Milan-Cortina 2026: the challenge of resilience

Italy will once again host an Olympic event. But for the event to become a real opportunity, professionalism and preparation are needed. For this reason, Politecnico di Milano is offering a Master in Design, Construction and Management of Sports Infrastructure

 

 

For Milan and Cortina, the real challenge begins now. With the initial enthusiasm for being assigned the 2026 Winter Olympic Games having died down, now it’s necessary to think about how to organize and manage the event in the best possible way, to capitalize on what could be an important opportunity: «The virtuous management of an important sporting event represents a great opportunity for revitalization, both social and economic.  Not only for the cities involved directly, but potentially for the entire country» explains Davide Allegri, research fellow at a Politecnico di Milano and coordinator of the Master in Design, Construction and Management of Sports Infrastructure.

The legacy of an important event

Among the most recent positive examples, the most important case study is provided by London 2012. «An edition of the Games that highlighted a few concepts which by now can’t be ignored. Whoever has as an objective the social and economic sustainability of an event, can’t overlook careful planning, and in particular the upgrade of existing facilities» continues Allegri. «Eventual new infrastructure, instead, must be conceived with a high level of resilience, thus it must have characteristics of flexibility, adaptability and convertibility.

Once the event is over, it must be possible to reconvert infrastructure. It’s the concept of legacy: everything that an important event can bequeath to a territory, both in tangible and intangible terms».

More sports, more inclusiveness

And it’s precisely this approach that guided the Milan-Cortina candidacy: the recovery of existing infrastructure on one hand, the construction of a large new facility on the other, namely the Palaghiaccio (ice skating rink) that will indirectly redevelop the San Giulia neighbourhood and the village at the Porta Romano rail yard which will subsequently become university housing. «This new infrastructure will help make Milan even more of a touristic city, with increasingly innovative areas for sports and free time. That’s what happened, by now several years ago, in Barcelona thanks to the 1992 Olympics, whose effect is still quite visible today» explains Allegri.
In this way, the city becomes closer to the people and thus more inclusive: «Today sports invade every sector of the modern city. It involves everything related to well-being, cure of one’s body, entertainment, free time, for every age and group and social category. Having adequate sporting infrastructure means laying the foundation for a society based on shared and recognized educational values» explains Allegri.

A change of mindset

But Italy still has much to do. «In France, the sports ministry is among the most important, while in Italy it rarely has enjoyed its own autonomous strength and recognition. The facilities we have largely date back to the fascist period; others were built in the ‘70s and ‘90s, but none of these was designed with their long-term management in mind. Not to mention the numerous school gyms that dot our territory and lie in a state of disrepair: the small sports facilities, starting from scholastic and church ones, are fundamental cells that generate virtuous processes of social requalification» says Allegri. «We need to start again with a new cultural approach, that views sports and its spaces as essential values of contemporary society. For this reason, training focused on management is important»,

This is exactly the objective of the Master in Design, Construction and Management of Sports Infrastructure, established by Politecnico di Milano with the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), Italian public bank Istituto per il Credito Sportivo, public sports development group Sport e Salute Spa, Coni Lombardia (the Lombardy region arm of Italy’s Olympic committee) and Italian first-division football league Lega Serie A. «This course is for post-graduate students in architecture, engineering and design. But it is such a multidisciplinary field that it also involves economic and legal disciplines, for example. The sports sector by now is one that requires great scientific preparation and specialization. There are numerous employment opportunities: sports clubs in all levels and sectors; public and private sports facility management institutes; public administrations».

An enlightening project work experience at TECNO

 

After finishing the MBA courses, the time arrived to put into practice all the newly acquired skills learnt during the lessons, by developing a real project for a company. Before enrolling in the International MBA at MIP, I specialized in the production of audiovisual online content for advertising. My strong passion for leadership and organization inspired me to expand my career path towards the business areas, so as to become a strong team leader. My aim was to find a project work experience where I could lead the development of a project where I would be accountable for the design, execution and results.

I chose to pursue the 3-month social media marketing consultancy project offered by TECNO, an Italian organization that promotes the development of electronic companies and is currently undergoing a digital transformation program. The challenge was to design and develop the social media marketing plan for the LUMI project, a fair and editorial project focusing on building automation, innovation and green energy resources https://lumiexpo.com/.

The advantage of working for a small organization is that you have the possibility of creating a project from scratch, in a small amount of time. I had already had some background working with social media content in my previous jobs. Nevertheless, the lessons from the marketing, strategy and project management courses at MIP gave me solid foundations for leading the project in a methodical manner, to complement my ability for content development and production.
Social media marketing has become a key element in digital communication for a business. The advantage of social media platforms is that they give a company presence within large networks and the opportunity of being found easily by customers around the world. It is also the fastest way of establishing direct contact with a potential customer quickly, effectively and seamlessly.

During my experience I was able to interact with the management, the journalists in charge of the editorial project, an SEO analyst, a copywriter and a team of consultants in charge of the digital transformation process. By holding continuous discussions with them, I envisaged a plan for increasing the number of acquired users of the LUMI4INNOVATION blog https://www.lumi4innovation.it/ while raising LUMI’s brand awareness in line with the brand’s values, revolving around the concepts of exploration and wisdom.

Three months is a very short time to develop LUMI brand awareness thoroughly from scratch on social media. Nevertheless, it’s enough for increasing website traffic and the number of followers on each social media platform, while identifying the main topics of interest for the audiences on each channel and for suggesting a workflow for digital communication in preparation for the LUMI EXPO in November 2019.  Achieving the goals of this project gave me the confidence and reassurance to pursue an opportunity in digital marketing for an international company after my graduation.

Stay tuned for my next and final chapter, when I will tell you how my life has changed during this past year…

 

About the author
Roberto Niño Betancourt

Roberto is a student of the International full time MBA. He is a Colombian filmmaker and new media artist based in Milan.
He has collaborated as a post producer for MTV Latin America, as well as many European production companies. He is very passionate about international cross-cultural collaborations, craftsmanship and the sustainable conservation of natural resources.

 

 

Prada Group gives its support to MIP Politecnico di Milano’s International Master in Luxury Management

Prada Group and Taittinger Champagne alongside prestigious IMLux Master, world leader in training luxury sector professionals

 

Held in collaboration with France’s NEOMA Business School, this programme awards a double qualification. 7th edition about to start, enrolment to the 8th opening in October

 

EdUniversal 2018 ranking places the International Master in Luxury Management (IMLux) in first place globally among all luxury management Masters (the two MBAs listed above it have a different focus). International luxury sector leader Prada Group is sponsoring the programme from this year, together with Taittinger Champagne.

This course is an Italo‐French collaboration between two of the world’s major countries for top‐of‐the‐range products. Participants will gain a double degree, a Master’s degree (1st level) from Politecnico di Milano and a “Master in Science from NEOMA Business School.

IMLux begins on 9th September 2019, and students can register to the 2020 edition from this October. Taught jointly by MIP Politecnico di Milano Graduate School of Business and NEOMA Business School, in collaboration with Prada Group and Taittinger Champagne, this programme is designed for people keen to learn the skills necessary to hold key positions in luxury sector companies, which, by definition, demand very specific abilities and creativity.

The 12‐month full‐time programme and concluding project, all taught in English, is split into two, with half the course held in Rheims ‐ city of champagne ‐ and half in Milan ‐ a fashion capital ‐ within a very international environment, both for its student body (representing about 20 nationalities every year) and for its faculty and partner companies. This is a great opportunity for students to make contact with leaders in the worlds of fashion, cosmetics, furnishing, food and drink, hotels and automotive industry.

Stefano Rastrelli, HR Director for Prada Group: “We are fully aware of the great value of education in today’s landscape, and are delighted to announce that Prada Group is enthusiastically joining this project. We welcome the multicultural background of students from many countries and their wide range of multidisciplinary skills. It is a pleasure to support this programme with its geographic diversity and different inputs from the academic and business worlds”.

This Master is unique in that it works so closely with companies”, added Fabrizio Maria Pini, Course Director. “We do not restrict exposure to in‐class presentations and testimonials given by entrepreneurs and managers, or to proposing on‐site company visits, however important these are for a full immersion into the world of luxury. A key aspect is that companies are actively involved in the course and its material, students take on a real project and help to resolve problems and face challenges where a solution is really needed at that point in time”. Fabrizio Maria Pini then continued, “Another factor that makes this programme so unique is its integrated approach to creating value in the luxury sector. IMLux provides a detailed and extensive overview of the entire value creation chain, from coming up with an idea to the manufacturing processes, from supply chain to retail, and from online to offline communication”.

Machines? Smarter and smarter!

Exploring artificial intelligence and machine learning, technologies that bring accelerating change to our habits (and those of businesses)
 

 

Algorithms that can anticipate people’s tastes. Tests that can provide early diagnosis of a series of illnesses or predict which mechanical components are most likely to fail. Applications in a broad array of other fields, from manufacturing, marketing, and social media to voice recognition and self-driving cars. If the future is already here, this is partially thanks to artificial intelligence and one of its components: machine learning.
Machine learning is a discipline that develops algorithms to make machines intelligent, that is, able to learn from past experience and make decisions regarding the future,” explains Carlotta Orsenigo, Associate Professor of Computer Science at the Politecnico di Milano and expert in machine learning algorithms.
The advantages are enormous, also economically: more revenues at lower costs. Better forecasting of demand allows us, for example, to optimize stock management and offer better service to our customers.
Carlotta Orsenigo is also co-director of a master’s program in data science at the Politecnico di Milano School of Management, whose graduates may find work in the business sector. “The International Master’s Program in Business Analytics and Big Data is addressed to people who have a degree in science or economics and less than five years of work experience. The objective is to develop competencies in three different areas: technology, methodology, and business. The one-year program prepares students for a job market with a very high rate of placement.

Predicting demand

The key figure in machine learning is the data scientist, who analyzes data and develops algorithms that make it possible to use similar data as an effective prediction (and decision-making) tool and also interfaces with key company representatives (head of marketing or production, for example) on specific objectives.
Machine learning can be very useful in retail for analyzing and predicting demand for products and services. Based on what customers have bought in the past, predictions are made as to what they will buy in the future. Likewise, the algorithm can analyze an analogous customer pool, that is, one with characteristics similar to our own, to predict what our customers will choose” continues Orsenigo.
The other aspect of demand prediction are recommendations, i.e., the suggestions that big players such as Amazon or Netflix make to their customers (If you liked that film, you’ll also like this one! Are you looking for something to read? Readers with similar tastes also enjoyed this one!). The intelligent machine processes a huge quantity of data and extrapolates patterns and trends without any help from humans.

A host of applications

Another field of application is the manufacturing sector. In this case, the data to be analyzed are collected by the various sensors. Here we are getting into the Internet of Things (IoT). This makes it possible to identify potentially defective pieces in advance and prevent future failures.
Actually, the most important field of application of machine learning is medicine and medical science. “The analysis of genetic expression, for example, allows for the detection of patterns between healthy and unhealthy people and the design of targeted diagnostic tests” says Orsenigo.
Another very important area is voice recognition /vocal interfaces, as we have seen from the success of Alexa and similar virtual assistants. “Our generation still prefers the option of typing, but young people are increasingly used to interacting vocally with their devices.
And there are also chatbots, applications designed to simulate human conversation and learn from their interlocutor (tone of voice, topics of conversation, questions asked…) so they can provide increasingly well-targeted answers.
Not to mention self-driving cars
In a word, the future is still there to be written—sorry, coded.

From e-commerce to omnichannel marketing

 

Customer needs and business opportunities
Manuela Balli, Adjunct Professor at MIP, and Giulio Lampugnani, Head of FBA seller services for Amazon, explain why the integration of online and physical sales channels is a winning strategy.

The time of conflict between digital and brick-and-mortar stores has passed. The future of e-commerce is omnichannel. If properly developed, it a virtuous model, but also one of notable complexity, emerging as a response to the recent trend toward multichannel purchasing behaviours by customers. One figure stands out clearly: according to a survey by the Osservatorio Multicanalità of the Politecnico di Milano, 67% of Italians above the age of 14 have adopted a multichannel buying approach.

Digital and retail: a necessary alliance

«Today, for example, customers have learned to seek product information in brick-and-mortar stores and then complete the purchase online, or vice versa: generally speaking, the two channels are used in a seamless manner, depending on specific needs», explains Manuela Balli, Adjunct Professor at MIP. «In such a scenario, company synergy and consistency become key factors. The omnichannel approach demands a cooperative, collaborative model. There might initially be conflicts between digital and retail, perhaps caused by pricing, advertising, or responses to various external stimuli. But we have to find a solution in line with the overall company strategy. Companies’ competitive edge will be determined by the response to this challenge».
The goal is to create an impeccable buying experience at every step of the way. As Manuela explains, luxury companies provide an excellent example: «In this sector, the logic behind customer experience is enhanced. The consumer has strong expectations all along the process. To meet them, it is necessary to analyze consumer behaviour, identify the rationales behind new buying behaviours, and focus on customer relationship management».

The Amazon model

New strategies based on new tools – namely, digital channels – are actually grounded on a proven principle: the key importance of the customer and their satisfaction. Amazon is certainly an example of success here. According to Manuela, «Amazon is an example of reverse business development. They started in the digital and then decided to develop brick-and-mortar stores in an omnichannel orientation».
Giulio Lampugnani, Head of FBA seller services for Amazon, also confirms this approach. «To grasp exactly why our company has set out to develop physical stores, it is important to understand the three tenets that have guided our company since its birth: the first is to offer customers the broadest selection of products possible; the second is to offer them at the lowest price possible, and the third is to provide the most convenient service possible».
It was this last tenet that led to Amazon’s decision to develop brick-and-mortar stores. «We realized that it was better for customers to have the choice of purchasing some products in person», explains Giulio. «We started with Amazon Books and Amazon Go, two chains where we have sought to replicate some of our most distinctive online mechanisms. In the bookstores, for example, we have paired each book with a display showing customer reviews, this being one of the most disruptive elements introduced by Amazon. In Amazon Go outlets, on the other hand, we chose to replicate the simplicity of online shopping: no cash registers, no lines. The customer makes the purchase with one click».

More digital, more Made in Italy

Giulio Lampugnani goes on to explain that Amazon also generates momentum for companies that would like to implement an omnichannel strategy abroad. «Amazon is an international showcase that can be leveraged as a development channel to generate brand visibility while working toward a second stage that may involve opening a brick-and-mortar channel».
This is a great opportunity for Italian businesses, as well as one of the reasons that prompted Giulio to accept an invitation to be guest lecturer in the course led by Manuela Balli titled “Developing e-Commerce Revenues through Omnichannel Marketing”, which will be held at MIP on October 29, 2019. Giulio closes by saying, «We care about the growth of Italian companies. The level of penetration of e-commerce in the retail market in Italy is still around 7%, whereas in the United Kingdom the figure has already reached 19%. Once we have bridged this gap, Italy will be able to showcase a much more powerful commodity, that is, the Made in Italy brand».

A day at the Accenture Customer Innovation Network

 

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!

 

 

 

About the author
Andrea De Donatis

I am Andrea De Donatis, a student of the international part-time MBA at MIP Politecnico di Milano. I Graduated in energy engineering and I am currently working in technical sales for a leading multinational electronics company based in Milan.
I am very passionate about technology, IT and digital marketing. I strongly believe that disruptive innovation is vital to create new value.

 

 

The impact of Geopolitics on business and Business Schools

 

Global political and cultural goalposts are moving, and Business Schools must move with them

The world is entering an era of change to the global order. Populations are growing, technology is allowing civilians to become increasingly connected and, despite much political unrest and division, governments are now being asked to unite to face threats such as climate change.

An understanding of geopolitics has always been important for business; perhaps because, at the most basic level, international law allows governments to stop foreign firms from operating in their countries. Areas of geopolitical interest for companies range from differences in international trade and legal requirements to the threat of war or terrorism, or specific events. The latter includes the growing momentum of the so-called 16+1 initiative: China’s mechanism for engaging with countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

The most recent gathering of 16 states which endorse China’s ambitious ‘Belt and Road’ investment project took place in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik, and has unsettled European Union (EU) leaders, who are watching the growth of China’s political and economic influence in the region closely.

Chinese-led infrastructure projects, including a high-speed railway from Budapest in Hungary to Belgrade in Serbia, promise European countries that are most in need of support a financial boost. However, China would also benefit significantly from the overall plan of linking up this railway line with its port in Piraeus, Greece, the entry point for Chinese goods to Central and Eastern Europe. State-owned Chinese banks will provide the finance for these projects and Chinese companies will supply the technology and construction.

Yet, although many European businesses have developed plans to deal with the moderate change factor of Brexit, barely any are focusing on (arguably) more dramatic geopolitical events and associations, such as this alliance. A preoccupation with creating plans for all Brexit outcomes – including the improbable – has dominated many businesses, fuelled by the European media. Despite the UK failing to leave the EU in March 2019, eyes are still firmly fixed on micro-changes in the debate, meaning that other important events and geopolitical shifts are largely passing unnoticed.

One such issue is that the population of Africa is expected to more than double, to 2.4 billion before 2050. Despite such a huge projected growth figure, companies are still not devoting enough – or, in some cases, any – attention to this demographic, which is likely to become highly relevant to them. China, however, has recently pledged $60bn of investment in major capital projects which aim to develop the local African economy.

In many respects, global political and cultural goalposts are moving and managers are having to deal with totally new perspectives and situations when they work internationally. C-suites are increasingly investing in diversity management and the most advanced businesses are taking further measures to ensure they are aware of the geopolitical stance of countries in which they work, trade or are interested. But are they doing enough?

How businesses can cope

Geopolitical changes in areas of operation can be significant for companies, and I’ve observed many that react to change in precisely the wrong way. One problem is the duality of the relationship between a large number of organisations’ headquarters (HQ) and their individual branches. Although it is absolutely necessary to be close to customers in order to understand their needs, build authentic relationships and have a tangible point of contact, I would argue that these offshoots often operate with far less autonomy than they deserve. Deciding and controlling everything at HQ is not always the best option when dealing with cultural, organisational and strategic hurdles.

For these reasons, many businesses would find their operations much improved if they modified their basic organisational structure. Scrapping the one-way mechanism of knowledge sharing and implementing a bilateral dialogue for information exchange can greatly influence and improve strategic decisions. Jointly deciding what action a company should take in the face of a geopolitical incident is far more likely to provide a successful outcome. It’s important, in these cases, not only to use the experience and wisdom of the C-suite but also the regional branch’s specific understanding of the local market. The best method for ensuring this – and one that increasing numbers of international businesses are adopting – is implementing local research and development units. This helps companies grow country-specific innovations and produce relevant services for a customer base they have invested in understanding.

Impact on Business Schools

By its very nature, geopolitics is a multifaceted issue which can impact a number of key areas for Business Schools. For example, last year’s annual Application Trends Survey from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) revealed that although applications to Business School programmes in Asia Pacific, Europe and Canada increased between 2017 and 2018, programmes in the US reported a drop in volume. In total, the US experienced almost a 7% decline, including a 1.8% drop in domestic application volume and a 10.5% fall in international volume across all programme types.

According to Sangeet Chowfla, GMAC President and CEO, this lag in US Business School demand can be explained by several factors, including a low unemployment rate meaning that young professionals may have an increased opportunity cost of leaving their jobs in pursuit of an advanced degree. This is combined with a disruptive political environment in the US, headed by controversial President Donald Trump, and the emergence over the past decade of tremendous educational and professional opportunities abroad. A combination of social and political factors have had a clear bearing on some Schools which dropped from previously record-high application numbers. How do Business Schools combat these types of disadvantages strategically? I would argue that there are two key areas for Schools to focus on.

1. Increasing strategic partnerships

It has long been acknowledged that diversity in business education cohorts is crucial to students’ exposure to different cultures, mindsets and ways of working. As the world becomes increasingly connected and multinationals seek to reach new markets, one of the key soft skills they require from new hires is emotional intelligence and the ability to create relationships with peers living thousands of miles away. Increasingly, Schools are hiring more international faculty to aid this – but it’s simply not enough.

Progressive Business Schools must look to create more partnerships with overseas universities and businesses in order to offer students a better understanding of markets and societies across the world, including Africa, Russia and China. One such partnership is embodied in a design innovation hub, launched between MIP Politecnico di Milano and Beijing based Tsinghua University, in Milan, Italy. It is set to become the biggest Chinese innovation centre in the world. The hub is Tsinghua’s first – and only – educational and research base in Europe, and aims to become a platform for Chinese companies to receive innovation-related services such as training in AI and robotics technologies, rapid scaling up of SMEs, and instruction in areas including entrepreneurship.

The platform will be open for participation from academic circles, governments and industries of both China and Italy, as well as promoting communication and collaboration between the two countries in education, scientific research and cultural industries. Its aim is to combine the Italian methods of innovation and development with the Chinese methodology of production at scale, combining the best of eastern and western expertise.

2. Co-designing international courses

Another way to provide students with insight into the geopolitics of markets that may be of interest to them in their future careers is to design specific international programmes. For this reason, Politecnico di Milano’s Graduate School of Business recently partnered with the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) to develop new post-graduate programmes in luxury brand management in the Middle East. This area represents a big opportunity for luxury firms and these courses will take a closer look at the management of premium brands as well as emerging luxury markets in Dubai and other shopping destinations such as Milan, Paris and Geneva. The aim is to give professionals in this arena experience and knowledge of working in a country with different sets of laws, politics and business etiquette.

This partnership brings two different areas of expertise to students interested in this growing – and unusual – market. On the one hand, the University of Wollongong was the first international university to establish a presence in Dubai and offers unparalleled expertise in tertiary education in the Gulf Region. Combined with MIP’s prowess in design and luxury management, the partnership’s programmes will recognise the commercial and cultural significance of the Middle East’s luxury market, and are likely to be significant for executives across all luxury categories including fashion, jewellery, automotive, travel, food and wine.

International immersion is crucial for students looking to understand the cultures and ways of working of their future target markets, while also making them attractive to businesses working in the region. Many organisations are moving away from past failures caused by their misunderstanding of foreign social and political tropes; for example, Starbucks’ failure in Israel, due to its lack of understanding of the country’s already-booming café culture.

As the world becomes ever more connected and managers are exposed to even more groups of politically and geographically diverse people, the need for an awareness of issues and the skills required to adapt to changing circumstances will only increase.

For businesses, hiring international people, increasing the autonomy of individual branches and researching the geopolitics of new and existing areas will become increasingly prominent. For Business Schools, imparting an awareness of huge geopolitical issues, such as the trade and technology war between the US and China will help ensure that managers of the future can make critical business decisions that are sufficiently informed. This will be crucial to their success in the years to come.

 

Originally published on

These MBA Grads Merged Their Contrasting Skills To Build A Company Together

Virginia and Barbara graduated from MIP Politecnico di Milano School of Management with not only an MBA, but a friendship and startup

 

As the saying goes, two heads are better than one.

For Italian-born lawyer, Virginia Soana and logistics manager, Barbara Manni, this phrase rings true.

The pair are MIP Politecnico di Milano School of Management (MIP) international part-time MBA graduates, and not only did they develop their skillset on their MBA, but they also built up a close friendship during the 20-month program.

Now, over a year later, Virginia and Barbara are developing their own social startup, Neogenes. Here’s how it all unfolded.

“I understood that I was missing something”

Virginia had around six years of experience in export, marketing, and international sales before starting her MBA at MIP, and she spent most of that time working abroad in Australia and the US.

Once she came back to Italy, she worked for luxury sports apparel manufacturer, Sigoa, leading a team of 10, managing global export opportunities, and designing annual strategic, marketing, and sales plans.

“I understood that I was missing something, because a lot of the activities and tasks related to business were something that I couldn’t manage,” says Virginia.

It was after this realization that she found MIP, but she knew that she didn’t want to leave the working field for a year to study—the part-time MBA seemed like the perfect solution.

As for Barbara, she had worked in logistics services for eight years and was beginning to seek better job prospects.

She was already familiar with MIP, having studied a management and engineering bachelor’s degree there in 2004, and wanted to stay in her city of Milan. Like Virginia, she was looking to expand her skillset.

“I had a lot of confidence in terms of organization and logistics, but there was something that was missing in terms of knowledge,” she says.

[With the MBA], I could maintain my job, maintain my salary, and invest in my future as well.”

How an MBA led to a joint startup

General management lessons taught on the international part-time MBA at MIP are held on one weekend a month, during which students get the chance to network with companies while attending classes on their premises.

Both Virginia and Barbara value the soft skills they acquired during these sessions, particularly teamwork.

At the end of the program, each student puts their work into a final project.

Although Virginia and Barbara were split into different groups for their projects, they decided to also develop their own company, Neogenes.

Neogenes is a rental service company that periodically provides a customized kit of clothes for babies and toddlers, in line with their development.

The idea for the company came about casually last year, when Virginia was speaking to a pregnant friend who brought up how expensive clothes for babies are, considering how little time they last.

Neogenes was initially just a game for us,” says Virginia. “But, when working on our final project, we followed the same path and applied the same rules to the organization.”

After some research, Virginia received an email from Innovits, a business development service in Italy, calling for ideas for social startups.

She told Barbara about the idea and together they put Neogenes forward for consideration.

Now, they’re ready to take their company to the next level, leaving their full-time jobs behind.

To launch something as a startup requires a little bit of madness,” says Virginia.

“When you know exactly what you want to do, you can overcome all the anxiety and problems.”

Teamwork makes the dream work

The goal for Virginia and Barbara is to enter Milan and Lombardy in July, and then spread Neogenes across the whole of Italy by January 2020.

They aim to branch out into a second country by 2021 and become the ‘Amazon’ of rental baby products.

“Being an entrepreneur alone is very hard,” says Barbara. “It’s not impossible to do business alone, yet if you have the right partner, you can definitely make better choices and support one another.”

“We were lucky because we found each other during the MBA—it was definitely very important for me. Otherwise, I don’t think I could be an entrepreneur.”

As business partners, the pair bounce off each other, and they credit the MBA with the strong synergy they have built between them.

The program allowed them to test out working under pressure, which ultimately defined their relationship.

We are two halves of the same apple,” says Virginia. “We have very opposite skills, not only in terms of knowledge but in terms of personality and attitude.”

“The strength of Neogenes is made by us, but not because we are ‘us’, but because we really can work together, merge what we know, and [each] acquire what we don’t know from the other.”

 

Originally published on

Study while working: tips and tricks from a part-time student

 

 

In September 2018 I started the great adventure of doing an MBA as a part-time student while working. I understand now that I was not really aware of what type of challenge I was going to be taking on…
It is no secret that studying as a working professional is not easy but experiencing it, especially for a long period of time, is another story and I can tell you that it is tough. Anyway, this situation also has some advantages if you decide to approach it positively: you organize your time better, you can compare notes and apply what you are studying in your work and you leverage the time spent with your classmates as best you can.

Indeed, the first tip – something I have understood from day one – is not to procrastinate: do what you can do today! There are many notions that you must absorb during lessons and that can help you to develop your assignments correctly, so it is crucial to listen carefully, ask questions, take notes of the key points… in synthesis, you must make the most of the lesson hours. A very useful trick is to read or watch the mandatory documents and videos sent to us prior to lessons; I know that often it seems as if you do not have time for anything but work, but find a way of getting prepared for every meeting or piece of groupwork because it will make your life much easier. You will understand the issues better, ask the right questions, develop your work faster and at a higher level of quality. The same counts for the in-company lessons: if you want to be noticed, you must arrive prepared to say the “right things” and absorb the most important takeaways.

The other, and in my opinion, most valuable advantage of studying while working is the more concrete approach and learning that derives from it. I personally studied Political Science and ended up in the purchasing department of a fashion apparel company and I did not have much idea of economic and financial matters, or the chance of acquiring this knowledge. The courses to date have opened my mind to a new world and truly helped me to understand key connections and links in my everyday work. Now I know how to read a balance sheet and discern the real meaning of things among the lines. A great tip for me was to act right away, when the contents of the lessons were still fresh in my mind, to apply what I have learnt to my work.

There is also a human side in this situation: you have less time for everything and obviously this is reflected in the way you approach the other participants. It is curious that when your time shrinks you are naturally led to use it wisely, when the context is difficult you are more willing to hear the most important news in life vs talking about futilities, when you only see each other a few times (but share a lot!) you are involved in more engaging conversations. I am making some true friends and developing an international network of diverse and interesting people who I am sure would help me in the future.

 

About the author
Pietro Cavallo

My name is Pietro and I grew up in Milan, where I am currently living. I work in Switzerland, in the Supply Chain division of a clothing multinational. I am the husband of an incredible wife and father of 2 crazy kids.

 

 

From personalization to collaboration with PoliHub. The new MBA and EMBA programmes

 

Specific orientation towards the managerial and entrepreneurial fields. Course organization as a function of the latest trends. These are the two main elements of innovation in the MBA and EMBA courses at Politecnico di Milano’s School of Management. «These are different paths of study able to guarantee expertise independently of the work environment, whether it be in a large company or entrepreneurial firm, indispensable in the current complexity of markets» explains Antonella Moretto, deputy director of the MBA and Executive MBA programmes. «As a result of our programmes, a manager will be able to make decisions with an entrepreneurial spirit and, vice versa, the entrepreneur will be able to take a managerial approach».

One diploma, six formats. The new MBA and MBA Executive MBA programmes of the School of Management at Politecnico di Milano are also characterized by a high degree of personalization. «The individual participant can pursue a path of study that includes up to 50% of “customized” activities drawing on a completely new “library”» continues Antonella Moretto. «The final part of the courses can be defined by opting for more “frontier” subjects, so less tied to the academic path, but you can also choose what lessons to follow in the classroom and what to follow via streaming, allowing to fully personalize your use. For example, the Executive MBA can be pursued over four different platforms: evening (Monday and Tuesday evening in the classroom), part-time (weekend), Flex (distance learning through the digital platform) ) and i-Flex (distance learning in the English language). The classes are the same, but they can be accessed in different ways. The last aspect of flexibility, which I believe we are the only ones in a position to offer, involves the time required for the discussion of a student’s project work, which can be shortened compared to the traditional two-year study path».

The new FLEXA platform

Innovation also isn’t lacking when it comes to digitalization. «First, we changed classroom tools so that all our lessons can be streamed. That way we offer the opportunity to also follow lessons online or to review lessons followed in the classroom. All this with a completely new platform, decidedly more user friendly than the previous version and with a completely new library of clips. Moreover – continues Antonella Moretto – all those who use FLEXA will have a digital mentor that will accompany them from the beginning and through the entire programme both in learning and in training, but also in the start of a career path, that is in contacts with startups and companies. We offer 360-degree digital support. From the first day with FLEXA an assessment is carried out for every participant and the digital, hard and soft skills that are identified are conveyed to our Career Development Officer who, through one-to-one meetings, helps participants to define their career strategy. In the meantime, we create a series of relevant support opportunities favouring contacts with businesses and startups». This is one of the key aspects of the MBA and Executive MBA programmes of the School of Management. «To this end – explains Antonella Moretto once again – we strengthened our relationship with PoliHub, Politecnico di Milano’s company and startup incubator, to allow us to enter into contact with startups when they are in the stage of incubation of entrepreneurial ideas or to develop project work with existing startups».

The relationship with PoliHub

«We decided immediately to collaborate to offer students entrepreneurial career opportunities but also to enrich the managerial skills of our startuppers who, when they have technical backgrounds, require support from those with managerial expertise» explains Claudia Pingue, general manager of PoliHub. «In fact, startups, in particular those in deep tech, often have an initial team that is inadequate to guarantee competitive growth on international markets and a time comes when the integration of managerial skills and the strengthening of leadership is required, with the eventual presence of a CEO. It was therefore decided to make available to MBA and EMBA students the Switch to Product programme, that annually supports and awards the best entrepreneurial projects presented within the Politecnico di Milano and selected by researched centres like CNR, for example. It’s an opportunity for students, who gain access an entrepreneurial acceleration platform and thus take part in a complex experiential mechanism that allows to measure their potential».

Politecnico di Milano, a virtuous ecosystem

This collaboration with PoliHub is planned from the first year of the programme. The objective is to create a panel of MBA and Executive MBA assistants to vet the candidacy of entrepreneurial initiatives, allowing programme participants to receive feedback and join an incubation programme. The Politecnico di Milano is the only academic institution with an incubator this strong, among the best in the world, so much so that 30% of participants decide to launch their own entrepreneurial activity after classes are concluded.
Finally, considering that all career support services are valid for six months after the diploma is received, the innovative scope of the Politecnico ecosystem must be highlighted. «Projects are carried out – concludes Antonella Moretto – also because there’s the contribution of the entire system that gravitates around the university: the Technology Transfer Office, the venture capital fund link, technical support for implementation of technologies and so on».
The entire programme is illustrated to potential users in a series of open days that include a road show at university laboratories. The next appointment is 23 May 2020 at the Bovisa Campus.