The three pilot plants will be designed in such a way as to exploit Industry 4.0 solutions (e.g. smart sensors) which are able to send online data in real time through dedicated websites developed by FENIX.

The result of this is that production capacity will be shareable amongst the different actors involved in very different supply chains, by encouraging the involvement of end users (both private users and companies) in industrial processes and offering new services to companies for monitoring and controlling industrial plants.

The scientific role of the Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering takes many forms. Firstly, the identification of new circular business models able to make use of pilot plants developed in FENIX. Secondly, the assessment of how Industry 4.0 technologies could support circular processes, specifically those related to the disassembly of Printed Circuit Boards (PCB). Finally, the Department is responsible for the dissemination and communication of the FENIX project and the management of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) strategies.

One of the initiatives promoted by the Department related with FENIX involves collecting obsolete mobiles/smartphones. The mobile phones will be disassembled by the Industry 4.0 Lab in order to facilitate the recovery of valuable materials from electronic components through eco-friendly chemical processes. These materials, once transformed into metal powders, will be reused in additive manufacturing processes.

FENIX is also promoting a set of success stories related to the adoption of circular practices in different industrial sectors. The goal is to use real-world examples to demonstrate that the adoption of circular economy principles will allow for the creation of more sustainable supply chains by improving quality, market value and the alternative exploitation of secondary materials.

Finally, FENIX aims to integrate Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) for the efficient recovery of secondary resources within the same industrial plant. FENIX will consider three types of KETs:
1) Advanced production systems: a wide number of sensors will be embedded in each module that makes up the FENIX pilot plant.
2) Industrial bio-technologies: since the initial stages, FENIX has taken into account the use of biometallurgy for the sustainable recovery of materials from different types of waste.
3) Nanotechnologies: this type of materials technology allows for an improvement ofmaterials’ mechanical properties, thermal and electrical conductivity and overall functional properties.

FENIX (Future business models for the Efficient recovery of Natural and Industrial secondary resources in eXtended supply chain contexts)

FLEXA: how knowledge is amplified by AI – an MBA candidate’s perspective

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From Udemy to Coursera, from Google Garage to Linkedin Learning, the importance of online platforms offering courses and training to students and practitioners has turned into a relevant and profitable business in recent years. Building upon a capital theme, the need for lifelong and up-to-date learning, the flourishing of digital platforms all around the web has emphasized the need in both academia and the job market to master the most relevant trends in a field, to go in-depth, and to find individual paths of specialization. The common denominator is to develop competences taking into consideration the hectic pace of professional life, but at the same time allowing the effective achievement of growth in knowledge.

To respond to these requirements, platforms have proved to be reliable and efficient tools for meeting time and space needs, being based on accessible resources anytime, anywhere, and allowing learners to take courses at their own pace and to suit their schedule. In an MBA candidate’s life, punctuated by busy weeks of classes, assignments, and the search for career opportunities, these conditions are even more important when it comes to navigating a complex and fast-changing world through focused learning objectives. For this reason, MIP Politecnico di Milano has implemented and offered to its students an innovative learning platform, FLEXA, able to tailor and personalize content, filling the gaps in knowledge.

The novelty about FLEXA is that having been developed in collaboration with Microsoft, it exploits AI to learn from its users, making it a real digital mentor. The journey on the platform begins with defining the desired career objective and job function and the way to get to it through a self-assessment of one’s hard, soft and digital skills. Progressing from that information, an objective is set that can be entrepreneurial or managerial; FLEXA then proposes a selection of certified and high-quality content such as articles, videos and online resources coming from an archive of numerous sources like Stanford Business or Forbes, which serve to reach the goal in the long term and take into consideration the time the user has available. After six months, the test can be taken again to evaluate the improvements made and what has been achieved in terms of knowledge acquired. Then, a new and further professional aspiration can be set.

My daily routine with FLEXA starts in the morning, as I arrive at MIP School of Business. When I turn my computer on, I go to the platform to take a daily test, which, if I give the right answer, allows me to gain some points that can be turned into discounts for courses and purchases from the catalogue. If I forget to tune in, there is usually someone from amongst my companions who will be taking the test and will remind me to do so too. Then I read the proposed article of the day or use the search tab to look for more specific information, and, based on my rating, I tell the platform if the subjects are in line with my interests or not, so as to receive more tailored content as my use of the platform increases. On my learning pathway, I can also find webinars, so on those days when I don’t have the time to read, I can still learn by watching some useful resources. What I really like about the content offered is that since it comes from other universities, you can feel the quality level of a real shared platform where knowledge is not monetized.

One of my classmates told me that one day, he went to a company presentation and met someone from the part-time MBA program. They started chatting and, instead of exchanging their Linkedin profiles, they chose to connect on FLEXA. In his opinion, this opportunity helped him to network in a different light, augmenting proximity and building upon common ground with respect to a more official platform where, after all, sometimes you come across people you don’t really know.

I look forward to diving into the future advantages FLEXA will give me by putting me in touch with companies and a broader community of professionals, alumni and students. My profile will be shareable for recruitment opportunities with specific companies I would want to come into contact with. In order to engage effectively with them and enjoy a more direct possibility to network and monitor vacancies, I will be able to engage personally and to adjust my profile, choosing how best to show my suitability.
As I see it, this innovative way of combining e-learning and the search for a career with AI could really provide us with the right insights for finding the best fit in our present complex business environment.

 

About the author
 Marianna Trimarchi
I am a candidate of the International Full Time MBA at MIP. I have a background in academia as a PhD in Communication and Strategic Analysis and a career as content producer in the Media Industry.I have worked for the Italian Television as author and assistant producer for cultural programs as well as for other media outlets as journalist. I am passionate about understanding complex phenomena particularly related to internationalization and global development from a multidisciplinary perspective.

 

 

 

How Microsoft AI Is Transforming This MBA Program

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Microsoft AI learning platform FLEXA helps students at Italy’s MIP personalize their MBA experience. We spoke to an MIP MBA student to find out more

 

The traditional MBA program sees students go through a core curriculum covering finance, marketing, and accounting, and then choose from a wide variety of electives. But it’s difficult for students to know where their weaknesses are and what courses might best support their career goals. After the MBA, it’s tricky for alumni to keep their knowledge up to date.

Not so at MIP Politecnico di Milano, where a new artificial intelligence learning platform, created with Microsoft, is enabling a more personalized learning experience for both MBA students and alums.

FLEXA, described by the university as a ‘continuous-learning platform’, uses Microsoft AI technology to categorize content appropriately for every individual student, based on data sourced from a series of online tests.

Say you took the tests and identified one of your weakest areas of knowledge as finance. FLEXA will then filter through all the available content approved by MIP and provide you with the best resources available to strengthen your knowledge in this area.

What’s more, MIP MBA alumni are allowed continued access to FLEXA, which means they can log back in months down the line and receive up to date knowledge in a range of topic areas.

An innovative MBA

Colombian native and experienced architect Juan Pablo Fierro chose MIP for its reputation for innovation.

He’s studying an MBA to gain the business know-how to merge his creativity as an architect and surveyor with a business mindset capable of creating his own venture. Using FLEXA at MIP, he says the course content is more personalized to his specific needs.

Even before the MBA started, Juan says students benefited from MIP’s tech-savvy approach. They were onboarded through a series of short explanatory videos; one for every MBA topic. It’s up to the student how much of this content they watch, how many times they go through it, or when they decide to watch them.

“When you go through those videos you get an overview of everything you will learn,” Juan explains. “By the time we all meet for classes in Milan––even if your background isn’t in finance or design or leadership––we all had the same basic knowledge to build on.”

AI on the MBA curriculum

The rise of digital technologies like artificial intelligence and FLEXA is not only changing the MBA experience, but also affecting what MBA students learn.

Two out of the four specializations on offer concern business digitization. Students can choose to study Entrepreneurship & Innovation or Digital Transformation & Big Data alongside more traditional MBA modules.

MIP encourages a balance of hard and soft skills when learning about technology, with an emphasis on experiential learning. Students get to experience an intensive one-week study tour in the Silicon Valley, which is designed to expose students to its ecosystem and deepen their understanding of entrepreneurship and cutting-edge topics.

The MBA itself is designed around four key elements: An analytical approach to problem solving, innovation & futuristic technology, a balance of hard and soft skills, and close collaboration with companies.

Students sign on for projects with one of MIP’s partner companies for three-months of essential full-time, hands-on experience in industry. For the digitally savvy students, the university has close partnerships with tech companies like IBM, Microsoft, and TeamSystem. Having the opportunity to work with companies like these can be the chance students need to launch a career in technology.

“One of the most important things I have learned at MIP so far is that the things we originally learn can change very quickly, because innovation is always happening,” Juan says.

 

 

Originally published on

 

CleanTech Challenge Italy

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MIP is the Business School, with exclusivity for Italy, which has been appointed to organise the CleanTech Challenge Italy, the Italian stage of this international competition dedicated to the world of green and clean technologies overseen by the London Business School (LBS) and University College London (UCL).

The challenge is to develop innovative ideas for clean technology, from the design stage to obtaining the funding to realise the project.

The CleanTech Challenge is a global innovation and business plan competition, open to students and alumni from the best universities and business school across the globe, to recognise cleantech ideas which have the following characteristics:
– are innovative and outside of the box
– have business potential
– will have a positive impact on the environment

The deadline for students and alumni to present their ideas is 1 March 2020. The finalists’ projects will be presented at MIP’s main building on 3 and 4 April 2020.

At the end of the Italian round, Gianluca Spina Association, a not-for-profit association created for the advancement of innovative educational projects championed by MIP’s former President and Dean, who died prematurely in 2015, will award:

– €5,000 to the winner team of CleanTech Challenge

– €3,000 to the group that will support the plastic reduction in the enviroment, attending to the #plastic challenge (this prize can’t be assigned to the CleanTech Challenge winner team).

The winners will also represent Italy at the CleanTech Challenge finals, held at London Business School on 23 and 24 April 2020, where the prize is £10,000.

The deadline for students and alumni to present their ideas is 1 March 2020 within 23:59. Entrants must provide the 300 words abstract via email to CleantechChallenge2020@mip.polimi.it.
To obtain further information on the scheduling and the competition’s regulations, register HERE

Educating, innovating, adapting to a changing environment: the future of MIP

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Vittorio Chiesa and Federico Frattini, recently appointed respectively President and Dean, talk about changes, strategy and goals of Politecnico di Milano’s Graduate School of Business

 

After celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2019, MIP began 2020 under the sign of change. Starting from the top. Vittorio Chiesa and Federico Frattini are now respectively holding the positions of President and Dean.

While the people holding positions of responsibility have changed, the goals of the Business School remain the same: offering its students all the tools to compete in an increasingly complex job market. But, to do that, it’s necessary to develop new offerings and new strategies. «The business school scenario has changed», Vittorio Chiesa tells us. «The context in which we act has evolved, it has become more competitive and challenged the traditional educational model, revealing all its limits». It’s a reality that, as Federico Frattini reaffirms, «requires a rethinking of the way the educational offering is provided, increasingly oriented towards lifelong learning».

 

Digitalization that looks to the world

New contents, different formats, lifelong learning: these are the keywords that sum up the MIP guidelines, and which in turn also indicate the challenges faced. «The first involves innovation in the ways education takes place», explains Frattini. «We want to stimulate a reflection on the physical spaces in which we educate our students. The campus of the future is distributed, consisting of smaller, more agile and flexible spaces. It’s an evolution made possible by digital technologies. With this in mind we must ask ourselves about the nature of formats: are they correct? Can they become more integrated with the professional and private lives of our students? We have already experimented with projects in this field, for example with Flexa, but we must do even more with a view to continuous learning».
Digitalization, on the other hand, is one of the two strategic axes that led to the growth of MIP in recent years. «The other», says Vittorio Chiesa, «is internationalization. Our classes welcome students from the entire world. But we must not stop here: we must broaden our geographical scope. And if on one hand we can count on a city, Milan, which can now boast the same appeal of the biggest and most modern European capitals, on the other it also up to us to expand our international reach. The second challenge is this».

 

Together with companies education is continuous

The third and last challenge, instead, relates to the theme of continuing education: «The concept of alumnus itself must be rethought», says Federico Frattini. «Until not long ago, an educational programme like a Master’s ended and students began to work. Today this passage is no longer so clear: there’s a continuous need for education and training, for this reason teaching must be rethought with this in mind. And it’s for this reason that we can’t ignore the development of critical skills and the ability to know how to learn in our students».

The corporate nature of MIP itself offers a privileged point of view on world of work and on the needs of companies, as President Chiesa explains: «MIP is a non-profit joint stock company. Sitting on the MIP board of directors of MIP are numerous leading Italian and international companies. We have noticed that their presence has translated into a multiplication of the value of our offering, always in step with the requests that come from the world of work».

 

A competitive business school

So the challenges are clear. As is the future strategy. «Business education finds itself in a highly competitive context», concludes Federico Frattini. «A business school is in all respects a company subject to strong competitive pressures, determined by the entry of new competitors on the market and accelerated by digitalization. Our priority is to implement a management style for the school focused on increasingly greater professionalization. That can be done by involving people with specific capabilities and skills. Competitiveness, professionalism and speed of action are three keywords for the future of MIP».