EMBA XVIII, ed. 18, what a class! A unique experience, lived almost entirely in the unprecedented context of the pandemic. As told by two Executive MBA ed. 18 participants, Andrea Meneghini and Cesare Calistri, the protagonists, with their fellow classmates, of a recent reunion that allowed the class to meet for the first time in a long time.
We started our Executive MBA in December 2019 and finished it in April 2021. A period almost entirely affected by the pandemic, resulting in the inability to meet and attend in-person courses. For this reason, the class of the ed. 18 of the EMBA is definitely a unique class in the BBS landscape, because, despite our own wishes, we had to spend most of our time online, both for educational activities and for the group work envisaged in the course.
It may seem trivial, but being able to get to know each other and work together despite the physical distance, for example for project works, has been a real evolutionary step for all of us, as professionals and as individuals. So much so that today we would not hesitate to say that one of the strengths of this master’s is precisely that it allows participants to build an important teamwork with people who are always different.
Indeed, it often happens, both in the academic field and in the professional and corporate world, that people prefer to remain safe in their own comfort zone, but never as in the path of this EMBA experience has shown that putting yourself to the test in the context of ever new groups allows you not only to meet and appreciate different people, but also to discover and enhance new sides of your personality.
In spite of everything, the class created a great group relationship that allowed us to build a valuable networking activity among participants. The enthusiasm for the course was also demonstrated by the fact that we decided to continue with a series of additional optional classes after the end of the EMBA; an opportunity supported by the School that also leads us to recognize that the great complexities that arose during the pandemic were indeed well managed.
On June 25th and 26th we organized the first ed. 18 MBA reunion after the formal end of the courses. We thus had the opportunity to participate in two days of extra lessons that were particularly interesting because they were based on topics covered in the Master’s program that had generated a demand for in-depth analysis on the part of the students. We then got together at the end of the extra lessons for an eagerly awaited moment of conviviality. Our group has always considered the class an important element of identification and belonging.
The initiative to wear BBS sweatshirts originated from the desire to show our belonging to this ed.18 EMBA class, which really makes us proud. The pandemic has forced us to distance ourselves from each other, but our desire to work as a group helped us to overcome the limits imposed by the external situation, creating a group spirit that in some cases has turned into true friendship.
Today we are happy to meet and spend some time together. We believe that networking is a key element, both human and educational, of the BBS experience and we consider it important that there is a structure around us, such as the Community, which aims at enhancing it.
For our part, we are already organizing the next dinner, which will be held on July 16th, together with the colleagues of ed. 19 EMBA just to expand our meetings to other EMBAs, with a view to an increasingly large and widespread BBS Community, able to exchange expertise and advice.