Starting an MBA program, especially for someone coming from the area of Humanities like myself, can be exciting and a little scary at the same time. The idea of diving full time into all the thrills of an international master with a class made up of people coming from all over the world is undeniably stimulating, but when it comes to subjects like Financial Accounting or Management Accounting, which are part of the courses taught, the lack of a business background may look like a hurdle.

To overcome this problem, which is indeed particularly relevant for the very diverse class of students attending the program, ranging from engineers to philosophers, the first part of the MBA experience, called Basics in Digital, is meant to give all the candidates the knowledge and understanding of basic business concepts and management functions through a platform for digital learning. Delivered completely online, the platform arranges these topics in the form of video-modules that can be watched on a schedule managed by each candidate at their own pace. At the end of the videos, there is a close-ended question to verify the understanding of the topic treated.

The advantages of online distance learning are particularly effective in this initial phase of the program as a flexible way to let the candidates arrange their transfer to Milan or transition from their previous job positions to a full-time student life. The platform also works as a library accessible anytime, anywhere, and from multiple devices. A dedicated app is included and this will be useful later on, when the face-to-face lectures start, as a tool to review the main concepts of each subject.

In order to verify that all the subjects have been understood thoroughly, during the months of September and October a live Q&A session has been planned for each course. The instructors revise the syllabus and are available to answer all the doubts raised from the clips and to bring the discussion to further topics. The class is often stimulated to reason on business cases or to play business games that foster interactive and participative learning. During the following weeks, the teachers are also available for tutorship sessions on a forum, where the contents are furtherly developed and discussed. This online exchange makes it sure that alignment in the classroom is achieved at a general level.

In my case, the Basics in Digital phase has been a way to challenge my knowledge in areas of study I had never explored and to find an interest in unexpected topics, that I look forward to diving into in the upcoming months. During these first weeks, I have also had the chance to meet some of my future colleagues in person, as MIP is open to the students. Our study group has grown in number day after day and we have started to compare notes on the courses, helping each other with our competences and according to our areas of expertise. Up to now, this start has been very promising and it has all the premises for a memorable journey to come.
I will keep you in the loop!

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