The Pioneers Start Their Journey

"Brave pioneers," was how Andrea Sironi, Rector of Bocconi, described the 44 students in the inaugural class of the World Bachelor in Business (WBB). He was meeting with them in Los Angeles, on the campus of University of Southern California, where students started their new venture last month. A truly multicultural class from 13 countries in North America, Europe and Asia.
 

Pioneers indeed, because their course is the first undergraduate program which allows students to live and study in three continents and get three undergraduate degrees from three universities. The course is organized in fact by Università Bocconi, the University of Southern California (USC) and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and provides that each student must attend at least a year in all three partner universities. It begins precisely in Los Angeles, at the Marshall School of Business at USC, with a focus on entrepreneurship, technology and culture, and then moves for the second year in Hong Kong, to explore the themes of global finance. For the third year students will move at Bocconi, to consolidate their knowledge of economics and management. Finally, for the fourth year each student will choose at which of the three universities to finish the program.
 

Sironi met the students of the WBB on the occasion of the first meeting of the students with all the three academic directors of WBB: Carlo Altomonte, for Bocconi , Steven Nason, for HKUST, and Ty Callahan, for USC Marshall.
 

"The kids are already getting settled nicely, and since they were selected from 700 candidates, this  is a really high level class," says Altomonte. "For them, this course is a great opportunity. Today, companies are looking for young managers  who bring not only quality training but also strong international exposure and the ability to adapt to different contexts. This program is constructed to valorize these factors to the max over the course of the four years."
 

"I chose the WBB for the opportunity to study business in three major cities and to broaden my horizons," says Anna Chiara Pollastri, 19, from near Bologna. "So far I'm impressed by the opportunity to be in contact with professors from all over the world who possess great culture and experience. Then the fact that there are only 44 students in the group makes us one big family. Every one of us learns something from the others and it is fascinating to see how different we are in our background, but how united by a great desire to learn and achieve certain goals."
 

"In these first few weeks it was great to experience the real life of a student in an American college, with all the opportunities to participate in various clubs and activities, and discover all the wonders of a dynamic and cosmopolitan city like Los Angeles."