“Launch Week”: A New Way to Embark on the EMBA Journey

2/9/2017 - New students in the Executive MBA Program arrive on the Evanston and Miami campuses ready to hit the ground running and become immersed in Kellogg’s rigorous academic schedule and unique culture. This year, the EMBA program has switched up how students experience that immersion.

Launch Week is a time for students to contemplate what they want to achieve while they are in the program. Melissa Holland, Director of the EMBA Program in Miami, explains our approach to this new program kick-off. “Launch Week is our opportunity to welcome new students to the Kellogg community. Not only do students kick off the program with academic courses, but they also build the foundation of lifelong relationships through teambuilding. Launch Week is meant to provide the students with the inspirational spark that will carry them through the next two years of this transformative experience.”

The traditional academic courses offered at Launch Week include Frameworks for Strategic Analysis and Analytical Approach to Uncertainty. We have also brought in Design Thinking, taught by Kellogg faculty and EMBA alum David Schonthal. One of the goals of design thinking is to invoke students to open their minds to new processes and strategies, and rethink what they already know.

This new mindset, shattering preconceived notions and thinking open-mindedly, is intentionally woven into every experience during Launch Week. Through this holistic experience, students discover what it’s really like to be part of the Kellogg community. Dean Sally Blount reinforces the Kellogg mission during her talk with new students, to “educate, equip and inspire leaders.”

New students reflect on what all these new experiences mean to them. “We ask them to take a step back and assess what they can really take from this program,” said Colette Feldges, Director of the Evanston Executive MBA Program. “Each morning, we also create some space and time for reflections, where students can think about what they learned the day before and where they want to be going forward.”

Students decide what they want to accomplish and set their own intentions, and Kellogg faculty and staff empower them to get the most out of their experiences. This maximizes the impact of Launch Week and ensures students connect the dots for themselves, establishing their own journeys at Kellogg.