A glimpse into international (utility) management – Field trip of EMBA students

As part of the EMBA in European Utility Management (EUM) program, 12 students traveled through the US and China from May 20 to June 1, 2007. The goal of the excursion was to gain insights into the management of international companies.

[ Jun 07, 2007]  During the first year of the EMBA program, the field trip offers students the chance to meet with local higher education representatives and to attend lectures at guest universities. Tutored by experienced entrepreneurs, the participants have also the opportunity to train their leadership skills: they study management practices and regional differences.

Starting point of this year’s field trip was Houston, Texas. The Executive MBA students were welcomed at Rice University where they learned more about International Accounting. By visiting the ExxonMobil refinery in Baytown and presentations by executives from US-based firms, the guests gained insights into regionally distinct business environments. A soft skills training session of several day´s duration rounded off the stay in the USA.

The second part of the trip led the group to a completely different area: In Shanghai they visited the School of Economics and Management at Tongji University. Local scientists and business leaders introduced the group to aspects of the Chinese market.

The curriculum of the Executive MBA in European Utility Management has been developed to cover a broad range of competencies needed by general managers, particularly in the utilities sector. The program focuses on the fundamentals of essential management knowledge upon which all business is based as well as on the specialized knowledge required in managing the various activities across the entire utilities value chain. In the first year, the core courses are supplemented by the extensive field trip which involves traveling to two different countries for two business weeks.