When I am in class with the CIMBA MBA students, one thing I noticed is a lot of supportiveness and positivity among the students. They will be leaders who really care about others and care about the culture of the organization and the community. In the USA, my MBA students are a little more individualistic and think more about “me as a leader“. There is a greater sense of connectivity between people here at CIMBA. I feel there is great care and that translates into leaders who care for others. 

The date was May 17th, 2022. I can still remember what it was like stepping onto my first flight alone. I knew I had a layover in Minneapolis, another in Paris, and then I would arrive in Venice. After that, I then had to catch a bus, a train, and a taxi so I can end up in a foreign land known as Paderno del Grappa. It was in Paderno that I knew I would be spending a month and a half of my summer at the CIMBA Italy campus. When I got out of my taxi and walked through the CIMBA front gate, I couldn’t help but think about all that was to come.

Teaching in an old fashion “ex-cathedra” way is a long-gone concept in most of the best educational institutions. Passing on knowledge through different interactive experiences, relating to real-life cases and encouraging students to get involved in lively class discussions has become a new standard.

As the MBA academic year in Italy comes to a close, the full-time MBA class found themselves delivering the final consulting presentations to their client companies. After months of research, data collection, interviews, analyzes, and dedicated hard work, it was riveting to see each team complete their real-world experience and showcase skills developed throughout the year. We asked each of the MBA teams to reflect on their consulting project experience.

After LIFE Training, our MBA and Undergraduate students are matched with a personal development coach to maximize their potential. This program is designed to help students develop personal and professional goals and pave the way to achieve them. A few students were asked to share their experiences and benefits.

Salaries for MBAs are hitting all-time highs in industries ranging from consulting to banking, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) found in their February 2021 Corporate Recruiters Survey that 96% of technology sector recruiters are seeking to hire MBA graduates. Additionally, several prestigious MBA programs have reported an increase of $5,000 in the median salaries of their MBA graduates, doubling the average for graduates with a bachelor’s degree.

Over the past month, the full-time American students have been learning the Italian language and getting accustomed to the Italian culture with the help of Professoressa Michela. This month, she took them to the beautiful city of Asolo, just minutes away from our campus in Pieve del Grappa. This beautiful city has much to offer, and Michela led the tour of a lifetime. 

Completing an MBA at CIMBA is both a remarkable and extremely rewarding experience. Not only do you earn a degree, but you also can immerse yourself in a culture that is different from yours. People who move to a different country have the unique opportunity to experience firsthand the many differences and similarities that we have as humans. After completing a period abroad, most students will go home more susceptible to interacting with others.

Students first began arriving to our campus in Paderno del Grappa on September 1st — a refreshing sight after a long year of no full-time MBA classes due to the COVID-19 ongoing global pandemic. The first group to arrive was composed of four students from the University of Arkansas and one Kansas University Student. This group went on a ten day trip across many of the major cities in Italy. The rest of the students arrived in the week that followed, and during their first days in town they worked on becoming accustomed to the area, people, and culture.

For this month’s spotlight we had the opportunity to sit with Dr. Timothy L. Shaftel, professor of Corporate Financial Reporting. Dr. Shaftel is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Kansas. He has been part of the CIMBA faculty for over 20 years. During the conversation Dr. Shaftel shared some of his most memorable moments at CIMBA and what makes him passionate about CIMBA.