Will Sands is a current University of Iowa Online MBA student and participated in a study abroad course in Italy. Will is an Assistant Project Manager at The Walsh Group in Dallas, TX.
Why now?
Whether you are busy accelerating your professional career, raising a family, trying to maintain discipline with your studies, or even combining all three, it is never too late to study abroad! I recently returned from taking Corporate Investment & Finance Decisions at CIMBA Italy and could not have asked for a more enriching and involved learning adventure. Between a challenging and supportive faculty presence, the opportunity for a tailored experience, and dedication to technical mastery, my two weeks abroad felt like a year’s worth of memories and unforgettable lessons. Regardless of your current industry or career goals, you can bring a distinct perspective to your potential CIMBA class and leverage the program’s resources to add an unmatched supplement to your MBA journey. Each CIMBA course provides an inclusive and culturally diverse class profile to promote thoughtful discourse and expand your network. So what exactly does studying at CIMBA look like?
A Day in the Life!
Crisp, refreshing air. Jaw-dropping classroom views of the Dolomites. Delectable croissants, biscottis, and bombolonis. € 0.60 espressos from a dedicated made-to-order coffee vending machine. Picture this as a typical start to a day at CIMBA – and class hasn’t even started yet!
In the months leading up to CIMBA, the program coordinators Sharon Ho and Francesca Basso were instrumental in answering questions, providing tips, and preparing me for a successful time abroad. With this support and WhatsApp group chats set up for class introductions, we were immediately able to hit the ground running when arriving to campus.
Though it had been 10 years since I last stayed in a dorm, the campus sleeping quarters provided a paramount student housing experience as my personal room had a welcome pamphlet, a private bathroom, and stunning views of campus and Monte Grappa out of my window each morning. Our rooms were located on the 5th floor of the main Istituti Fillippin building, MBA classrooms on the 3rd floor, and the dining hall on the 1st floor of the building, which made it easy to navigate and sure beats my hour-long commute back in the states!
Cafeteria meal tickets were provided for all three meals in a normal day. Breakfasts presented a wide selection of pastries, meats, eggs, cereal, sweets, and coffee. Lunches and dinners included a range of local pastas, meats, vegetables, and a dessert, and the dining hall was shared amongst the Fillippi boarding school students and undergraduate abroad students alike.
We had a class size of 8 students, with combination of both full-time local and part-time online MBA students from both the United States and Italy. This diverse yet intimate group was eager to get to know each other and the full-time MBA students helped make our transition to CIMBA and Italian life seamless.
The typical CIMBA course includes 4 days of instruction from 9:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. with an hour lunch and multiple breaks throughout the day. A one-day break is built into the middle of the duration to split time in the classroom. Pre-course work was assigned a week leading up to the first session and a lecture note workbook with examples was included upon arrival. Professor Carter was a finance professor from Oklahoma State University and had longtime experience in both the finance industry and with CIMBA. Discussion was well facilitated, and learning was experiential in that there was ample opportunity to perform group assignments and practice real-world finance examples with classmates. We even held a lesson on corporate hedging strategies outside on the front steps to keep our brains fresh and take advantage of a beautiful day!
You will be glad you did.
The amazing thing about CIMBA is that education extends far beyond the walls of the classroom. Our class capitalized on the distinct small-town cultural opportunities that cannot be replicated in other parts of the world. We all enjoyed a welcome dinner at Pizzeria al Sole, where I learned a dozen new pizza toppings, including porchetta, which made for an intriguing and delicious experience. On our day off, a group of us also explored Bassano del Grappa, which is a gorgeous and charming town 25 minutes from campus. Bassano is one of the birthplaces of the famous Grappa drink and has a stunning red bridge connecting the two neighborhoods of town providing picturesque views of the Brenta River and Dolomites Mountain range. We wrapped up the last night at CIMBA by grabbing dinner at a unique osteria in the borgo of Asolo.
While I was sad to draw a close to my time at CIMBA, I was fortunate to have the time to explore Northern Italy by Train. I devoured cicchetti and navigated the beautiful canals of Venice, visited the Juliet Balcony and Arena in Verona, and toured the astonishing Duomo and Last Supper painting in Milan. As condensed as my remaining itinerary was with back-to-back cultural excursions, it gave me a quality opportunity to reflect on the empowering experience I had just concluded. Regardless of where you are at professionally, academically, or personally, CIMBA can provide an unparalleled learning experience to positively challenge and transform your way of thinking. It was the perfect additive to my graduate school experience, and it provided the full-circle educational journey I was seeking with the Iowa MBA program. Take a CIMBA class! You will be glad you did.