The world is their classroom

12/22/2011 - For Joe Fernandez ’11, studying abroad was more than just an opportunity to gain an international business perspective — it was a chance to get acquainted with his roots.

Fernandez spent part of his second year in his grandfather’s homeland while studying at ESADE in Barcelona as part of Kellogg’s MBA Exchange Program. Each year, more than 20 percent of all Kellogg students attend renowned business schools around the world, gaining experience that Fernandez says can’t be matched.

Studying and learning with students in a different country “made you analyze your thoughts and look at the world through a world lens, not a U.S. lens,” Fernandez says. “That was an invaluable skill set.”

From Barcelona to Beijing, Kellogg students are enhancing those skill sets at some of the best partner institutions in the world.

“Training global business leaders is key at Kellogg,” says Debbie Kraus, assistant director of student affairs. “We put a lot of emphasis on our global program, and the exchange opportunity can be a very valuable component of that. By being exposed to how other countries do business and meeting future business leaders, our students are greatly enhancing their knowledge base.”

More than 130 Kellogg students will study internationally this academic year through the MBA Exchange Program, which involves partnerships with 34 international institutions. Another 120 will travel from those schools to study at Kellogg.

Since the school began offering the program in 1980, more than 1,000 students have studied at top-notch business schools in more than 20 countries spanning six continents.

Although the experience allowed him to develop an international perspective, Fernandez says Kellogg never felt far away. Some of his most memorable experiences included a Kellogg student road trip to the Basque region and a weekend trip to Lisbon, where local Kellogg alumni showed him and other Kellogg students around. Developing that Kellogg network was an unexpected bonus for John Barbour ’11 as well, who attended China Europe International Business School in Shanghai last year.

“I was able to see how truly global the Kellogg network is, as I was able to connect with alums throughout China and Hong Kong,” he says.
Those connections are part of what drew Nitish Jai Kaul to study at Kellogg this fall from IE Business School in Madrid.

“What is very admirable about Kellogg is the school’s collaboration with corporations and the hands-on experience one gets in class, as well student ownership of events and life at Kellogg,” Kaul says. “I will take back a wide network of people and a feeling of being taught at the best marketing school in the world.”