Category: Events

Business Schools Face Unprecedented Challenges Amid Covid

Posted on | by Simona Strepparola | Leave a Comment on Business Schools Face Unprecedented Challenges Amid Covid

With travel suspended, schools are moving classes online and enrolling fewer overseas students.

Business schools around the world face unprecedented challenges caused by the deadly coronavirus pandemic.
They are bracing for a long-term economic hit from the risk that fewer international students, who often pay higher fees, will not be able to enroll at their institutions due to travel curbs imposed to stop the spread of the virus.
With campuses closed across the globe, many business schools have moved teaching online.

[…]

Moving online

The coronavirus crisis is quickening uptake of online learning after years of lackluster demand. Many schools have migrated their classes online — a welcome intervention for students displaced due to travel restrictions. […]
MIP Politecnico di Milano Graduate School of Business in Milan, which has been in lockdown for several weeks, has suspended all in-person teaching. Instead, MIP is using Flexa, an AI learning platform originally designed as a career coach, to circulate study material to students around the world.
“This at first seemed like a hard obstacle to overcome, but instead we now see it to be an opportunity” says Federico Frattini, dean at MIP.
This could be an inflection point in the development of digital delivery that could increase uptake and spark innovation. “Online learning is a flexible and inclusive approach to teaching, with huge potential applications beyond a situation of emergency,” says Frattini.
The question is whether the online platforms and networks can cope with high usage. Some faculty have been resistant to digital delivery.
Early adopters, like MIP, were prepared for the switch to virtual teaching, but there is a difference between a well-designed online course and a Zoom video conference.

[…]

 

Hostmate: how our startup was created at MIP

Posted on | by Veronica Rafaniello | Leave a Comment on Hostmate: how our startup was created at MIP

The story of this company that operates in the short-term rental market, born in the classroom at MIP. One of its founders, Felipe Aguilera, an MBA alumnus, tells us about it, illustrating opportunities and challenges and offering some advice to those who are about to begin the Master’s programme.

Good ideas, on their own, aren’t enough. They must be studied, closely evaluated, discussed, defended. It’s the best way to bring out their real potential: «In fact, if an idea is born perfect, it means that it’s not innovative», says Felipe Aguilera, alumnus of the Master in Business Administration programme at MIP and among the founders of Hostmate, an innovative startup with headquarters in Milan that operates on the market of short-term rentals. «We manage every aspect of the service, from putting the property online to the cleaning of the apartments, meeting requirements of the compliance side, receiving guests and maintenance».

Cross-cutting skills for a one-of-a-kind service

As often happens, Hostmate was born out of brainstorming: «About three years ago, together with some friends and colleagues, we started discussing the so-called megatrends in the property market. Among these stood out home sharing», says Felipe. «And so we created Hostmate. Currently we operate mainly in Milan, but we are slowly expanding in Turin and Venice. Rome and Florence will be our next big challenges. We want to distinguish ourselves from our competitors and to offer a unique service». There are many variables to manage and they require a wide range of professional skills: «For this reason, two other MIP alumni joined the team: Virginia Soana, currently business manager, and Amr Aladl, operations strategy advisor. Two people with very different academic backgrounds, in law and engineering. But the complexity of the business requires this», explains Felipe. «Our primary objective is to offer a high-level customer experience, which for us is one of the most important parameters. The customer must be satisfied: it’s the best guarantee for the success of our business. But to meet their needs, we must know every facet of the business».

Between bureaucracy and innovation

The operating context is also important. «Italy offers two fundamental advantages for the short-term rental market: widespread home ownership and large tourist volumes. On the other hand, however, we find a strong resistance to change, along with the bureaucratic and administrative aspect: it’s truly challenging to manoeuvre through the various requirements», explains Felipe. Luckily, these limits are compensated «by the great availability of talented and young, and not so young, people, who have a desire to innovate, change the rules, fight the fear of what’s new».

A Master’s that teaches how to do

Characteristics that also marked Felipe’s experience at MIP. «My previous training was in the field of finance, but I felt the need to gain further expertise in logistics, operations, in innovation in general. In particular, I felt the need for a Master’s that led me to “do”, in addition to “learn”. The MBA has fully met my expectations. We had the opportunity to work with professors who shared excellent guidelines for the definition of “agile” business models, operational and organizational, able to survive in uncertain and continuously changing environments, like that in which we live today. In the same way, open communication and the constant sharing of experiences with my colleagues favoured the proliferation and the improvement of ideas which then materialized in concrete projects. Hostmate is one of these». Lastly, some advice for those who are about to embark on this path: «You have to prepare yourself for an intense period of study and work, and don’t forget that a large part of the value of the MBA comes precisely from this dialogue between colleagues, like that between me, Amr and Virginia, and professors. So, speak up and raise your hand».

A response to the challenges of Covid-19

Although the Covid-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the hospitality industry, Hostmate and their team have managed to react:  «We decided to take advantage of this particular situation to fast-track some important projects included in the strategic plan, in particular, Hostmate Accommodation Facilities and Hostmate Rentals Centre», says Felipe. «The first project, for example, aims to help the less digitally equipped establishments by adding their property to the main virtual booking platforms, managing it, and helping them to communicate with their guests». With respect to the future of the sector, however, the alumnus makes this comment: «We expect tenants and guests to pay more attention to hygiene and health issues and to increase the use of digital channels for booking, communication and payment of services, but we will be ready to face the new challenges».

QS Online MBA Rankings 2020: MIP Politecnico di Milano 5th in the world for its “International Flex EMBA”

Posted on | by Veronica Rafaniello | Leave a Comment on QS Online MBA Rankings 2020: MIP Politecnico di Milano 5th in the world for its “International Flex EMBA”

The School of Management of Politecnico di Milano improves on its 2019 results in the QS Quacquarelli Symonds classification for online MBA programmes.

MIP Politecnico di Milano Graduate School of Business takes 5th place worldwide in the QS Online MBA Ranking 2020, a yearly classification of the best business schools for distance online programmes. MIP’s online MBA is the only Italian programme included in the rankings and is in 4th place in Europe. MIP Politecnico di Milano Graduate School of Business takes a further step ahead, up from last year’s 7th place.

The International Flex MBA is the fully English version of our Flex MBA, which was the first smart learning MBA launched in Italy in 2014, and is now MIP’s flagship programme, with nearly 500 students taking the Italian and International versions as of today. In 2016, AMBA (the Association of MBAs) listed the 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 – EOCCS certification for online programmes of excellence. According to the Financial Times’ Online MBA Ranking 2020, the International Flex MBA is also the only distance learning Italian programme to be included among the ten best in the world, in 9th place internationally and 4th for European schools.

The programme uses a digital teaching platform developed specifically in partnership with Microsoft.

In building its ranking of online MBA programmes taught in business schools, QS Quacquarelli Symonds assesses four key indicators:

  • Employability (30% of final score): which estimates how employable are the people taking the course.
  • Class Profile (30%): which looks at several parameters, including number of students on the course and their average professional experience.
  • Faculty and Teaching (35%): which looks at the quality of teaching and that of the teaching body.
  • Class Experience (5%): which looks at a series of indicators, such as the percentage of in-presence hours, whether students can use an app to support learning on a smartphone and/or tablet and the level of technical support.

Looking at the individual indicators above, the School of Management is in 3rd place for Faculty and Teaching and in 5th for Employability.

The QS rankings show IE Business School (Spain) in 1st place, followed by Imperial College Business School (UK), with Warwick Business School (UK) in 3rd place and AGSM @ UNSW Business School (Australia) in 4th.

Vittorio Chiesa and Federico Frattini, Chairman and Dean of MIP Politecnico di Milano, respectively: “ We are pleased that our position has improved again compared to 2019, and we will continue to invest in digital innovation and in the quality of teaching and learning. This will allow us to grow and develop further, in the full knowledge of the extraordinary importance held by online teaching at this moment and its role in the future”.

UNITIPOSSIAMO – the platform to help shopkeepers

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Five former students from the Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering of the Politecnico di Milano, together with others from the same university’s Schools and a number of under-30 volunteers, have established a non-profit startup to help shopkeepers overcome the COVID-19 crisis.

Unitipossiamo or Italian for “together we can”, is a non-profit initiative stemming from the desire of 15 young men and women from all over Italy – mostly unknown to each other – to help shopkeepers overcome the Covid-19 crisis. The project has developed with the voluntary commitment of young professionals and has been rewarded under the Hackforitaly initiative. At present, the platform pools together more than 4,000 business activities across Italy, who either sell purchase vouchers or home deliver their products. In the next few days this number is expected to increase to more than 43,000, generating cash flows of up to €90m for shopkeepers.

Why “together we can”?

Everyone is aware of the need to lend a hand, which is why Italy has seen a multitude of diverse initiatives crop up across the country in an attempt to help trade. But we believe that a fragmented approach is counterproductive. Therefore, we decided to pool together all these initiatives in a single platform, to facilitate those wishing to make a contribution. Aggregator sites simplify searches, meaning that users no longer need to wade through dozens of different sites, and increase visibility for shopkeepers.
The intention behind all these small-to-medium sized initiatives is laudable, but they are unlikely to have a systemic impact if they operate alone. Together, instead, we can.

The problem in figures and its potential impact

The temporary closure of shops could have important repercussions on employment. We are talking about 43,000 closed businesses and, in the darkest possible scenario, of 630,000 jobs at risk.
With an initiative like Unitipossiamo, we believe that, in just a few days, we can reach 43,000 business activities and 4.5 million users who, with an average expenditure of €20 each, could convey over €90m to shopkeepers in difficulty.

What is Hackforitaly?

Taking inspiration from previous initiatives in other European countries, the Italian edition of the event, Hack for Italy, involved an intense weekend (27-29 March) during which several teams worked online to find digital and non-digital solutions to the economic and social challenges arising from the crisis caused by the current epidemic, split by the following categories: Save Lives, Save Communities, Save Businesses.

Almost 1,500 people took up the challenge, putting forward more than 50 projects, developed, starting from simple ideas, during the intense 48-hour marathon. During the first day, teams were formed as the projects were presented, with professionals, experts and entrepreneurs, who had never met before, contributing their diverse backgrounds to the creativity and feasibility of the projects presented.

Responding to the pandemic: what’s required is a (new) industrial policy

Posted on | by Mirja Calgaro | Leave a Comment on Responding to the pandemic: what’s required is a (new) industrial policy

The ongoing pandemic is bringing the global economy to its knees, but history teaches us that it is possible to recover from the blow: the essential stepping stones to starting afresh are attention to new business opportunities, flexibility and innovation, backed by an active industrial policy

 

Massimo G. Colombo, professor of Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Finance
 School of Management Politecnico di Milano

 

The coronavirus pandemic promises to bring the world economy to its knees, with devastating consequences for the GDP of every country, no matter how developed.
However, scientific literature analysing the economic impact of previous “perfect storms” gives us some hope. The capitalist system is resilient, and rapid collapses in demand and production are more or less quickly followed by recovery, which can be more or less vigorous (see the Economist, 21-27 March, “Free exchange: From v to victory”).

What should the Italian government do to make the post-pandemic recovery as quick and vigorous as possible?

First of all, regardless of the measures that the European Commission will put in place, we must not repeat our past mistakes and we must be prepared to do “whatever it takes”. The first essential step, on which everyone agrees, is to support those suffering from a significant decline in income, in order to sustain aggregate demand and avoid the country’s social disintegration. Italy’s production must also be ensured the liquidity required to avoid closing down healthy firms facing temporary difficulties, thereby preventing a long-term reduction in production capacity. The loan guarantee facility supporting access to finance by SMEs is a step in the right direction. The important thing is to reopen the taps should this facility be insufficient.

However, we must go further still and draw up an active industrial policy for recovery. Apart from the negative shock on supply and demand, the pandemic also generates exciting new business opportunities, connected with transformed consumer models and new ways of doing business. Clear examples are the unique advantages of teleworking and the increased, albeit forced, interest in home shopping and entertainment services.

In this situation, small businesses, especially young ones, are ideally positioned to capture these new business opportunities, due to their flexibility and the spirit of initiative of the entrepreneurs who manage them. Moreover, they can prove to be a fundamental element of strength and dynamism in the national production system. However, to express their growth potential, they must be able to restructure and alter their resource portfolio, investing with a long-term perspective in innovative products and services and in the ability to market them globally. A study on the strategies of a sample of 340 high-tech Italian start-ups during the global crisis of 2008, carried out by the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano and coordinated by Professor Colombo, confirms this point of view. Despite the average decline in demand that these firms experienced between 2008 and 2010, start-ups that invested massively in product and service innovation and in market internationalization experienced a 20% higher than average growth in turnover during this period.

It is the responsibility of the Italian Government to support and facilitate the transformation processes of such companies. On the one hand, the government must ensure that these companies have access, at competitive conditions, to the financial resources – in particular in the form of risk capital – necessary to support these processes and to scale their business. The CDP Innovation Fund is ideal for this purpose.

On the other hand, it is likely that high-skill human resources (managers, technicians) will have to leave large and small businesses adopting business models rendered obsolete by the pandemic, and will become available on the labour market. These human resources are invaluable for the growth of innovative small businesses. The government can facilitate their absorption into such firms, for example by temporarily suspending social security contributions for newly recruited qualified personnel.

 

«Thanks to my EMBA, today I know how to handle the mask emergency»

Posted on | by Veronica Rafaniello | Leave a Comment on «Thanks to my EMBA, today I know how to handle the mask emergency»

PierPaolo Zani, MIP alumnus and general manager at BLS, a company that manufactures protective devices for the respiratory tract, tells us about the impact the coronavirus has had on business on a human and organizational level. Explaining that, with solid foundations and a clear mission, even the hardest stress test can offer an opportunity

Can a moment of great stress, for a company, translate into an opportunity? Yes, if the company has solid organizational foundations and a clear strategic vision of its business. In the space of just a few weeks, BLS, an Italian company that manufactures protective devices for the respiratory tract, more commonly known as “masks”, found itself in this position. «Already at the end of January, before the Covid-19 contagion had extended to Italy and the rest of the world, orders shot up in a way that until that moment would have been unthinkable», says PierPaolo Zani, general manager at Bls and alumnus of the Part Time EMBA at MIP Politecnico di Milano. «Until a few months ago, the demand for masks came from customers who needed to protect from pollutants in industries. This posed a problem for us: what to do, in this moment, to satisfy the demand of our long-time customers, and at the same time help out the civil protection authority and the country?»

The challenge of BLS between today’s emergency and tomorrow’s trends

Not a small dilemma, on which Zani and his team had to reflect deeply before coming to a decision: «We managed to find a balance.  And we did it by going back to our corporate mission: protecting people and doing it well». The jump in orders risked generating a series of organizational difficulties: «I must say, however, that we had already been observing the situation for some time. It’s essential to pay keen attention to all signals that could have an impact on your business, even if they are small signals».

From a strategic point of view, then, it also becomes important to take into consideration the changes that could result from the coronavirus epidemic: «We don’t know how long this emergency will last, at a global level. However, we do know that the use of masks in the West could follow that which is the Asian model, characterized by a greater use of these devices at the consumer level, regardless of the pandemic. Throughout this period, the challenge will be to maintain a straight course, but we will also have the principles of our mission guiding us». And it’s possible to do so, explains Zani, also because the company has made far-sighted choices: «We have worked hard to enter long-term contracts, that ensure our operations, and we can count on back-up suppliers. This situation is an authentic stress test: but our foundations are solid, that’s why we’re holding up».

But for Zani there’s an element that’s even more important, that truly makes the difference: «People. Never so much as now have we been repaid by our ethics, which require us to protect all people in general, as well as those that work with us. In this period, it’s essential to establish a dialogue with production, reinforce hygiene standards, guarantee a secure workplace».

An EMBA to test your dedication

Indeed, Zani has always had a strong interest in the role the human element plays in a company. «This was perhaps the aspect that above all else pushed me to enrol in the Part Time EMBA programme at MIP. I felt the need for improvement. I needed new, more effective and fine-tuned instruments. I wanted to delve into the principles of organizational behaviour. And from all these points of view the master’s was truly helpful». The part-time format of the EMBA also put the commitment and the dedication of Zani to the test. A sort of small, personal stress test: «The advice I give to those who are preparing to begin this master’s is to face it with the maximum commitment. It can be challenging to find a balance between work, private and academic life; but the return, in terms of skills and career opportunities, is very high. It’s truly worth the effort of devoting yourself completely to the programme. I also like to remind people that BLS has a very close relationship with the Politecnico di Milano, with which we are supporting the creation of a startup, a spin-off from the university, and have already worked together with on different workshops. And we always keep a close eye on the talented people we meet in the classroom», concludes Zani.

 

Flexibility, skills, artificial intelligence: Logol’s challenges were born at MIP

Posted on | by Veronica Rafaniello | Leave a Comment on Flexibility, skills, artificial intelligence: Logol’s challenges were born at MIP

Marco Farina, 2015 Flex EMBA alumnus, tells about the establishment of Logol and what he learned from his participation in the master’s programme. Starting from the ability to work remotely, using new technologies

Why is technology, often, surrounded by a negative sentiment? And why isn’t its potential completely embraced? These are the questions from which Marco Farina, 2015 Flex EMBA alumnus of MIP Politecnico di Milano, started to set up Logol, a Swiss company that since 2017 has been active in the field of artificial intelligence. «My idea», explains Farina, «is that too often digital transformation services are managed in an improvised fashion. The objective was and remains that to bring real skills within companies, skills that can translate into a real value added for business. And in this process artificial intelligence now plays a fundamental role».

Logol’s operational pillars

There are four pillars on which Logol’s business model is based, says Farina: «We are first of all advisors. Our main goal is to support companies in their approach to AI». The second pilaster, instead, is tied to the idea for which Logol was born:  «We were established as a company without a physical office. Smart working is part of our mentality, and it’s this same attitude that we want to bring to the companies that turn to us. This process mainly involves the migration of server infrastructure to the cloud. In the transfer of this sensitive data, data security is fundamental, and AI helps to increase the level of security».

The third pilaster involves business applications. «Today companies must be lean, if they want to be competitive. Today’s gold is data, so the planning of an information system must be carried out using modern applications that allow you to have a holistic vision of the company».

The last pilaster involves pure AI. «After having rationalized the company’s technologies and processes, we apply artificial intelligence to the reference technology, whether it’s a chatbot, the optimization of warehouse stock or customer engagement in ecommerce».

Logol makes flexibility one of its strengths and works with both medium-small and large companies: «In the world of small and medium businesses we position ourselves as the sole interlocutors, because we step in to totally redesign their technological approach», explains Farina. «In our relations with larger companies, with which we don’t have an exclusive relationship, we express our expertise in more specific areas».

The Flex EMBA experience: a rehearsal for flexibility

Before setting up such an innovative company, Marco Farina attended the Flex EMBA programme. An experience that proved useful to him from different points of view: «First of all, I felt the need to strengthen my skills. I had already studied computer engineering at the Politecnico, but I still needed to acquire the expertise necessary to understand the management of business processes». The master’s also allowed Farina to forge important relationships with his colleagues: «The relationship with them was fantastic, and still is, seeing that we are still in touch. Uniting us, now and then, was the desire to challenge ourselves with the goal of improving. The possibility of interacting with people with very different educational and training backgrounds, thus adopting always new points of view, represented a real value added». The FLEXA format fit well with his needs in that particular moment of his career: «It was a decidedly demanding moment, flexibility was fundamental». A flexibility that represented an important testing ground, on which to develop those smart working methods on which Logol would be built: «For two years we got used to interacting as if we were in front of each other. This is fundamental: these are practices that we, as entrepreneurs and managers, must pass on to our collaborators. The workers of the future will be people who interact in this way».

2020 – Responsible Luxury is no longer a passing fad

Posted on | by Marta Re Ferrè | Leave a Comment on 2020 – Responsible Luxury is no longer a passing fad

As the second fifth of the 21st century begins, no industry can avoid the challenge of boosting its sustainability. Luxury is no exception to this, but what if responsibility were an inherent part of luxury?

Alessandro Brun, Associate Professor of Quality Management, Director of Global Executive Master of Luxury Management and Founder of the Sustainable Luxury Academy

As the end of 2019 approaches, we are now suddenly realising that a fifth of the 21st century has already passed. And that an idea murmured by a choice few at the turn of the century has now grown to become the buzzword heard everywhere. No sectors can escape from public demand for a more sustainable and ethical business!
This is particularly true when it comes to the premium & luxury segment of most consumer goods sectors: from fashion to jewellery to beauty, the conversation about “responsible luxury” is now ubiquitous.

On 8th November, Prada’s US headquarters played host to a conference entitled “Shaping a Sustainable Future Society”: the third event in the “Shaping a Future” series which, this year, focused on Social Sustainability. On 5th December, Assolombarda (the Lombardy chapter of the Italian Entrepreneurial Association) hosted the event “4sustainability”, which saw 200 players from the textile and leather supply chains collaborating with international coalitions (such as ZDHC, Leather Working Group, Textile Exchange) and leading luxury brands in an attempt to develop reliable and shared measurement systems to assess sustainability performance. On 20th November, the Politecnico di Milano hosted the Responsible Luxury Summit, marking the third anniversary of the founding of the Sustainable Luxury Academy. This is merely the tail end of an extremely intense Milan autumn season for me and my team at the Sustainable Luxury Academy: earlier on, 10 Corso Como (a concept shop blending lifestyle, culture and commerce) hosted “A New Awareness”, whilst the Fashion Film Festival Milano hosted the conversations “FFFMilanoForGreen”.

It is important to explain why sustainable luxury is not a trend, let alone a passing fad. Sustainability is one of the central themes of the paradigm shift taking place in the business of luxury.
Before illustrating what is going to happen in the luxury sector in the 2020s, let us briefly recap what has happened to luxury iver the past 3 decades. In December 1998, professors Jose Luis Nueno and John A. Quelch published a paper in Business Horizons entitled “the Mass Marketing of Luxury”. They explained the reasons behind the double-digit worldwide growth of the luxury market since the mid-1990s, and concluded the paper highlighting a challenge, namely that top managers of luxury brands would have to decide “how far to democratise the brand through line extensions, junior product lines, affordable accessories and expanding distribution.”
This was extremely effective – perhaps even too effective. In 2007, American journalist Dana Thomas published a very illuminating report on how managers of top luxury brands had addressed the above challenge, and asked some questions worth pondering: Has the luxury of some products got lost? Have prices gotten out of hand? Has distribution become too widespread? In fact, the renowned Altagamma Worldwide Luxury Market Monitor labels the period from 1994 to 2000 as the “sortie du temple” of luxury brands, followed – in the years 2001-2008 – by the democratisation of luxury.

Why did this happen? As per Nueno and Quelch’s writings, the “nouveau riche […] can afford to indulge in the purchase of luxury brands, but lack the experience and confidence to discriminate”. What happened during the democratisation was a surge in the middle-class consumption of luxury goods. This global trend is called “trading up” (a neologism coined by American authors Silverstein and Fiske in their book “Trading Up: The New American Luxury”). As such, the middle class can also afford (albeit less frequently) to indulge in the purchase of luxury brands nowadays.
Whilst the publication of “the Mass Marketing of Luxury” marked, on the one hand, the beginning of the democratisation of luxury, it also heralded, on the other, the death of luxury as we (at least the lucky ones) knew it.

What happened in the first two decades of the third millennium is clear to everybody. According to the Altagamma report published in spring 2019, the global market of personal luxury goods grew from USD 76B in 1996 to USD 260B in 2018.

Given the evolution of the past few years, both in terms of Personal Luxury Goods and in the luxury sector more generally, it is now important to look ahead and try to understand what is about to happen. Global trends in Luxury in 2019 are well summarised in the NExTT framework by CB Insights, under which which trends are classified according to their market strength and industry adoption:

  • Trends with a high level of adoption but low strength are considered Transitory: Attracting Millennials with Collaboration is classified in this group.
  • RFiD Tagging, Authentication Tech, Ethical Consumption and Lab-grown Luxury Materials all belong to the Threatening trend group: adoption is still low, but their strength is high.
  • Necessary trends are characterised by both high strength and widespread adoption: here we have Pop-Ups, the Resale Channel, and Luxury Streetwear.
  • Trends like Luxury Goods on the Blockchain are considered Experimental, due to their low strength and low adoption level.

Here it is quite easy to envisage a scenario in which multiple trends are pointing in the same direction. Luxury brands cannot pretend to be blind to the power of millennials. Their voices called for bulky trainers – and all brands reacted by offering Luxury Streetwear. But millennials are also asking for more transparency, exploiting simple solutions (hence why a “simple” RFiD tag is considered Threatening whilst the Blockchain is not relevant at the moment) to provide more visibility throughout the supply chain. They are requesting environmentally-sustainable practices – calling for brands to stop the use of controversial materials (lab-grown materials could be the solution to such issues as incidental animal cruelty or materials which negatively affect endangered species, as well as ’blood’ diamonds) – as well as establish socially-responsible practices – to the point that ethically-responsible consumption poses a significant threat to some brands.

Before taking any action, brands should seek a deeper understanding of the meaning of being responsible.

Being responsible nowadays means being open and embracing new technologies – to guarantee cleaner processes, a more efficient use of resources, more opportunities to reduce, reuse, recycle, – whilst at the same time going back to the industry’s roots – the heritage of luxury is in the artisanal processes, craftsmanship and savoir-faire, where the talented artisan was at the heart of the company, never to be considered a mere “human resource” in a big industrial, profit-oriented organisation.
Being responsible also means using storytelling in the right way: that is, using it as a means to connect or reconnect disconnected departments in the organisation. European artisans in the Middle Ages, the age of craftsmanship, were one-man shows, taking care of sales, product design and manufacturing. Today, the storytelling of a truly luxurious brand has to focus on the supply chain. The heritage of some brands – and even of some iconic items – is deeply rooted in sustainability. One need only think of the history of Ferragamo’s cork wedge shoes and the Gucci bamboo bag, two defining items in the history of fashion, both launched in years in which – due to sanctions – Italian companies could not make use of very basic and desperately-needed materials. Italian genius proved stronger than adversity, though: in the 20s, during the dictatorship in Italy, it was not possible to import steel from Germany; Ferragamo replaced the steel shank necessary to support women’s shoes, inventing the world-famous wedge using cork from Sardinia; meanwhile, in 1947, post-WWII, Gucci launched a new bag whose handles were made out of bamboo, a material that could be imported from Japan without restrictions.
The Swiss shoemaker Bally was founded in 1851, as the result of Carl Franz Bally’s desire to create more jobs and improve the lives of local residents. In its golden years (in 1916, when the rest of Europe was crippled by the World War, it had 7,000 employees), Bally was providing employees with unmatched social and healthcare benefits.

When somebody asks me whether sustainable luxury is an oxymoron or an opportunity, I can barely contain my smile when mentioning the above cases. Sustainable Luxury is neither an oxymoron nor an opportunity. True luxury is inherently, quintessentially sustainable by its very nature. Hence, sustainable luxury is a necessity.
I dream that, one day, all consumers will say “If it ain’t sustainable, it ain’t luxury”. That day is coming soon.

Smart Learning in times of Coronavirus emergency … and beyond

Posted on | by Marta Re Ferrè | Leave a Comment on Smart Learning in times of Coronavirus emergency … and beyond

Federico Frattini, MIP Graduate School of Business Dean

The current emergency due to Coronavirus has forced schools and universities in Italy (but it is likely that the same will happen soon in other countries) to shift to online learning to ensure continuity to their educational programs. Some institutions are better prepared to this shift due to previous experiences in the field, others are experimenting with these new approaches to teaching in this moment of emergency. However, there is a strong and generalized effort made in this direction in Italy, which testifies to the maturity of online learning and to its practical applicability.

The biggest challenge in this shift is to recognize that online learning is not just a matter of using a digital platform to teach the same class that would have been otherwise taught in a physical setting. In fact, online learning requires a deep restructuring of the teaching approach and the use of different digital tools to satisfy different educational needs. In particular, it is necessary to acknowledge that in a traditional, face-to-face class, the teacher mixes up three different learning tools. First, there is the need to transfer to each student concepts, tools and notions (what we can call knowledge) pertaining to a particular discipline. Secondly, professors need to encourage students to apply this knowledge to solve practical cases, thereby transforming knowledge into competence. Finally, students need to use competence socially, by engaging in discussion around the key take-aways of the class and bringing competence closer to their personal experience. Of course, these three components have varying levels of importance in different educational settings. In post-graduate programs, the application of knowledge and its socialization are of the otmost importance. While in schools transferring concepts, notions and tools takes the highest priority.

In an online setting, these three components of an effective class cannot be blended and mixed up by using a single digital tool. They have to be broken down and taught by using various properly designed methods. Knowledge is better transferred by using asynchronous, self-paced digital materials, such as video clips recorded by the professor or selected from the huge landscape of educational material available on the web (for instance, the well-known MOOCs platform such as Coursera or EdX). The application of such knowledge to real cases and examples can be done through live, online sessions, using tools such as Microsoft Teams, Google Hangout, Cisco WebEx, Slack, Zoom or similar platforms. Finally, the socialization of the acquired competence can be supported by semi-synchronous social discussion tools, accurately moderated by the professors or tutors. It is only by carefully designing these three different components of an effective educational experience that schools and universities can successfully move their teaching online.

At MIP, the Graduate School of Business of Politecnico di Milano, we call this approach Smart Learning, and we have been using it since 2014 in our digital Masters and MBA programs. This is an area where we have obtained great results, with more that 550 students who have studied in one of our digital programs since 2014 and with our International Flex MBA which has been ranked among the top ten masters worldwide according to the recent online MBA ranking by the Financial Times.

The problem with Smart Learning is not technological. Digital tools that can be used to this aim are largely available at zero or very limited costs (interestingly, most of the biggest players mentioned above offer licenses for their platforms for free in this situation of emergency). It is also not a matter of internet connection. Most of the online learning platforms available on the market also work perfectly on mobile devices, with a standard 4G connection. The key issue is organizational. Designing an effective online program requires expertise and knowledge in fields such as instructional design or online discussion moderation, and the willingness and ability to train professors to use this new approach.

My hope is that the Coronavirus emergency will leave behind a greater familiarity with – and a better understanding of the value of – Smart Learning, which is a flexible and inclusive approach to teaching, with huge potential applications beyond a situation of emergency like the one we are all currently experiencing.

Impact investing: so far, so fluid

Posted on | by Marta Re Ferrè | Leave a Comment on Impact investing: so far, so fluid

As sustainability and impact take on a primary role in the business agenda and amongst financial players, impact investing has been growing steadily, but still falls short of having a clear and structured character. A fluid situation that pays testament to its salience, but that may also hinder its future development.

Mario Calderini, Full Professor of Social Innovation School of Management, Politecnico di Milano

The term ‘Impact Investing’ was coined in 2007 by the Rockefeller Foundation. It can be defined as a class of investments in companies, organisations and funds with the intention of generating a social and environmental impact alongside a financial return. It sets itself apart from mainstream finance by including social returns in the investor’s expectations, and yet it diverges from philanthropy and grant-making because some financial return, or at least return of capital, is expected.

Nowadays, the global Impact Investing industry is still in its nascent stages. Nevertheless, according to the report published in 2019 by the Global Impact Investing Network, the size of the Impact Investing market is growing at an impressive pace: compared to 2018, the volume of capital invested grew by 13%, reaching a total of more than $514 billion. Indeed, considerable public and private capital has been and will be deployed to fund organisations with the mission of addressing social needs; in that sense, the projection for future developments is optimistic.

As a matter of fact, 2019 has been a very significant year for impact investing. The newly-central role of the sustainability agenda, together with many other signals coming from the very heart of the economic and financial system – including the now world-famous letter by Larry Fink, the CEO of Blackrock, or the manifesto of the American Business Roundtable, together with the resulting cover pages of many influential newspapers around the world, such as the Financial Times and the Economist – have officially established sustainability and impact as the new normal amongst financial players.

It is for this reason that the period from late spring 2018 to the summer of 2019 was defined as the golden year of sustainability and impact, to mark the fact that sustainability and impact are no longer lateral, marginal or side issues in the business agenda, but rather they have made their way to the very heart of it. Mainstream economic and financial players are increasingly positioning themselves as proactive forces in the search for solutions to the most pressing environmental and social challenges being faced today. Whilst many are heralding this as excellent news, some others, on a note of scepticism, warn of the possible opportunism and ambiguity that this phenomenon could bring with it. Whatever the interpretation, it is without a doubt that this could represent a very significant paradigm shift.

Strictly speaking, the perimeter of Impact Finance excludes the approaches generally defined as ESG or thematic approaches. Impact Investing is a radical approach to investing in solutions for a better future, and its radicality translates into placing the intentionality-measurability-additionality triad at the centre of the definition of impact investing. Such a radical definition is crucial to identifying generative finance as a counterpoint to extractive finance, a solution-first way of investing, supporting business models that are suitable for promoting concrete creative solutions to emergent social issues whilst also remaining economically sustainable, or even profitable.

Since 2016, Tiresia, the Research Centre for Impact Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Finance at the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano, has been delivering its annual Impact Finance Outlook, offering a comprehensive overview of the Italian impact investing market.

The first Tiresia Impact Outlook, in 2016, concluded with the consideration that the impact investing sector, as strictly defined, was still in a fluid, experimental phase, uncoordinated and slowly transitioning towards a clearer, more structured configuration. A snapshot that was not entirely different from the international one at the time, in its full development.

Quite surprisingly, the results emerging from Tiresia Impact Outlook 2019 are not significantly different. According to a definition of impact investing based on the intentionality- measurability-additionality triad, the perimeter of the industry still remains relatively small, characterised by a group of consolidated pioneers. The assets under management that qualifies as ‘impact’ total nearly 700 billion, although when we apply an even stricter definition of impact investing, this figure is reduced to just over 200 billion. This represents a relatively very small amount of assets, if compared to the total assets that are now being labelled as ESG or sustainable investment. Nevertheless, this also reflects an interesting feature of the Italian market on the international scene, namely that it is characterised by a significant level of real attention to the aspects which generate social impact and value. We may describe it as a very meaningful niche, potentially able to act as a role model for the more broadly-defined sustainable finance industry currently undergoing a transformation.

Having said this, the ecosystem of impact investing in Italy shows some signs of vitality and innovation. Operators are trying to organise their activities in a more structured way, in terms of both fundraising and asset allocation. These operators face three main problems. The first is linked to the scarcity and weakness of investment opportunities, and subsequently deal flow. An overabundant provision of capital with respect to actual market opportunities is pushing equity investors to face up to reality in two fundamental ways. The first and most virtuous of these consists of providing strong and direct managerial support to invested companies. This translates into providing not only non-financial services, but also structured partnerships with accelerators and incubators, both public and private, in order to engage proactively in the establishment of a pipeline proportionate to the size of the actual impact assets under management. The second, more controversial approach consists of relaxing constraints in impact screening, including target companies that do not entirely comply with the impact triad as eligible investments.

The second obstacle is linked to exit strategies, which yet remain largely undefined due to the lack of organised markets where the value of impact projects can be adequately assessed.

Thirdly, Tiresia’s report demonstrates the lack of convergence and shared interpretation amongst investors regarding the qualifying elements of impact investing. There is no agreement on the notion of impact risk on impact metrics – which are far from being standardised -, on governance models needed to guarantee so-called ‘mission-lock’ and the balance between financial and social objectives, and finally, not even on the nature of the fiduciary duties involved in impact investing. As a consequence, this potential asset class is beset by severe classification problems, hampering the development of the industry.

As a final remark, although we collected several elements indicating a remarkable growth in impact investing for the next ten years, we believe that the tipping point for a genuine and radical impact industry is still a long way down the road. This is mainly due to the lack of attention from public policy makers, poor infrastructural conditions and the persistent lack of business models that are at once robust and genuinely oriented towards social impact objectives.