WBB Pioneers on"Vacation"

THE FIRST CLASS GROUP OF THE NEW WORLD BACHELOR IN BUSINESS PROGRAM COMPLETED ITS FIRST ACADEMIC YEAR IN LOS ANGELES. THIS WEEK, THEY WILL PARTICIPATE IN ORIENTATION MEETINGS AT BOCCONI TO PREPARE THEMSELVES TO FACE THE BUSINESS WORLD

This week (9-13 June), a group of the 45 students in the World Bachelor in Business program (WBB) is at Bocconi to meet Italian entrepreneurs and to participate in workshops and seminars in the company of experts where they will receive tips on the business world.

Fourteen of the student-pioneers came to Italy before leaving for Hong Kong, where they will attend their second year, return to Bocconi for their third year and then complete the program at one of the three participating Universities.

Paolo Cancelli, the program’s coordinator, says that “the WBB experiment is the first of its kind in the world, an innovative method that gives selected students the opportunity to attend the academic program of the university in which they are inserted, as well as several ad hoc courses organized just for them. The class group is the first in world with the opportunity to have this experience. Lectures for the first year are now over and students are on vacation until August when they will leave for Hong Kong. In the meantime, we are completing admissions for the second group that will start in September.”

Mostly Italian students have come to Italy, taking advantage of this month of vacation to go home and to participate in this week of educational events at Bocconi. They will actually not be in the classroom for long: “We decided to organize several hours of workshops and seminars, for example with Verena Battaglia from the Bocconi Career Service, who gave them tips on employment orientation, such as preparing CVs and how to apply to companies. Most importantly, however, this week they are beginning to get to know businesses and entrepreneurs who they will deal with in a few years at the end of their studies. Every day, students can meet with business professionals, such as L’Orèal, Luxottica, at Value Partners and Lazard. We are also taking them for a full day on a trip to Pontedera, to meet Piaggio”.

The students are enthusiastic about their first year, all agreeing that the WBB is a unique experience that will influence the path of all participants. Several of them say they have found a second family in their classmates from all over the world, and friendships that will certainly last for many years.

 

by Lucia Schieppati

First Year Down